10/30 - Mitchell Canyon

 

There were a dozen of us today on a wonderful autumn day. It was chilly at the start and we didn't see any tarantulas. The grapes were not yet in full color, but beautiful none the less. We got our wildlife "fix" near the end of the hike as we watched a bobcat. 4 miles.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/q30dm4e398

11/23 - WCOS from Borges Ranch

 

Eleven of us started NE up Costanoan Tr as far as the bench where we stop when coming S from Ginder Gap. There we went thru the gate and took the single track Ridge Tr back toward the south. Ridge Tr joins the Briones/Mt Diablo Tr about 2/10 of a mile before the junction with the Borges Ranch Tr. We turned slightly west at that junction and followed the road south, past the ponds, and back up hill as far as Stonegate Tr. where we rejoined the Briones/Mt Diablo Tr for the return to Borges Ranch. About 3.4 miles

A beautiful autumn day!! We started with long sleeves and took off layers as the day warmed. At the end of the hike we enjoyed the shaded picnic area and the treats Delia and Daniella brought to share.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/3i838R3302

 

10/16 - Fernandez Ranch

 

There were eleven of us hiking today at Fernandez Ranch even tho most of us had a few drops of rain at home. The sky was gray but it didn't rain; a very good day to be out walking. We went out Windmill Tr, getting the nasty hill out of the way to start with. Then WNW on the segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail and finally circling back on the aptly named Woodland Tr to rejoin Windmill Tr.  about 3.5 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/T0b880Q7gk

 

 

10/09 - Dotson Marsh at Pt Pinole (plus 9/11 to 10/2)

 

 

After way too many days of 100°+ weather, the fog was finally back on the Bay side of the hills!! Eight of us walked the usual route from the old Giant Hwy parking lot to the spit and back (under 2.5 miles) and were very glad to be out and moving in the fresh air; long sleeves and jackets seemed strange but welcome.

There was talk of what the historic shoreline might have been, so you will get some snips of old maps to help visualize the changes as well as the usual hike pictures. The old topo maps from HISTOPO at UC Berkeley helped a lot (https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/histopo).

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/8Xe2WC27N4

 

10/02 - no hike, extreme heat

09/25 - no hike, walkers too busy

09/18 - West Ridge, Redwood Regional Park

 

Nine of us walked from the Redwood Regional Park Skyline Gate to the Chabot Space and Science Center and back on a very foggy morning. This was the walk originally planned for last week. The consensus was that we really ought to do this more often than once every 10 years! There was a lot to look at. It is likely very crowded on weekends and there were quite a few dogs. We were treated to more of Jennifer's grapes when we got back to the cars. Just over 3.5 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/70s2tj1qb2

09/11 - Pine Canyon

 

A major accident on Hwy 24 westbound at Hwy 13 completely shut down the road. It was a truck carrying sod which ended up all over the freeway. Traffic was backed up thru Lafayette and the radio traffic reports were even suggesting Canyon as an alternative (so much for our "secret" back roads) which turned surface streets into solid lines of cars. 

 
The original plan had been to walk from Redwood to the Chabot observatory and back, but Pine Canyon was a fine alternative. There was a pleasant breeze with a cool undercurrent and the trail is mostly shaded, too. It is definitely feeling like fall with gold hills and lots of acorns on the trail; the grape vines are mostly green, but here and there a few leaves are showing color. 10 of us enjoyed the short, under 3 miles, walk. We meandered rather than hiked, enjoyed chatting AND Susan and Elaine brought cookies. It was an all together special day.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/22309svr9c

 
 

08/28 - Huckleberry

 

The shade was welcome as 8 of us made the clockwise loop at Huckleberry Preserve starting from the Skyline entrance. It was 94 when I got home just before 1. The hike is under 2 miles, but certainly seemed longer. Jennifer brought grapes from her garden and we enjoyed them as a treat at the end of the walk.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/349we625xE

08/14 - South Shore Briones Reservoir

12 of us walked from the Bear Creek staging area to the dam overlook parking lot. It was a warm day and we were glad of the shade. This is such a botanically rich area that it took us about 2 1/2 hours to go a bit over 3.5 miles. There was a driver shuttle back to the start.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/4918WJ22bH for pictures.

A bit of history: The reservoir is impounded by Briones Dam, an earthen dam completed in 1964 (60 years ago). The reservoir is the largest of EBMUD's five East Bay terminal reservoirs, with a total capacity of 60,510 acre⋅ft, and it has a total watershed of 8.59 square miles. 

08/07 - Sibley

 

Flexibility is important when the weather doesn't match the forecast. It was already over 80 by the time 10 of us met at the Old Tunnel Rd parking area. The long up hill in the open grasslands really held no appeal. So we decided to make this an up and back along the shady Round Top Creek trail. That was a good choice! We met at the picnic tables by the main parking lot for snacks and group chatter and then headed back down. We were back to the cars shortly after 11:30. My car thermometer reached 90 on the drive home. 3.5 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/1z5Cm5e6JX

 

07/31 - Marina Bay

I did not hike...Susan sent this report.

Ten Wednesday Walkers had a foggy, cool and breezy walk along the San Francisco Bay Trail this morning and a wonderful visit to Rosie The Riveter National Park. The docents shared information about the Home Front war effort, the shipyards, the Ford Assembly Plant for jeeps and tanks and we saw a terrific movie about the Rosies' contributions to the winning effort during WW II. Hearing their stories is quite moving. A quote from one of the welder Rosies, "I live in pants and ugly shoes, leather jacket, big mittens, goggles and a monster hood, fire coming out of my hands. I did it!". We encourage you all to make a visit to the museum.

The walk was about 4 miles, everyone in our car had a slightly different distance and number of steps on our phones, and I'm not as adept as Karen at measuring distances on the computer. Phred and Lisa will be putting photos up when they can.