hiking

March 27, 2016

The Markham arboretum in glorious Spring colors

What a difference a few storms made at the Markham arboretum, now wearing its vibrant Spring blues, greens and reds from blade of grass to treetop. The Galindo Creek meandering through the gardens remains a few feet at its deepest, hummingbirds have begun their courtships, but the countdown to summer has already begun.

The following photos were all taken yesterday during the course of a single walk through, taking advantage of the blooms we waited months to see. There were over twenty of them, so we decided to arrange them in a slide show for convenience. Below, that, you’ll find a short video of Anna’s hummingbirds courting.

The female hummingbird perched at the very top of a tree, is being buzzed by a male. The chirping sound you hear as he passes by is made by fanning out his tail feathers.

December 16, 2015

Mount Diablo: rock of Doom

They say Mount Diablo got its name from a WTF moment in local lore, dating back from the early 19th century. In 1805, a small contingent of Spanish troops encircled a group of Native Americans, who managed to disappear without a trace using their evidently superior knowledge of the land. It’s only natural that the people who brought us the Inquisition decided the Devil was at play, and so they named the place Monte del Diablo, which some translate as Thicket of the Devil. Later, monte was mistakenly translated as mount and thus the mountain gained its current name.

As the crow flies, we now live about five miles or so from Mount Diablo, which makes it a semi-regular destination for us. On weekdays, when most folks are at work, the drive to the top is fairly relaxed and fun. I say fairly relaxed because you still have to pay close attention to other traffic, bicyclists in particular, especially near blind curves. As well, along some stretches, the road drops off abruptly, which causes fearful drivers to wander across the median dangerously.

The fun comes from spotting wildlife and the play of light on distant hills, which offers quite a spectacle on overcast and stormy days. On the drive to the top, there are many spots where to pull over and take in the sights, some with tables, benches and grills, even. From there, it is easy to see how much concealment the terrain offers wildlife or the unfortunate injured hiker at times. As close to “civilization” as Mount Diablo is, and as unimposing its elevation may appear at 3849 feet, the park’s 20.000 acres is deceptively smooth and tranquil. But just as Mount Tamalpais and its potentially treacherous Cascade Falls trail has risks, so does Diablo. And this is due in large part to both traffic and complacency.

Some of the photos in this blog post were taken as a storm system was moving through the area, giving you a sense of the textures the park offers and why it has become one of our favorites. It never fails to remind me of “Picnic at Hanging Rock”…

May 2, 2011October 19, 2013

Welcoming Spring: grills, bills and thrills

The cats have been feeling their oats lately, playing just a bit more vigorously than usual and sleeping just as hard…

We’ve been going out more and more ourselves, spending most of this past Saturday at Golden Gate Park, starting with grilled fish, shrimp and carne asada in the meadow across from Mallard Lake. We had marinated the shrimp in a mix of Clementine-tangerine juice mixed with lime juice, brown sugar, thinly sliced shallots and shredded ginger which all came out deliciously fresh tasting.

Filets of sole and carne asada, with blackened seasoning on the fish.

Grilled peppers and beer, dried bread crumbs for our hosts.

Three hours later, we took a stroll around Mallard Lake where we saw this beautiful Blue Heron:

Looking for parking around the Arboretum, I decided to drive around Stow Lake where we saw these geese with their goslings:

Finally, the arboretum with so many flowers in bloom:

October 31, 2010October 26, 2013

Hiking the Bay Area trails: Russian Ridge

Russian Ridge is a part of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. This district manages more than 60,000 acres in 26 preserves. Of these 26 preserves, 24 are open to the public for hiking, cycling, and horseback riding. They are free to the public and open year round from dawn until dusk.

Continue reading “Hiking the Bay Area trails: Russian Ridge”

September 25, 2010October 19, 2013

Hiking up Sweeney Ridge

In 1769, Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola was looking for Monterey Bay. Having missed it, he anchored off of what is now Pacifica. Short on food and water, Portola and a group climbed to the top of what is now known as Sweeney Ridge. It is where the first documented sighting of San Francisco Bay occurred. Previously, everyone had missed the bay due the the fog.

Sweeny Ridge is located in Northern San Mateo county and is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area or GGNRA. You can find out how to get there by going here. Do be sure to dress warmly. The wind is always blowing at the top and it can be quite chilly.

This is the start of the trail at the end of Sneath Lane. The climb is gentle at the start, but the trail does get steep later on.

This is the road that leads to the San Andreas Lake. It is off limits to everyone.

This is the beginning of the fog line. That’s the line down the center of road. The road is only one lane wide, and it was almost impossible to navigate without the fog line. I neglected to mention that the road leads to an old military installation. The trail gets pretty steep after this point.

This is about halfway up and looking back at San Andreas lake.

At the top, the views are stunning. The East Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains, Pacific Ocean, and North Bay are all visible from the top. This is looking to the West at the Pacific.

