San Lorenzo Riverwalk 2016-02-05

There is a four mile trail running on either side of San Lorenzo river before it empties into Monterey Bay right by Santa Cruz boardwalk. The trail can be accessed from several points. We had parked in Dakota Ave (between Ocean St and Soquel Ave) in Santa Cruz. Street side parking is metered, do carry some quarters with you.

Apollo and I started our walk heading north from San Lorenzo park. Do keep in mind that dogs are not allowed inside this park as well as in the "disc golf course" on the other side of the trail. In this direction, the trail goes until Hwy 1, going by an underpass at Water St.

Crossing the river by a foot bridge, we turned south at Hwy 1, walking by the west side of the river. In this stretch, the river is actually more like a creek and didn't have much water in it. For fitness enthusiasts, there is an outdoor exercise area here.

The nicely paved blacktop trail continues all the way to Santa Cruz boardwalk crossing Water St, Soquel Ave, Laurel St and Riverside St before ending in a small beach. After crossing Soquel Ave, the river suddenly widens and is flush with water all the way. I suspect it is sea water making inroads at high tide.

The walk is unmistakably a classic Santa Cruz experience. I met several folks along the way, some smoking not necessarily cigarettes, others drinking what I can only hope was beer, still others passed out at the underpasses... All this at around 9 am! We also got to see a pair of Pelagic Cormorants grooming themselves near the Riverside St underpass.

We crossed the river yet again to the east side at the boardwalk, this time by a bridge that is alongside a rail road. The beach may be small, but it certainly had character with the boardwalk, railroad bridge and homes right by the cliff overlooking the ocean.

For a brief while, the east side trail shares the sidewalk on E Cliff Dr. Otherwise, the scenery is much the same as you cross Riverside St, Laurel St and Soquel Ave to reach San Lorenzo Park by Dakota St. 

All in all, this is an easy and enjoyable 4.2 mile loop set on the levees of San Lorenzo river. As you walk this trail, you will have opportunities to slip out of the trail to enjoy a coffee or beer or lunch in the liberal city of Santa Cruz.

More pictures from our walk.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #SanLorenzoRiverWalk #SantaCruzRiverWalk

Pogonip 2016-02-03

Apollo at the Clubhouse

Pogonip is a scenic park with 8 miles of trails tucked away in Santa Cruz. Dogs are allowed in designated trails which actually includes bulk of the trail system in this park. Parking is somewhat of a challenge. The best place to park is on Golf Course Drive between River St. & the railroad. You may be lucky to find one of the handful parking spots right by the trail heads at the end of Golf Course Dr. 

Emma McCrary trail

We started our hike by Emma McCrary trail. This multi-use trail was opened couple of years ago and is very popular with mountain bikers. The dirt trail is fairly narrow and single track much of the way as it gradually climbs from the Golf Course Dr trail head to Rincon trail junction, gaining about 400 ft.

Emma McCrary rail runs parallel to a rail road on the right, pretty much all the way. Dotted by coastal oaks, redwoods, douglas firs and more, the trail is completely shaded. You will get the first of many opportunities to see the expansive meadows Pogonip has to offer about 1/2 mile into the hike on the left.

At the top, the trail comes to a junction with multiple trails. Rincon trail is the immediate left, a wider fire road that will lead you to yet another junction of multiple trails and another meadow. It was interesting to see ground fog rise from these meadows, perhaps a reason behind the name Pogonip: icy fog in Native American. 

Fern trail

We turned left here by Fern trail which starts off by going around the meadow before turning south and running parallel to Emma McCrary trail for a while. Fern trail descends gradually for a while, crosses Redwood creek before coming to Ohlone trail intersection. 

Spring trail

We turned right by Ohlone trail which has somewhat of a steep climb before leveling off and coming out of the woods. Turning right again at the next intersection, we took Spring trail and made our way back to the meadow in the north to Fern trail. That short stretch by Spring trail, a wide fire road completed a clockwise loop of about 1.5 miles.

