Baylands Nature Preserve (Sunset, Full Moon) 2015-08-29

We were back at Baylands Nature Preserve after a long break. Our previous hike here was in February and our hike today was a proper subset of what we did then. So, why did this hike merit a new blog entry rather than an update to my earlier post? Well, our walk today was one of a kind! A sunset walk in the preserve that overlapped with a full moon rise on what was a perfect blue sky summer evening and an opportunity to see wonderful birds by the bay definitely deserves a mention of its own.

Sunset today was at 7:41 pm. Apollo and I started our hike around 7 pm. The walk in Adobe Creek trail was familiar, except the setting was different. The sun was in the western horizon and the shadows were lengthening as we walked by the Baylands preserve. 

It was low tide when we walked and there were plenty of shore birds, especially American Avocets & Marbled Godwits in Charleston slough. On the other side of slough, by the wetlands called soap pond, I saw the largest gathering of American White Pelicans. The birds were seriously grooming themselves with several shorebirds and mallards giving them company.  

As the sun started setting, the sky was filled with an orange hue, providing a picturesque setting for the walk. Apollo was a willing model to pose for several pictures in the unique light setting drawing envious admiration from passers by!

After the sun had gone down, the next several minutes featured a fading deep red hue on the western horizon and light orange hue against the mountains on the eastern side. We had walked about 2 miles into the preserve by Adobe Creek trail and I decided to turn around rather than attempt a loop in the fading light.

If the breathtaking sunset was not enough, Aug 29th was a full moon day and the moon rise was at 7:42 pm, a minute after the sunset! Sure enough, over the next few minutes with the sunlight not fully gone, the full moon was breaking through the clouds on the eastern horizon. 

Slowly but surely, the moon was filling up the sky with its reflection showing up in the muddy waters of Charleston slough. Its not often one gets to see a full moon rise right after the sunset. Adobe Creek trail by full moon light took on a completely different look by 8:15 pm, painted by a dark blue hue in the ground, bright light of the moon on the sky against the backdrop of east bay city lights coming on.

By the time we reached the car at 8:30 pm, the moon was well up in the sky casting shadows with its light! We just did about 4 miles today focusing more on the scenery around us and taking in the beauty of the moment. 

I'd encourage you to check out the pictures from the evening.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #BaylandsPaloAlto #BaylandsNaturePreserve #AdobeCreekTrail #FullMoonHike #SunSetHike #SFBayTrail

Rancho Corral de Tierra 2015-08-27

The newest addition to Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), Rancho Corral de Tierra in Half Moon Bay offers panoramic views of the coast, mountains and miles of hiking trails. This nearly 4,000 acre property transferred from Peninsula Open Space Trust into GGNRA recently and is maintained by multiple agencies, including National Park Service. 

The fact that it is in early stages of development means not all trails are named. I also didn't find a map of the park when I visited today. I believe one of the best places to start exploring Rancho is from the trailheads located at the end of Coral Reef Ave in Half Moon Bay (off Hwy 1, about 4 miles north of Hwy 92).

There are two trail heads at Coral Reef Ave. We took the one of the left. The single track dirt trail looked easy enough at the start, for the first 1/2 mile or so as it made its way through a wooded area. The trail offered couple of choices along the way; we kept left, making our way to the mountains ahead of us. 

Some of the segments were dead ends - I presume these are trail segments in development. However, it was quite easy to make our way back to the main trail in the foothills section of the park.

After 1/2 a mile, the trail starts ascending up the mountains. I could clearly see the Pillar Point Bluff that we hiked earlier this month as well as Sweeney Ridge that we hiked from Shelldance Orchid Gardens staging area last month. And much like the Sweeney Ridge hike, this one is on the same mountain range with similar characteristics - steady climb up the multiple hills with short stretches of walk on ridge tops. 

Over the next mile and a quarter, we ascended nearly 800 feet. And along the way, had some awesome views of the HMB beach, Pillar Point Bluff and Mavericks beach, HMB airport and the various trails in Sweeney Ridge park. Not having a good map was a handicap, especially on a first visit to a location. 

