Day Hike: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness Loop

Finally, I went on my first secluded mid-week day hike. On Thursday I hiked in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. I had never been there before and was intrigued by a former coworker commenting that his friends abandoned ship after only a couple miles in this park claiming it was too steep for them. I'm not sure if this was the route he took his friends on, and being in the East Bay hills I was expecting plenty of up and down, but it wasn't anything yours truly couldn't handle. It ended up being short and sweet with just enough steep ascent to get my heart thumping. Hike Stats: Date: November 19, 2008 Location: CA, Bay Area, Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, San Ramon Lat/Long: 37.81600189, -122.0496292 Trailhead: Staging Area End of Bollinger Canyon Rd. Facilities: toilets, picnic area, no drinking water or phone Trails Hiked: Bollinger Creek Loop, Las Trampas Ridge, Corduroy Hills, Las Trampas Ridge, Chamise, Bollinger Mileage: 3.75 Elevation: +/-881' ; lo pt 1,049'; hi pt 1,736' Route Type: Loop (w/ side trip spur to Eagle Peak bench) Terrain: single track & fire/ranch roads, cow ruts and mud potential, Corduroy Hills Trail steep in spots with rock & gravel. Flora: Oak Woodland & Grassland/Savanna, Chaparral, Riparian (winter/spring) Why Go?: Ridgetop, wide views; Geology, faulting, uplift, fossils; Dog friendly. Caveat: Cows = cattle gates & deep mud when wet Official Website: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness View the entire photo album here at flickr.
(Click for a larger view.)
Change of Plans Actually driving to Mount Diablo S.P. for a 7-mile summit loop hike, I noticed that the air quality was lousy and I wanted to reserve that hike for a crisp, clear day. Remembering that Las Trampas was very close to Mount Diablo, I switched on my GPS and told it to lead the way to the Las Trampas trailhead. But after arriving at my new destination, I realized it too might be better on a crystal clear day as most of the trails in Las Trampas head up for the many surrounding ridges with wide-angle views.
Panorama from Eagle Peak on a spur trail that breaks to the right off of Corduroy Hill Trail. There's a little hidden bench here facing east to facilitate taking in the view of Mount Diablo and the San Ramon Valley. (Notice the smog and haze.)
Flora Identification I brought my pocket-sized Pacific Coast Tree Finder with me this time, as usually I end up not being able to identify a tree after I get home despite taking a photo of it. I was glad I brought this little booklet. Along Bollinger Creek Loop Trail I added two new trees to my native plant repertoire: Northern California Black Walnut and Oregon Ash. Amongst the plants I already recognize were bigleaf maple, California buckeye, plenty of various oaks, bay laurel, and madrone trees. And on the higher trails were coyote brush, chamise, black sage (trail perfume!), lupine, pink flowering current, and toyon a.k.a. christmas berry.
	Northern California Black Walnut—Juglans californica var. hindsii
	Oregon Ash—Fraxinus latifolia (not the small tree in the foreground. I couldn't figure that one out.)
Fall is Where You Find It Those that say California doesn't have a fall season don't get out and hike much. California may not have the in-your-face color and temperature drop-off of the East Coast but the seasonal signs are here for those who bother to notice. Besides the quick set-of-the-sun behind Rocky Ridge and yet-to-be-filled, bone-dry Bollinger creek, other fall season signs at Las Trampas included pretty orange bigleaf maple foliage, the above mentioned yellowing walnut and ash trees, naked California buckeyes with their giant fuzzy green splitting seed pods, dangling bunches of dimpled blood-orange madrone berries, the smooth bright-red toyon berry clusters, the fuzzy cream-white blooms of coyote brush, the burnt-orange sprays of spent chamise blooms, even some yellowing cottonwoods. All-in-all a nice little fall hike in a nice little park. I will definitely return this winter to see Bollinger Creek flowing and what's on the other side of Rocky Ridge.
(Click for larger: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness loop hike topo map.)

Okay So I Gave In

Instead of hosting this blog on my paid webhosting service's servers, I decided to have this hosted on Google's servers. This gives me the option to add all sorts of doodads and thingamajigs without having to work or think too hard (if at all). However I commit to this with trepidation due to a loss of control and the fact that I can't backup all my work so easily now... I guess only the future will tell whether or not this was a good idea.