Lime Kiln

From here, we were back on Rincon trail heading south. You have the option of covering this stretch by taking Lime Kiln trail running almost parallel to it. There are remnants of a lime kiln that you will get to see here, including the opportunity to learn about the history of lime business in mid-nineteenth century in California.

Fallen Eucalyptus

Past the kilns, we turned left by Spring Box trail to reach Brayshaw trail. The short stretch had a fallen eucalyptus tree blocking the trail, although it is possible to go around it. 

Brayshaw trail

Brayshaw, a wide gravel trail flanked by more eucalyptus trees will lead you to the ranger house first and the clubhouse next. To the right of Brayshaw trail is the prairie meadow. We took the opportunity to walk through the meadow by the Prairie trail, a short detour before reaching the clubhouse. 

Prairie trail

While most of the trails we walked today were wet and damp, typical of a winter hike after rains, the walk by Prairie trail took me back to my childhood when I had walked by the wet and damp rice fields in south India.

Lower Meadow trail

From the clubhouse, we wrapped up our hike by taking Lower Meadow trail. As the name implies, this trail also goes through an expansive meadow with impressive views of the mountains and the ocean in the distance. 

Our hike was a nice large outer loop in counter clockwise direction and a smaller loop in the clockwise direction. The outer loop started at the trail head by Emma McCrary trail, connecting to Rincon trail, Spring Box trail, Brayshaw trail, Prairie trail and Lower Meadow trail, highlighted yellow in the map. The inner loop comprised of Fern trail, Ohlone trail and Spring trail, highlighted turquoise in the map.

Involving about 700 feet climbing, this ~6.5 mile hike will be a perfect hike for those seeking a moderately challenging hike in a forest setting. If you park before the rail road crossing, you will do another 1/2 a mile to your hike.


More photos from our hike.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #Pogonip #PogonipPark

Saratoga Creek Trail 2016-02-02

Saratoga Creek Trail in West San Jose is quite close to my home that we have walked several times. The greenery from the recent rains and new trail markers encouraged me to blog it, even though this will be one of our shorter walks. The trail runs parallel to Saratoga Creek and Lawrence Expwy. Roadside parking is available at the end of English Dr (southern end of the trail) as well as Sterling Blvd & Barnhart Ave (northern end of the trail).

If you choose to do a simple out and back walk, this would be shy of a 3 mile hike. However, it is possible to make a decent 4+ mile walk by including Murdock and Saratoga Creek Parks in the hike. With an off-leash dog park available in Saratoga Creek park, this will give an opportunity for your dog to have a doggie social time too!

I started logging the walk at the intersection of English & Lyle drives on the southern end. The trail starts off as a nice gravel trail amidst a large tree covered spot by the creek.  With the reservoirs just about 41%, the creek did not have any water today, although after good rains, it does have flowing water. 

Murdock Park

About 1/2 a mile north, there is a wooden bridge on the left that would lead you to the trail entrance by Castle Glen Ave and Murdock park. Apollo and I made the side trip to Murdock park, a nice neighborhood park with the usual play areas and picnic spots. 

Returning back to the trail, I chose to go by the paved section on west of the creek. The gravel trail runs on the east side and they both join just ahead. The gravel trail makes way for a biker friendly black top trail from here. A sound wall dampening the road noise from Lawrence runs on the right most of the way.

The trail has a break at Bollinger Rd. Do exercise caution crossing this intersection at Lawrence Expwy - not all motorists exiting and entering Lawrence watch out for pedestrians. North of Bollinger, the goes about 1/2 a mile until Mitty Way before it ends. 

There are plans to connect the Saratoga Creek trail to San Tomas Aquino Creek trail in Santa Clara. We had hiked that one last May, which goes all the way until SF Bay trail. However, I would not hold my breath on this extension happening anytime soon. 

We retraced our steps back to Bollinger Rd. To throw some variety and add some distance to our walk, we crossed Lawrence and walked south by the pedestrian path (trail?) to Doyle Rd. From here, a short stretch by Forest Creek Dr got us to the entrance to Saratoga Creek park. 