Faced with a choice of continuing ahead in the hope of completing a loop or returning, we decided to do the latter. We had a late start today and it was a hot day. Apollo clearly indicated that he wanted to hang out more in the shade rather than trudge along when the mercury was beginning to hit mid 70s. 

If you read the map carefully, what Apollo, my daughter Sanjana and I did today was start off in San Carlos trail, head left, connect to French trail and turned around about 1/4 ~ 1/2 mile shy of Clipper Ridge trail. Our 3.5 mile hike involving an ascend of 800 feet took us about 80 minutes. 

More pictures from our hike today.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #RanchoCorralDeTierra #GGNRA

Los Alamitos Creek Trail 2015-08-25

Los Alamitos Creek Trail is a 4.7 mile multi-use trail running from Almaden Lake Park in the north to Harry Rd / McKean Rd in the south. Parking is available inside Almaden Lake Park (fee) or on the roadside at several locations. We started our walk from Almaden Park parking on Winfield Blvd (near Coleman Rd intersection) by the east entrance to the park. Dogs are allowed inside the park, but only on the east side (by Winfield Blvd). 

Almaden Lake

Our starting point, Almaden Lake Park, is a nice community park with lots of interesting facilities including a Bocce Ball Court. We walked little more than 1/4 mile by the Almaden Lake trail before connecting to Los Alamitos Creek (LAC) trail. LAC trail is paved, black-top trail running parallel to the creek. It also runs through several south San Jose residential neighborhood, so this is a well utilized trail with lots of bicyclists, joggers, walkers and dogs. 

There trail also doubles down as a fitness trail with more than 15 exercise stations. The scenery today was drab, the creek dry for most part and the foliage sporting a dull brown color. I do intend to check out this trail following the promised El Nino this winter. 

LAC trail has mile markers, with the zeroth mile just outside of Almaden Lake making it easy to track your hike. In addition, the multi-use trail has an exclusive equestrian path that is a dirt trail. On the way south, we went by the busy paved section. After Pfeiffer park, the trail crosses over to the west side of the creek, running by Camden Ave. 

Singer Park, turnaround point

It was quite impossible to make out that we passed by Pfeiffer park given how dry the vegetation was. There is a road crossing at Graystone Ln after which the trail winds close to Leland High School. Past the three mile mark, the trail reaches Singer park. We turned around at this point. 

Creekside equestrian path 

On the way back, we decided to take the equestrian path. From Singer park until the foot over bridge by Pfeiffer park, the equestrian path is a single track dirt trail running right by the creek amidst lots of trees and shade. After crossing the bridge, the equestrian path becomes a more exposed and much wider dirt trail, especially when it runs parallel to Pfeiffer Ranch Rd. 

The walk by the equestrian path provided a nice variation to our 6.4 mile walk today, although we didn't run into any horse riders. Apollo met plenty of dogs in our walk today. Located in an urban residential setting, this is a popular trail for dog owners.

And for those interested in a longer walk, LAC trail connects to Guadalupe River trail north of Almaden Lake which Apollo and I had hiked in March this year. And south of where we turned around at Singer park, the trail goes further down running on both sides of the Alamitos creek for about a mile.

More pictures from the walk today.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #LosAlamitosCreek #AlmadenLakePark

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park 2015-08-23

Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is interesting in how it is laid out: more than 5200 acres spread pretty much north/south with just one staging area in Foothill Rd, off Hwy 680. The staging area, located in the south side of the park, can be reached by taking Calaveras Rd in Sunol (if traveling north) or Castlewood Dr (if traveling south).  In addition, the north and south sides are separated by Augustin Bernal Park belonging to the city of Pleasanton.  

Kilkare Canyon

We started our hike from Oak Tree Trail. A really wide fire road, Oak Tree Trail climbs steadily as it winds up the hills. About a mile and quarter later, Oak Tree Trail cuts Ridgeline Trail (marker #5). We continued on Oak Tree Trail, descending over the next 1/2 mile or so before it reached Thermalito Trail junction (marker #8). 

Thermalito Trail

We continued north on Thermalito Trail, turning right at marker #8. Thermalito trail provides great views of the Kilkare Canyon on the left and continues the climb up Pleasanton Ridge. It also provides some much needed shade when it runs parallel to Olive Grove Trail. We stayed little more than a mile and quarter in Thermalito Trail. 

