Hiking To Heaven

The Elkhorn Slough

2008-11-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

We had planned to rent kayaks and paddle up the Elkhorn Slough, which is 7 miles long. It was during that stretch of 80 degree weather that we had in November and it was gorgeous. We got there too late though, since the boats had to be back at 4:30. So we drove to the headquarters of the Slough and went for a walk along the periphery of the slough at the upper end. It had been a very high tide that day and some of the trail had been underwater at its peak, but it was fairly low tide when we were there. They have kayak outfits that will take you and your kayak to the top of the Slough in vehicles and drop you off to paddle back down to the ocean. Next time.

This was all broken bottles that you can see at low tide from evil litterers from by gone days

You can see the twin smoke stacks from the Moss Landing power plant in the distance.

This is some kind of artistic design next to a pond. Alot of it is made from sea shells.

The Grand Canyon

2008-11-22T13:55:00.001-08:00

The last leg of our trip through Southern Utah and Northern Arizona was the Grand Canyon. It's over 200 miles long! We didn't have much time here so we weren't able to actually descend into the canyon so we hiked along the edge. We stayed in a hotel in a town just outside the park limits, called Tusayan.

We hiked out to this point just to scare Dan's mom. We bought a book about all the people who have died here at the canyon.

You can see the Colorado River down inside the canyon.

Antelope Canyon Walk

2008-10-23T21:22:00.001-07:00

Antelope Canyon is a few miles outside of Page, Arizona which is where Lake Powell is. The Canyon is on Navajo property so they manage the area and the canyon can only be seen by going on one of their tours. We drove out on one of their open air trucks and the trip includes a couple of miles on a dirt road. There are no services there--no Visitor's Center, no restrooms and no gift shops, just this canyon. All these pictures were taken with natural light and have not been photo-enhanced. It is one of the most amazing places we've seen.

This is the first thing you see upon entering the canyon. It is a sandstone mountain and this "slot canyon" was cut by flash floods. There is no water anywhere near here except during flash floods. The floor is sand and is exceptionally clean.

Here someone threw some sand up on the ledge and it floated down like a waterfall.

This was taken outside the back end of the canyon. It's 1/4 mile up and 1/4 mile back.

Dan

Cheryl

The back entrance of the canyon

In most of these pictures the light is at the top and they were taken looking upwards.

Just a narrow slit at the top

The front entrance to the canyon

On the vehicle which brought us to the canyon.

Canyons 2008

2008-10-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

October 2008: Dan, Cheryl and I visited 3 canyons in southern Utah and northern Arizona. The first was Zion's National Park. We "hiked the Narrows." This is where you hike a mile up a trail which ends in the Virgin River. You can then hike in the river for up to 14 miles or so. We went 3 miles up and 3 miles back. The river is only hikeable at certain times of the year because it is either too deep or too cold. October is one of the best times. The water is about 55 degrees and is thigh high at the deepest. We were outfitted with special water clothes--neoprene socks, water boots, dry pants and a hiking stick. The pants are waterproof and have a tight rubber band around the ankles and the waist. Your feet get wet but stay warm and your legs stay dry. The hiking stick is essential as the river bed is mostly boulders and you must take care with every step, least you fall, which I did once, but fortunately my camera stayed dry. When the water was deep I was too busy trying to keep my balance to take any pictures, so it may look like the water is shallow all the way. The main danger of hiking in the river is the risk of flash floods. At the outfitter place they had a sign which said that signs that a flash flood is about to occur is debris floating in the river, including hikers! Fortunately it was a beautiful, perfectly clear day and we saw no bodies floating. Alot of people did enter the river in their street clothes and even leather shoes, especially at the start of the hike. As we got further up the canyon we had it more to ourselves.

This is the canyon wall with sand dissolving on the rock.

I like to think of this striped rock as dark and milk chocolate stains.

This is the typical river bed in a shallow portion.

This is a side canyon, called Orderville Canyon. It is not the right way to go. Turn around, Dan.

At the narrowest, the canyon is 10 feet wide.

Cheryl and Janeen before we descended into the river.

I'm not sure what caused the gold coating on these rocks. It was not an optical illusion as we first suspected.

Cheryl is a direct descendent of water creatures and feels most content when she can return to her primal home.

This is near the end of our hike where we turned around.

The rapids were very hard to walk in and we avoided them when we could.

Dan is impressed.

Buzzard's Roost, Big Basin State Park

2008-10-14T23:36:00.001-07:00

This was a gorgeous fall day for a 5 mile hike in Big Basin, beginning at 1000 feet elevation at the park headquarters and ending at 2150 feet. A 360 degree view of the ocean to the west and the Skyline hills to the east were breathtaking. Shannon, Andrea and I made the trek.

Horrid Hike!

