06/24 - Pt. Pinole

This is the time of year when it can be sweltering inland and barely 60 on the coast. We aimed for the middle ground, so to speak, and walked at Pt Pinole Regional Park. The fog was just beginning to lift as we started out and it was quite pleasant. I forgot to check the tide tables and we were lucky to be there just at low tide. That gave us views we don't usually get.

Very few flowers, but plenty of birds...gulls, of course, but also a great blue heron, egrets, cormorants and even an osprey! No picture of that one from me; I rarely carry a long lens.

This was another morning walk. 13 masked hikers and Oscar and Obi, who may breathe freely, enjoyed the fresh air and mild temps. We made a CW loop from the Atlas Rd entrance. Those who walked to the end of the pier registered about 3.2 miles; the rest of us less. The pier is 1/4 mile long.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/970PT8

06/10 - Briones

It has been 13 weeks since we walked together. There is enough loosening of restrictions now that Idecided to try for a hike this Wednesday. Things will, of necessity, be quite different: no pink wall carpools, physical distancing including splitting the group into smaller sub-groups with extra space between, masks (to hand if not actually on), any dogs on leash 100% of the time (new EBRPD rule).

My plan is to meet at the main Bear Creek staging area at Briones (where we met for last year's picnic) at 9am and make a loop of about 3.3 miles up Briones Crest Tr and down Abrigo Valley Tr. If we do the up first while it is still relatively cool we will have the shade for much of the return. This is a relatively short hike, so water and a snack should be sufficient. Remember that 1) the forecast for tomorrow is HOT so bring plenty of water and 2) all restrooms are still closed!

Things changed from when I sent out the notice on Tuesday. The heat and the available shade were plenty of reason for a last minute revamp of the route. Nine of us walked out Abrigo Valley and looped CCW up to the ridge and then came down Deer Creek Tr. The steep south end of the Briones Crest Tr, in full sun, just didn't appeal to any of us. It was hot, but there were occasional breezes and it was wonderful to be "on the trail again". Instead of the advertised 3.3 miles we walked 3.7

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/STksn3

And since I took so few pictures today, here are some bonus retrospective ones from the 2nd week in June:

    6-12-2012     Redwood (but nothing worth sharing)
    6-12-2013     Ring Mt (but I was out of town)
    6-10-2014     Ring Mt
    6-10-2015     no hike - rain!
    6-08-2016     Mt Diablo: Green Ranch
    6-14-2017     Fernandez Ranch
    6-13-2018     Ring Mt
    6-12-2019     Pt Pinole

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/74bmG9 

A long 3 months

Ever since the middle of March, we have been under shelter in place orders which precluded our normal group hikes. Now, 13 weeks, later restrictions are easing and parks are reopening.

While we were locked down, I sent weekly links to retrospectives for the week; just to remind everyone of the wonderful places we have been and the variety of things we have seen:

3/18     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/YWQ2v7
3/25     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/3NQ100
4/01     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/X3m0np
4/08     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/v9Gb0x
4/15     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/423J6P
4/22     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/5Jvx54

4/29     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/8pn5Z7

5/06     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/6Ni4J8

5/13     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/4y9vQM

5/20     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/9759q5

5/27     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/9GY8bG

6/03     https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/3x2Be8

03/11 - Albany Hill

12 of us were treated to a guided tour of Albany Hill Park with Margot Cunningham (a member of the Albany Parks and Recreation staff as well as a lead volunteer in the restoration of the native habitats on Albany Hill). This was a short walk (about 1.25 mi) with lots of stops to look, listen and learn. Thanks to Elaine for arranging this special outing.

After the tour, Delia invited us to eat our lunches in her garden. It has been a long while since the Wednesday folks were there an there have been lots of changes in the 10 years they have been working on the back yard. It was wonderful to look at and talk about the plants and how the garden has developed over the years.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/19J3Fd

Here is a repeat of some of the links I put in the hike announcement:

The Friends of Albany Hill (check the plant list on the Plants tab)
https://friendsofalbanyhill.org/history-of-friends-of-albany-hill/

For History of the fight to keep the hill as open space and a page of related resources:
https://tendancienthill.org/history-of-albany-hill/

and a bit about the cross and associated controversy:
http://albanyhill4all.weebly.com/faq.html

03/04 - Walnut Creek Open Space

This was a day that felt more like May than March...bright and clear, high 70's with a gentle breeze. The grass is still mostly green, but drying already where the soil is thin. There were very few flowers. But in places the buttercups were thick. The few fiddlenecks were taller than the ones we saw last week at Rockville Hills, but still stunted. There were a few patches of mustard. That was about it for bloom except for a few bunches of CA poppies. But green grass and new leaves provided a wide variety of colors. There were a dozen of us if you count Oscar. We made a CCW loop of about 3.7 miles from the Whitecliff TH.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/LN7868

02/26 - Rockville Hills

A good choice for today! A dozen of us visited Rockville Hills for the first time in three years. The effects of low rainfall were obvious in the short flowers, drying grass and low pond levels. However we timed the trip correctly to see the Scarlet Fritillary in bloom! It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70s. And it was Susan's birthday which called for celebration. After the walk (only a bit over 2.5 miles for most of us) we headed to Little Knopp's for ice cream before the drive home.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/ET1K66

2/19 - Huckleberry

Susan and Geoff led 15 of us on today's hike. There was a great deal of damage from the wind storm 2 weeks ago which was very discouraging. But we did see some flowers and it was an altogether lovely day to be out and moving. About 2.6 miles.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/889odT