More than 1/2 a mile long, this park is not very wide. At the southern end of this park is an off-leash dog area. The dog park is a decent sized one, covered with astro-turf that is popular with nearby residents and those willing to drive to it. As always, Apollo enjoyed his outing here, this time hanging around a Siberian Husky.

Saratoga Creek Park

We continued walking by the pedestrian path running parallel to Lawrence and crossed over at Prospect Rd. To complete the loop, we had to walk a short distance in Prospect Rd by a nice sidewalk in the service road and turned right on Lyle Dr opposite Prospect High School. 

Saratoga Creek trail may not be a destination place. But it is a nice 3 mile out & back trail that can be extended to make it more interesting. We ended up doing 4.4 miles in about an hour and a quarter.

More pictures from our hike.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #SaratogaCreekTrail #MurdockPark #SaratogaCreekPark

Uvas Canyon County Park 2016-01-25

Uvas Canyon County Park, a hidden gem that comes alive in winter after good rains with picturesque waterfalls provided just the perfect spot for a special hike to ear mark my 100th outing. Located at 8515 Croy Rd in Morgan Hill, the park can be reached by driving the 4+ miles in Croy Rd from Uvas Rd, passing through Sveadal, a private property belonging to Swedish American Legion. There is a $6 fee to enter the park.

Lower Falls

There are five falls by the Waterfalls Loop Trail and two outside of it. We started our hike by Swanson Creek Trail to Lower Falls, one of the two outliers. The trail goes right by Swanson Creek much of the way before going around a Indiana Jones-esque hill and a long flight of stairs before coming to the site of Lower Falls. Located where the smaller Swanson Creek and larger Uvas Creek meet, Lower Falls is a powerful waterfall in Swanson Creek, not very tall, but voluminous and impressive. 

Granuja Falls

From Lower Falls, we went back to the main road, retracing our steps. The Waterfalls Loop Trail that starts right across the road is also a nature trail. Do pick up the nature trail guide along with the park map; it will provide a great description of not just the waterfalls but also the flora by the creek and other interesting information. The trail crosses the Swanson creek more than once by wooden bridges and the first one is actually right in front of Granuja falls, the smallest falls we saw today.

Black Rock Falls

The loop trail goes on either side of Swanson creek. Water was flowing in both the hillside dry washes carrying run off from the recent rains. Black Rock falls comes next after crossing the fourth bridge over Swanson creek. From there, the trail goes by a level area called Myrtle Flats before coming up on yet another wooden bridge.

Knobcone trail

A side trip to Knobcone Point is possible from here. This is about a mile round trip, but this would involve climbing more than 400 feet in half a mile. Apollo and I did the relatively steep hike to Knobcone Point. As the trails climbs up hill, you will get to walk by the dry and sunny hillside with the sound of the water flowing receding to the background. 

Basin Falls

Right by the cut-off to Knobcone trail is Upper Falls. And to its right is Basin Falls. Both of them were impressive. I could walk right in front of Basin Falls for some excellent close up views.

Upper Falls

Instead of returning to the parking lot walking the other side of Waterfalls Loop trail, I decided to take the 1.5 mile Contour trail and extend our hike. Contour trail goes right by the Upper Falls providing yet another view of this waterfall. 

Contour trail

About 1/4 mile into the hike by Contour trail, the path crosses the creek, requiring you to walk across the fast flowing stream. It was passable today, but there are warnings to the effect that it may not always be passable. It was a gradual climb up by Contour trail before we came up on a fork and a sign asking hikers to "keep out of restricted area".

I doubt if this is a trail...

I took the fork to the right and it quickly became apparent that it was not the trail. I have marked this point in the map below with a note to stay on the left at the fork.  Back on Contour trail, it continues to ascend for a while more before going through a long stretch of easy and gentle downward slope through a heavily wooded forest. 

Manzanita Pt.

