01/07 - Soup Day at Ulla's
In the past we have walked out the fire road and taken the Nature Trail on the way back, but today we turned off at the Nature Trail and came back all the way on the fire road. It was crisp and on the edge of fog, but a good day to be out moving. Very green, no flowers yet, but a fair number of birds. 2.4 miles
We walked the Edwards/Wood Rat loop on a drippy, foggy morning. We saw blooming Dirca, Osoberry and Ribes as well as a fair number of fungi. The trail washout from last year was repaired, but there were spots where the trail was slick with mud from all the valley fog; when the wind blew, there was "rain" from the trees. 2.5+ miles.
We walked out East Ridge Tr, but down Phillips, not Prince, then a bit of back-track on Stream, then west on Stream to return to the cars. We didn't find the masses of lady bugs we were looking for, but it was a good day for hiking, not really muddy in spite of the overnight showers. 10 of us; under 3 miles.
Only four of us braved the break in the storms to get out and move. We walked from the parking lot by the dog park at Heather Farms along the Canal Trail as far as the 1st Ave crossing, then returned. That gave us a 3 mile walk with no rain!!
There was a big group (14) on a gray day after a rainy night and misty early morning. The air was fresh and the marsh trails are well graded and drained so walking was good. LOTS of birds. 2.8 mi
There was a big group today...a wonderful day for walking. This was the standard loop out Black Phoebe Trail, up Whipsnake across the ridge and down to the junction with Woodrat then out to Windmill and back to the cars. Only about 2.8 miles but a perfect walk.
There were 10 of us on a lovely day full of sunshine, new growth, and birds. Some favorite flowers were past their prime, but there was still lots to enjoy. We went CW, up Chaparral Loop to the bridge then Manhattan Canyon to the gate; down the fire road with a loop through the cemetery. Under 3 miles.
We started from the end of Marshall Dr (Indian Valley Elementary School) and took Corral Spring Tr along the east side of the ridge, then made a CCW loop around Deer Hill and Deer Lake before returning the way we came. After the hike we reconvened at Jennifer's; she has made over her garden the last few years and it is filled with natives along with mature fruit trees, favorite roses, etc.
04/01 - no hike, rain
This was the hike which was originally planned for last week. We walked from the parking area by the Steam Train (Grizzly Peak and Lomas Contadas) as far as the picnic table just before the trail descends toward Fish Ranch Rd. It was a lovely day and altho many flowers were through blooming (e.g. the lupine was mostly showing seed) there was lots to see. Under 2.5 miles
04/15 - Perkins Canyon
There was plenty of water in the creeks and enough flowers to keep us busy looking. There were butterflies and birds, too. This is a short loop, only 1.5 mile but it feels longer; there is so much to see and plenty of up and down.
04/22 - no hike, wet
It's been close to 10 years since we walked Mitchell Canyon in the spring; the lure of the fall color has had us taking that route in October/November. But today a big group reverted to April, and we were rewarded with lots of flowers and more butterflies than we usually see. Most of the group made it to the tables under the oaks before returning to the cars. 3.8 miles according to google earth.
We saw flowers we expected, didn't see others; and there were some we had not seen in bloom before. I had focus difficulties with many of the smaller flowers, so just because I didn't include a picture, doesn't mean we didn't see the plant.
The map says this is a 2 mile hike. Everyone felt it had to be longer than that.
We walked a CW loop of just under 3 miles at Pt Pinole. The weather was perfect, clear, warm in the sun but cool in the shade with a nice breeze. There were lots of birds, some butterflies and enough flowers to satisfy us. The highlight was the newish native plant garden at the south end of the parking lot, tho many of the plants aren't actually "native here".
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