Just after marker #13, there will be a pond on the left. The drought had left the pond nearly dry with a small strip of grass around it. It provided a unique photo opportunity to see this pond laid out like this. I am sure after the next winter rains, the scene would be dramatically different!

Ridgeline Trail

We turned around at marker #15 connecting to Ridgeline Trail. We had reached the highest point of our hike today as we continued south and a gentle descend by Ridgeline Trail that runs right on top of the Pleasanton Ridge. Ridgeline trail offers fantastic views of Sunol and Pleasanton and the Livermore hills on the left.

On the way back, we cut through Olive Grove Trail before continuing on Ridgeline Trail and reaching marker #5.  Woodlands Trail provided a variation from here to reach the staging area. Apollo had a field day yet again, being able to trot leash free for most of the hike. And my daughter Sanjana had joined me in the hike today, giving me a hand keeping Apollo on check as he did his best to explore the open spaces without control.

We did nearly 6 miles today, climbing little more than 1300 feet. With very little shade, this is an ideal spring time hike or cool summer morning hike. Except Woodlands trail, all others were multi-use, dirt trails that are quite wide.

More pictures from our hike today. 

With several more miles of hiking trails available in the north side, I expect to return to this park again.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #PleasantonRidgeRegionalPark #EBRPD #ThermalitoTrail #RidgelineTrail

Sunol Regional Wilderness 2015-08-21

We were back at Sunol Regional Wilderness for the third time, our previous visits were to Little Yosemite area and Maguire Peak. We used the same staging area that we did for Little Yosemite, parking by the Visitor Center on Geary Rd (off Hwy 680 / Calaveras Rd).

My intent was to hike the Flag Hill trail and more today. From the parking lot, after crossing over the bridge, we turned left walking along Alameda creek. The junction for the trail showed up quickly enough, but there was a trail going ahead that wasn’t marked in the map. Curiosity got the better of me and I took that trail. It led to a gate demarking cattle grazing area with a scenic spot by the creek on the other side. We spent some time exploring the spot and started walking by the creek.

I knew this wasn’t a formal trail. But the walk by the creek was shaded and inviting. A very young calf stopped nursing as we approached it; with the cow and the calf giving us a cautious look, we went past them. I saw a rough dirt road come up on our right and continued on it. While it wasn’t a mapped trail, this road opened up to a nice large hillside that wasn’t difficult to climb.

I suspect that Flag Hill was on our left as we made our way through the hillside. Before long, I realized that we’d walked more than 2 miles into the cattle grazing wilderness area. Along the way, in addition to cattle grazing, we also saw deer in the open and they ran away as soon as they realized they had company.

Turnaround point

I presumably could’ve continued ahead with the hope of catching one of the named trails. But the terrain became somewhat steep and more wooded that I decided not to continue the wilderness exploration any longer. With no map and cell phone coverage, I essentially used few landmarks I’d memorized to retrace our step cross checking with the GPS map that Sports Tracker utility drew along the way.

Apollo was off leash much of this walk, thanks to the dog friendly rules in EBPRD. By the time we were back on Flag Hill trail, we’d already hiked 4.5+ miles, so I decided to wrap the walk with the Shady Glen trail loop.  Shady Glen is a single track dirt trail little more than ½ mile long. It connects to Hayward Rd and loops back to the trail head by the Visitor Center.

Going off trails is not recommended in general and discouraged/prohibited in certain parks. What we did though was use reasonably well-formed trails in the cattle grazing hillside. Our unplanned 5.3 mile excursion in the wilderness was absolutely enjoyable and will probably work for those with a sense of adventure.

More pictures from our hike.

#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #SunolWilderness #SunolRegionalWilderness #ShadyGlenTrail #EBRPD

Sanborn County Park (Skyline Trail) 2015-08-18

Sanborn County Park is located in the city of Saratoga. Apollo and I hiked the Skyline Trail that runs by the Skyline Blvd. I'd parked at the Indian Rock entrance that is directly across Castle Rock State Park on Hwy 35 / Skyline Blvd 2.5 miles south of its junction with Hwy 9 from Saratoga.

