12/11 - Holiday Luncheon

 

Counting our hosts Ron and Sylvia, there were 20 Wednesday Walkers today as we celebrated another year of friendship. Eight of us took a brief 1 mile walk along Turtle Creek before returning to stuff ourselves with all sorts of goodies.

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11/13, 11/27 and 12/04

 12/04 - Vaca Creek/Almond Ranch

There were a dozen of us today, taking advantage of dry sunny weather as we walked from the EBRPD parking lot on Alhambra Valley Rd up the Vaca Creek Tr to the Ridge Tr and the Almond Ranch property. It was hazy, but green is starting to show and it was a good morning to be out and moving. The highlight was the spotting of what we decided was a golden eagle sitting in the top of a tree.  3.5 miles

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11/27 - Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley 

This was the perfect day to walk along the Bay. We went, for the first time, to Cesar Chavez park near the Berkeley Marina at the foot of University Ave. It was clear and bright after our storms, and the main trails are paved or gravel and not muddy. We enjoyed snooping in one of the areas undergoing ecological restoration. Elaine and Delia know people involved with the project. Only a bit over 1.5 miles but just right for the day before Thanksgiving.

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11/13 -  UC Botanical Garden

We started with the exhibit of the Florigeum being created for the garden; this is the 3rd exhibit and includes 75 illustrations both new and from the previous exhibits. Lee gave an overview of the project and the displayed art work. Then some of us walked in the garden including the newly reopened Tropical house.

The sky was clear when we arrived, but getting quite gray as we left the Julia Morgan Building and the first spritz of rain hit the windshield as we drove home. Excellent timing!!

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11/06 - Briones

 

 

We were lucky that EBRPD posted warnings, but did not close the park because of the high wind and red flag fire warnings. 8 of us walked from the far parking lot at the Bear Creek entrance to Briones, out to the archery range, up and over the crest and down Yerba Buena Tr. to Valley Tr, then Old Briones Rd back to the cars. just under 3.5 miles. Then we drove over to the other parking lot and enjoyed snacks (Elaine had chocolate to share) and watched wildlife, two separate coyotes and a great blue heron.

This is only the 2nd time I know that we have walked the Yerba Buena Trail.  The prior time we went up from Valley Tr and down the steep Crescent Ridge Tr. I had no desire to do that again, so this time we walked up the south side of the ridge behind the archery range and the down Yerba Buena.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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).

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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

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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.

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