Day Hike: Redwood Regional Park Loop II

Being one of the unemployed masses means I can hike when the gainfully employed world is stuck in their grayish beige cubes. This epiphany motivated me to get off my butt on a Friday afternoon and go on a local hike. Previously, on a rainy gray day I had done the mirror version of this hike, so I wanted to explore the "other side" figuratively and literally and start out at the opposite end of the park on a warm, dry (and windy) November day. Hike Details Date: November 14, 2008 Location: CA, Bay Area, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland Lat/Long: 37.8317, -122.18544 Trailhead: Skyline Gate TH Facilities: restrooms, drinking water, pay phone Trails Hiked: West Ridge, French, Mill, & Stream Mileage: 5.5 Elevation: +/-1,060' ; lo pt 735'; hi pt 1,345' Route Type: Loop Terrain: double track (small rocks); single track (roots); and then more well-maintained double track Why go?: Oak Woodland/Pine, Redwood Forest, & Riparian plant communities; dark forest feel at canyon bottom, spawning trout in Redwood Creek and newts in wet season, dog friendly park. East Bay Regional Parks official website: Redwood Regional Park
	Trailhead at Skyline Gate. Eucalyptus and pine trees, but no redwoods here. (I started on the high road and returned via the low.)
One is Never Alone My hopes of being a solo trail hog were soon dashed as I pulled into the VERY FULL trailhead parking lot. Either the economy is crappier then the government is letting on (which it is) or there are a lot of independently wealthy outdoor enthusiasts (I wish I was) or many people only work a half-day on Friday (I feel robbed for all those years of 8-hour Fridays) or who knows. All I know is I was not going to be alone this weekday. A bonus note is that many of these work truants traveling the trails owned big happy friendly dogs—and I love big happy friendly dogs.
	Pretty trail through the oaks.
Deep Dark Forest Starting out on a ridge at the Skyline Gate staging area, across the street from multi-million dollar bay-view homes, you wouldn't quite understand why this park is called Redwood Regional as you mostly see pine and eucalyptus trees ahead of you. And continuing down West Ridge Trail, you enter oak woodland filled with lots of California hazelnut, bay laurel trees, madrone trees, oak trees, huckleberry bushes, pine (not sure if they are Monterey or knobcone, but definitely pine) and many others. But descend farther, and the oak and madrone trees become older, the underbrush sparser, and the sunlight dimmer. As you get closer to the bottom of the ridge it gets much darker, and suddenly, you are amongst those giant conifer trees—Sequoia sempervirens a.k.a Coast Redwood, hundreds of feet tall, blocking out the majority of light. It feels as if you've entered a fairy-tale forest—moist, dark and cool.
	Oak trees on French Trail as I'm getting closer to the dark canyon floor.
	In the dark forest amongst redwood trees near the intersection of French and Tres Sendas trails.
Diablo Winds Today, due to the warm, dry air, this moist, dark coolness is welcomed, however it is accompanied with danger. The "Diablo Winds"— S.F. Bay Area's version of southern California's Santa Ana winds—are blowing hard. This weather phenomenon, like the Santa Ana's, is a dry, warm wind that comes out of the state's interior usually during the driest season of the year—fall. But when I speak of danger, I'm not talking about what most people think—fire; I'm talking about what loggers like to call "widow makers". Redwood trees have a self-pruning method that employs the help of winds. When their lower branches die and become a heavy burden, they usually get knocked off during a strong wind. Some of these branches are the size of a lesser tree's trunk. Hence, getting knocked in the head by one of these "widow makers" is a good way to get yourself injured or killed. While passing under these swaying giants, I kept an eye on the sky and my fingers crossed.
(Redwood Regional Park loop hike topo map. Click for larger.)

It's a newt!

PB090416
Originally uploaded by bondgurl

Taricha granulosa
Rough-skinned Newt

This little guy was cruising around the nasty porta-potties at Muir Beach.

Apparently they have a toxin so poisonous that if ingested (who's going to eat a newt?) it can cause paralysis and death even in large animals including us humans. However, Garter Snakes are apparently resistant to this toxin and can gobble up this little newt no problem. These small amphibians chill along the U.S. West Coast from Santa Cruz north to Alaska.

Check out the hike photo album click here.

Day Hike: Muir Beach, Green Gulch, Marin Headlands Loop

PB090432
Originally uploaded by bondgurl

Since I was a having a week (being laid-off and all) Mary decided she would take the reins and plan a day hike for us. It was short but still a good workout and peaceful, and she also treated to a tasty lunch buffet after at a nearby nice English pub / cottage / restaurant: The Pelican Inn. (I think I could have eaten myself to death on their stilton cheese and French bread.)
Day Hike Notes:

• Date: November 9, 2008
  
• Location: CA - Bay Area - Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Marin Headlands
  
• Lat/Long: 37.86080933 -122.5752182 (NAD83 / WGS84)
  
• Trailhead: Muir Beach
• Facilities: portable toilets, no water
  
• Trails Hiked: Green Gulch, Coyote Ridge, Coastal Trail Fire Road
  
• Mileage: 4.5
  
• Elevation: +/- 888'; lo pt 16'; hi pt 903'
  
• Route Type: loop
  
• Trail Terrain(s): fire/dirt road double track; single track; muddy after storm in spots; some overgrown spots
  
• Other: coastal scrub / chaparral; green gulch farm / zen center; beach at trailhead; ocean views, some city & bay views, mostly exposed, windy on upper coast-facing ridges

View my photo album for this hike here.

click for larger map