Right at this entrance, there is a short loop around various rock formations in Indian Rock area. Set amidst coast redwood, madrone and oak, the unusual rock formations were quite something. Sometimes, the rocks and trees were so close to each other that it would seem like the trees and rocks were fused together! You will find one such unusual rock/tree near the Indian Rock entrance. 

Apollo was eager to check out as many of them as possible, showing no hesitation if I encouraged him to climb some rocks that were easy and safe. 

We took the Skyline Trail, traveling south. The trail is set on a ridge, is fairly level with occasional gentle grade. The trail winds parallel to Skyline Blvd and has more access points from Skyline Blvd. It was a warm summer day; yet, the trail was completely shaded making it an easy morning hike. 

We walked until the Sanborn trail junction, nearly 2 miles from where we started and turned around. The sign said dogs are not allowed in Sanborn trail. Given how warm it was going to get, I decided not to go into the newly opened John Nicholas trail today. Instead, I decided to go north of the where we started to check out Summit rock. 

We made our way back to the entrance and continued north on Skyline Trail. Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the Summit loop trail; nor are they allowed 1/2 a mile north of the Indian Rock entrance. We had to turn around and make our way to the trail head. 

Still, this was a respectable 5 mile hike which we completed in about 100 minutes. Sanborn park has several more miles of trails, and I intend to check out more of it over time. And the next time, I will definitely have a bug repellent - this hike takes the honors for "bugging" me the most!

More pictures from our hike today.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #SanbornCountyPark #SanbornPark #SkylineTrail #IndianRock

Shoreline Area, Mountain View, 2015-08-14

Apollo and I  hiked the Stevens Creek Trail in June, but we had turned around at Hwy 101. There is a portion of this trail north of 101 that allows dogs. Picking up from the trail head located at the end of La Avenida St. in Mountain View (off Shoreline Rd), Apollo & I improvised an interesting hike today.

Dogs are allowed on Stevens Creek Trail only until Crittenden Ln. This stretch of the trail is a paved, multi-use segment shared by cyclists and pedestrians. Built on a levee and running by the Stevens Creek, this is a busy trail on weekends and weekdays alike. A cloudy and cool start to the day made it easy for us to jog portions of our hike.

We turned left onto Crittenden Ln from the trail. The half-mile stretch on this road runs by Google office buildings initially before coming up on an open stretch of hillside, part of the Shoreline Nature Habitat. There is a dirt trail system in the hills, but dogs are not allowed in there.

I turned right on Shoreline Rd. A quarter-mile walk will get you to  Shoreline Park. While dogs are not allowed in the park, there is a dog park right by the entrance to Shoreline Park. It is one of the cleanest dog parks I've seen. It wasn't crowded when we went there, but there were a couple of dogs with whom Apollo had a field day playing chase.

From here, we walked back on Shoreline Rd towards the city, with Shoreline Amphitheater on our right. There is a fitness circuit trail on the left which can be accessed from Shoreline Rd as well as Charleston Rd. Apollo and I did a portion of the trail before heading back on Shoreline Rd.

We completed the loop to the La Avenida trailhead walking by the Computer History Museum, making it a 3.8 mile hike. This is a completely flat and easy loop that includes the Stevens Creek Trail, Shoreline Dog Park, and a walk by Google office buildings amidst the tree-lined Shoreline Rd. 

Few more pictures from our hike today.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #StevensCreekTrail #ShorelineDogPark










Update 2015-08-19

Apollo and I repeated this hike with couple of minor variations. From La Avenida trailhead, it is possible to hike right by the creek as opposed to the paved blacktop road on top of the levee. The gravel trail is at the same level Stevens Creek is at. It is preferred by some joggers and has the advantage of lighter traffic, especially as there are no bicycles.

The second variation we tried today was to skip the dog park and do the fitness circuit trail completely. The 1 mile fitness trail is a loop with entry possible from Shoreline Rd and Charleston Rd. I tried my hand at some of the exercise spots with Apollo paying disinterested attention to what I was doing!

I've also augmented the album with a handful of photographs from our 3.9 mile walk today.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #StevensCreekTrail #FitnessTrail