09/06 - Pt. Pinole

On a breezy/windy day with pleasant temperatures after the 100+ degrees over the weekend, 14 of us walked from the new entrance at the end of Atlas Rd to the recenty opened Dodsen marsh area. Lunch was enjoyed on nicely placed tables near the China Clipper spur trail. 4 1/4 miles.

For good information on the newly accessible marsh area, see: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/pt_pinole (scroll clear to the bottom of the page)

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8/30 Huckleberry Preserve

There was a bit of a revision to plans for today's hike. We parked, as planned, at the Skyline staging area but then, instead of walking the west ridge of Redwood Park, 8 of us completed a 3.5 mile "lollipop" hike which took us counterclockwise around the Huckleberry Loop trail. With the heat promised for the weekend, it was great to spend time in the shaded woods. Fog had been extensive enough to leave damp patches on the trail and there was still water flowing in several drainages. We had lunch on one of the Manzanita barrens (#6 on the park map).

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/9Kp040

Tilden - Inspiration Point to Lake Anza

We had a big group today...15 to start; tho Ron and Sylvia turned around when Ron felt his foot had had enough. We walked down Meadows Canyon Tr. to Wildcat Gorge Tr. then up to Lake Anza for lunch. We retraced our steps to the intersection with Curran Tr. and took that route back to the cars. 3.7 miles.

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Caples week 8/7 - 8/11

This year the Caples group was split into two separate times. The early group went up the week of the 24th of July. Phred and Elaine went up Sunday 8-6 and left for further adventures on the east side of the Sierras on Wednesday, 8-9. Ulla and Karen arrived midday on Monday 8-7 and stayed until Saturday morning 8-12. The four of us hiked and had dinner together on Monday and Tuesday.

As always happens we saw some things we didn't expect and looked in vain for others. Missing this year for us were the flowers which grow really high (Alpine primrose, White Heather, the tiny alpine buckwheats, etc) as we did not go across the snow to Round Top Lake. We didn't see the washingtonianum lily on Mormon Emigrant, the white mariposas were finished blooming, we saw only leaves of the Dicentra uniflora, and the lovely Collomia grandiflora was absent entirely. But we saw blooming corn lilies for the first time in several years, there were plenty of iris,  the red heather was plentiful around Winnemucca, and fireweed was blooming just about everywhere.

8-7-17
Phred sent an e-mail suggesting this as a worthwhile stop on the way up...he was right!
Leek Springs on Mormon Emigrant Trail

 https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/E133Nr


Old Hwy 88 from Red Lake up toward the overlook



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8-8-17
Big Meadow - Tahoe Rim Trail from the parking area on Hwy 89; a hike Shirley suggested. It would probably be more interesting earlier in the season.



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8-9-17
A morning hike from Woods up to Winnemucca is our favorite!



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8-10-17
We took several short walks as we both felt a bit achy from the previous hike.



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8-11-17
We went up to Meiss Saddle from the Carson Pass parking area and then just wandering about looking at flowers and views! It really impressed us how important it is to look closely at areas which, from a distance, look barren. We had explored the east side of the valley first before climbing toward the crest following the line of posts. Looking back across the valley the lush gardens we had visited were totally obscured.



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8-17
Caples Lake Resort has seen some real improvements this year under the management of John's kids. Son Joe is doing an especially great job and was never too busy to talk to guests. The deck is in good repair and the dining area and lounge on the ground floor of the lodge are open. Ulla and I took our dinners down to the dining room Thursday and Friday and enjoyed eating out of the wind but with the same marvelous view.



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7/26 and 8/2

8/2 HEAT WAVE
It was 89 at the summit of Mt Diablo at 8am.
Shirley. wisely, didn't even bother to plan an outing which would require a cancellation.

The 7/26 hike was along the east shore of Lake Chabot toward Honker Bay. The trail is shaded with rolling ups and downs, with choices on distance:  3.5 miles to the bridge and back. or 4.5 around to the point where we have had lunch before, or if needing a pre-Caples workout --- add a mile by doing Cameron's Loop --- up one wooded canyon and down another to meet us for lunch.

I did not hike as my foot still objects to such distances on pavement.

7/19 Redwood RP

With the closure of the Canyon Rd bridge, access to Redwood Park is easiest from Skyline. 14 of us walked out the East Ridge Tr, down Prince Tr. and returned via Stream Tr. A 3 mile hike. It was lucky that there is so much shade. By the time we were back to the cars the temperature was into the 80's. Down in the canyon it was very pleasant, but the sunny parts of the uphill sections were quite warm.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/3P53rE

7/12 from Rancho Laguna Park

13 of us did a yo yo hike from Rancho Laguna Park along the EBMUD Kings Canyon Tr.  San Leandro Reservoir was much lower than we expected; maybe in anticipation of excess snow-melt run off. It was quite warm in the sun and we were glad to eat lunch in the shade back at the park. The group didn't all make the entire path shown on the map. Some stopped at the Bench, others before the steep-ish ascent which precedes the last westward straight section. Distances ranged from 3 miles to about 4 1/4.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/5ihpEW



LAST WEEK
7/5 Joaquin Miller

Altho we started from the same trailhead on Skyline that we have used in the past, we tried a different route: Palos Colorados Tr, then Sunset Trail to Chaparral Trail and up to the horse arena. However instead of immediately crossing Skyline, we took Bayview and Castle Park trails to the West Ridge Tr. and back below Chabot Observatory. We dropped into the Redwood Bowl for lunch. After following the Ridge Tr to the Roberts entrance road, we crossed Skyline and came down Big Trees Tr as in the past. Once on big Trees Tr I thought we were "home free" as we have hiked that way several times. But I goofed and turned right where I should have turned left and we ended up making a circle back to our starting point on Skyline. A second try was successful, especially after a dog walker told us the trick was to keep left. The trail we took was not marked on any of our maps and on Google Earth it doesn't show at all since it is under the trees. I'm guessing we added another 1/3 mile. We did, however, find a short cut back to the cars as we neared the bottom of Big Trees and that saved us a 1/10 of a mile :-)

There is one steep up...300 feet in a quarter mile on Chapparal Tr; after that it was just undulating and finally down to the cars. Mileage just over 3.6 as planned, closer to 4 as executed.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/9r7996