Contour trail ends at Alec Canyon trail. From here, it is possible to head back to the parking lot. Instead, Apollo and I had headed to Triple Falls, the other outlier, a 3/4 mile hike from here. Alec Canyon trail is a wide dirt trail that is much like Knobcone trail, albeit not so steep. It goes by a vista point called Manzanita Point with impressive views of the mountains surrounding the valley. 

Triple Falls

While Triple Falls did have a nice flow, it wasn't as voluminous as the previous ones we had visited. Still, the 1.5 mile round trip was certainly worth it. We wrapped our hike essentially retracing our way back to Contour trail junction and continuing further for another 1/2 mile to the parking lot. 

All in all, we did more than six and a half miles today in little over two and a half hours. The route I took today involved climbing about 1700 feet. The uphill portions are from Lower Falls all the way to Knobcone Pt. and the first 1/2 mile of Contour trail. 

More photos from my 100th hike.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #UvasCanyonCountyPark #UvasCanyonPark #WaterfallsHike 

Presidio (West Side) 2016-01-20

Presidio, located at the northern tip of San Francisco was an army post for more than two centuries. Today, it is a national park open to public with rich history, miles of hiking and biking trails with several impressive vista points overlooking the bay and San Francisco. Parking within the park is not expensive (by San Francisco standards) and is capped at $7. Free parking is also available in the streets outside of the park with posted restrictions.

Lobos Valley Overlook

We entered Presidio from the 14th Ave gate. We took the Anza trail, heading west, crossing 15th Ave and quickly coming upon Lobos Valley Overlook. From here, we continued on Anza trail to the Immigrant Point Overlook. For a while, this trail shares the sidewalk of Battery Caulfield Rd before becoming a dirt trail.

Immigrant Pt. Overlook

Immigrant Point Overlook has great views of the ocean and Marin coast, although today, visibility was low with fog. From Immigrant Point, we took the Connector trail - a long flight of steps that descends more than 200 feet to the Coastal trail.

Pacific Overlook

Coastal trail is a dirt trail and runs along the Pacific coast. In a short distance, it passes by Rob Hill on the right which has a World War II Memorial before coming to the next vista point, Pacific Overlook. You will have excellent views of Golden Gate Bridge from here as well as the next vista point.

GG Overlook

Continuing further by the Coastal trail, we came to Golden Gate Overlook with the best views of the historic bridge yet. All through, the trails pass by several erstwhile army battery buildings and other buildings that are actively used within the Presidio today.

Crissy Field

The trail goes under the GG Bridge & Toll Plaza to get us to the Welcome Center on the other side of Hwy 101. It is easy to access Crissy Field and the beach from here. We, however, stayed on Presidio Promenade and skirted by Crissy field from an elevation to come to yet another vista point, Crissy Field Overlook. 

From here, Presidio Promenade heads in a southerly direction, leaving the coast behind. All through, there are plenty of informational boards present. I was attracted to the one on Buffalo Soldiers by the Cavalry stables. It is easy to get completely absorbed in the two centuries of history in Presidio!

Cemetery Overlook

Leaving Presidio Promenade, we took the Park trail to wrap up our hike. The scenery also changes from an urban, multi-use trail to a rugged, hiking only dirt trail that goes through a thick forest. The trail also runs by the National Cemetery on the left. A short detour from the Park trail allowed us to stop by the last vista point for the day, National Cemetery Overlook. 

From here, we took the connector to the Bay Ridge trail, turning right to connect back with the Park trail at Park Blvd & Amatury Loop. Our home stretch on the Park trail passes through the Presidio Golf course before becoming somewhat non-descriptive and reaching the 14th Ave gate.

We covered the trails on the west side of the park with several impressive vista points. The park is very well directed. I have highlighted in bright yellow the trails we covered today. Feel free to print this map if you want. We will visit the Presidio to cover the east side one of these days.

More pictures from our 5.4 mile hike.
#Hiking #HikingWithDogs #Presidio #PresidioSanFrancisco #GGNRA #CoastalTrail