A very small group (7) was rewarded with perfect weather and an excellent flower display.

We expect lots of Triteleia laxa , but today there were thousands! We have usually seen the Mt Diablo Fairy Lantern along Hetherrington Tr. Today there were so may (100's) that we almost quit noticing them. And then there were the brilliant Wind  Poppies, the Mt Diablo Jewel flower, the masses of Leptosiphon (Linanthus), the Cream Sacs, etc., etc. etc.

Thank you to Shirley who introduced us to this loop!!

Just under 3.7 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/1Ezj10

04/20 - Skyline Gardens

 

It has been almost a year since we visited Skyline Gardens. There is always so much to look at in this botanically rich area. We walked down from the Steam Train parking and, at the end ,shuttled drivers back up. It is a bit more than 2.5 miles; the distance from the Fish Ranch Rd crossing to the parking area is just over a mile.

I apologize for the odd colors in some of the images. I was having camera issues (turns out the memory card was locked), so used my phone for a good deal of the walk and somehow managed to touch something that turned on color enhancement. Without my old version of Photoshop I was unable to adjust the color once I got the images onto the computer.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/R930fx

04/13 - Vaca Creek to Almond Ranch

This was a repeat of a walk Elaine led last May. The Vaca Creek trail at Stonegate was the first of the properties protected by the (then) Martinez Regional Land Trust. Almond Ranch on the ridge is one of the more recent John Muir Land Trust (current name) acquisitions. It was good to connect the two. One of the few other people we met was a mountain biker who said she loved being able to ride clear from Martinez into Briones.

We had a good sized group today...13 hikers and 3 dogs. We started from the Briones-Pine Tree Trail parking lot on Alhambra Valley Rd and followed Vaca Creek Tr to Hal Olson Tr and up to the ridge which is part of Almond Ranch. Marvelous views, beautiful clouds and even a few flowers. 4 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/F1m81F

04/06 - Perkins Canyon

 

It was a small group today, just 7 of us. We made a CCW loop, first up the hill and then across and down to Perkins Tr. We took the single track cut off which Elaine, Polly and I explored last year. There were cookies at the rest stop by the lower dam to celebrate Ed Peters' 82nd birthday. It was a short hike, about 1.5 miles, but just right for today. Car thermometers said 76 when we got back, thank goodness there was a breeze.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/1Nc57X

03/30 - Fernandez Ranch

 

There were only 7 of us on this hike as allergies, appointments and other personal issues took their toll. We hiked the reverse of our usual route, going out Windmill Tr to the top of the steep hill and then following Woodrat and Whipsnake trails across the long southern portion of the ridge and down to meet Black Phoebe trail for the last level portion. It is still quite green, but the ground is cracking in many places. There were lots of downed trees, too. Ranunculus and owl's clover were the most abundant flowers. Just under 3.5 miles

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/t86pD7

03/23 - Redwood

A nice group (12 hikers and 4 dogs) today on what had been forecast to be extra warm. Instead it started foggy and cool. But it turned into a perfect day for walking and we saw flowers we rarely/never see. Trillium ovatum was the flower of the day!! Under 3 miles.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/R3ko28

03/16 - Mt Diablo (Green Ranch)

 

 

 

This was the first hike on Mt Diablo this year, and the earliest in the year we have done the Green Ranch hike. As usual we started from the Oak Knoll picnic area, walked out the Green Ranch fire road, and after a stop for snacks at the old house site, returned via the Oak Knoll single track. It is a hike of under 3 miles but everyone on the walk will claim it felt much longer!

Plenty of green, but the south facing slopes are drying fast. Flowers are all mixed up as to bloom time and many/most which are blooming are quite small. It seems likely that that is a result of our continuing  drought. At lower elevations, along the drive up Northgate Rd, the lupine were amazing, but by the time we were above 2000', they were scattered at best. It was the same with the poppies.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/momcat_ksw/j29mL8