The trail will lead you to the monument that commemorates the Portola Expedition and their sighting of the bay.

This is a nice view of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the South.

Sweeney Ridge is a great place to hike. There are two other trails to the top. One starts in Pacifica and the other starts at Skyline College. Whichever trail you choose, it’s worth it. The views are stunning.

September 2, 2010October 19, 2013

Hiking San Francisco’s Fort Funston

A friend commented on our blog that it needed more dog. Since we needed to go for a good walk and fresh air anyway, we went out looking for some canines.

Our destination was Fort Funston. It’s located south of Ocean Beach in San Francisco and adjacent to Lake Merced. Fort Funston is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) and operated under the authority of the National Park Service. I should also mention that it’s FREE, and in this economy, “free” is just fine with me.

Fort Funston parking is just off of Skyline Blvd. south of John Muir Drive. If you are coming from the north, it’s about a half mile south of the intersection. If you are coming from the south, you will need to go to the intersection and make a u-turn. The road for Fort Funston is signed.

Fort Funston once housed military batteries. Now, it’s host to scores of dogs and dog walkers. It is one of the premier “off leash” places in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also, due to the Funston Shear, as it’s called, it is very popular with hang gliders. Fort Funston ranks as a Hang III (intermediate) site. There is wheelchair access to the observation deck and upper trails. There is no wheelchair access to the beach.

The main trail to the beach is adjacent to the hang gliding landing zone. There is a dog watering station at the trail head. Fort Funston Dog has all the information you need to go have fun with your dog.

Once at the trail head, you head south to the sand ladder which is made of logs linked together by cables. It makes it easier to descend the dunes without causing erosion.

This trail is steep and full of loose sand. It’s not long but taxing, especially on the way back up. Be sure to make regular stops along the trail to take in the view. Do be sure to carry drinking water with you.

………………………………………………………Once at the beach, you’ll see scores of dog walkers. Some are professional dog walkers and others are just humans taking their dogs out to play in the surf.

……………………………………………..I must point out that the beach can be dangerous. I would advise against wading as rip currents are common, as are sneaker waves: those odd, larger waves that come unexpectedly. Don’t turn your back on the water.

………………………………………………………………………………You don’t need to have a dog to enjoy the beach and trails at Fort Funston: the beach is beautiful and is fun for bird watching. Riders on horseback can also be seen along the shore. All in all, it’s a truly lovely place to visit.

A word of caution: On August 19, a dog named Lenny was out with his human when a man stabbed him. You can find the story here. Lenny survived the attack, thank goodness. The attacker has been identified, but there has been no arrest yet, so be vigilant.

August 20, 2010October 19, 2013

Beyond the Golden Gate: a short hike through Pinnacles National Monument, California

Most of our hikes have been within about a 70 miles radius from the San Francisco peninsula, so this day trip to Pinnacles Monument, 145 miles to the South of San Francisco and just East of the Salinas Valley, promised to offer something different. Well accustomed as we are to the greenery of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (G.G.N.R.A.), I was particularly keen on visiting what I expected to be a blend between the Bay’s woods and forests and the California desert.

Much of the landscape on the way there bears the marks of seismic activity spread over many centuries and Pinnacles itself is so named because of the spectacular jutting remnants of the long extinct Neenach volcano.

We arrived at the park after an early lunch in Hollister and promptly bought more bottled water at the visitors’ store as the sun was almost directly overhead by then. Even in March, and although it had rained in the previous couple of days, you can never have too much water outdoors.

In addition to some unique geological features, the park is also one of very few places where one can observe California Condors in the wild, thanks to outstanding efforts to re-establish the species. They remain one of the main attractions of the park and we spent a good while learning about them and conservancy efforts from the volunteers at the visitor center.

From the Bear Gulch visitor center, we set out onto the Moses Spring trail:

This took us to the Bear Gulch talus caves, which are the result of huge rocks tumbling down narrow gorges during massive earth tremors. Thankfully, it is possible to exit the caves in several places, since in some spots, water was ankle deep and the low ceiling would force us to our knees. Navigating, or rather, contorting through the narrow, claustrophobic passages, I kept thinking we might enact a 30 seconds or less version of “a bug’s life” with a tragic ending should the earth decide to move again, but at least it wouldn’t be thirst we’d die of:
And from there, we climbed up stairs to the Bear Gulch reservoir, a nice place to catch your breath and stretch, where the views are both serene and spectacular:

Hiking the Rim trail was an easy walk away from the reservoir, with plenty of interesting rock formations along the way back to the High Peaks trail, not to mention views very much reminiscent of old Disney nature documentaries. Although we took the High Peaks trail a couple hundred yards towards Hawkins’ peak, we managed to catch sight of only one Condor gliding high above, but were too unsteady to get a clear picture (sorry!). For more information on this national treasure, check this National Park Service link:http://www.nps.gov/pinn/

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