2008-09-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? A mountainside of prickly pear cactus!
This hike was 6 miles south of Carmel, in Garapatta State Park. Guess what Garapatta means? It means "tick" in Spanish. Lovely place. The trail guide said this 7 mile hike was for "serious hikers." No, not serious, just insane! The trails were not maintained and were extremely steep, 20 - 30% grades, full of rocks and loose soil. These pictures are not in the right order, of course, but it started at the coast and went up to 1450 feet. The views would have been spectacular had it not been foggy. Every hill we saw and thought was the summit, had a higher hill beyond it and the trail just kept ascending.
Could this cactus be native? Would anyone actually plant it?
Starting out at the base of the mountain range. See that peak? Not the top. 4 peaks beyond that one.

Near the end of the trail it descended into a creek canyon (Sobranes Creek) and there we saw Redwoods. Whooppee!

Ever heard of noxious weeds? What better combination than cactus and poison oak!

The view from the summit. We had to climb down into the first valley, up the range again and down into the 2nd valley. We had enough uphill and were ready for a little downhill . . .

And down we went.
The last valley below.
Now we were cursing downhill. Couldn't we go uphill? Ouch, our legs were like jelly. And it continued for MILES!!

This old barn was the coolest thing on the hike!
A view of the coast from the start of the hike.
We looked back fondly on this uphill stretch.
Another view of the downhill trek.
At least the fog kept it cool. Curses on Monterey County hiking!

Hiking with Ben and the Jensens

2008-08-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ben was visiting from Portland for the week and Sharon, Jeff, Michelle and Hailee were here from Utah. Sunday, August 31, was hiking day. We went on two hikes. The first one was just Ben and me and we hiked in the Long Ridge Open Space Preserve. Ben prefers urban hikes because he doesn't like dirt, and enjoys the sounds of the city. Too bad, I wanted him to see where I love to go. The second hike was with the Jensens, along with Nathan, Ben and Jeanette. We hiked in Mt Hermon around the Bean Creek canyon.

This is Bean Creek.
We had to cross on some logs to get from one side of the canyon to the other.

Fueling up for the hike. Jeanette, Nathan and Ben
Dan and Hailee reading about animals we might encounter on the hike, like polar bears!

Ben on the trail.
Zayante Creek boat dock. A weird algae has taken over the creek.
The hiking group assembled.
Hailee didn't last long. Jeff and Michelle carried her most of the way.
Jeanette and Ben.

View from Long Ridge Trail
Another view from Long Ridge Trail
The "Sunset Trail", an illegal trail, heading into the private property where we were shot at. I was curious to see if the trail had been obliterated or if there had been warning signs posted. It looked more traveled than ever!
View from Hickory Oaks Trail. I think this is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.

Timberlakes Hike

2008-08-21T22:02:00.001-07:00

We spent the weekend after Sunstone at Cheryl's house in Timberlakes, east of Heber, Utah. It is in an aspen forest at about 7500 foot elevation. We could tell there wasn't as much oxygen there! We walked about 3 miles to the upper portion of Timberlakes.
This bull moose spent a couple of hours in one spot, eating yummy aspen shoots. He didn't seem to care much about us.
Some of us aren't hikers and preferred to take the ATV's. Michelle and Sharon.
Jeff and Hailee
Jeff, Sharon, Jan, Cheryl and Dan not hiking. This was at Zermot resort in Midway.
One of the things we like best about Utah are the cloud formations.
These aspens were fatter than usual. I have the feeling that aspens are not long-lived trees.
A lake in Timberlakes belonging to the LDS church girls' camp
Rain in the distance. Summer rain is a novelty for us Californians.
Here's Mr. Moose from a distance. Apparently the males don't get aggressive until later in the fall.

Loma Prieta Epicenter Hike

2008-08-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

This time of year the Forest of Nissene Marks is pretty dusty. This wasn't a particularly pretty hike. Unfortunately this park was so heavily logged that it has no first growth trees and is nothing like Big Basin. It was late in the day, there wasn't much light, but we mainly wanted to see the site of the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The hike was 4.2 miles round trip. You have to cross the creek on boulders twice up and twice back. The trail is called the Aptos Creek Trail, but parts of it I have renamed the Poison Oak Trail.
I came this close!

Trail to the Epicenter

More Aptos Creek Trail

I kind of expected to see a big gash in the earth at the Epicenter, but it's not nearly that dramatic.

Many redwoods were broken off at the tops during the quake due to the violent swaying of the trees. This is a pile of broken trees that had washed down the creek.

Janeen at the Epicenter.

Book Club Hike

2008-07-31T21:51:00.001-07:00

Thursday, July 31, 2008

We met at the Saratoga Gap parking lot and drove to the trailhead at LR10. We hiked up to the ridge off Skyline to the Wallace Stegner Bench. It was perfect weather and a beautiful evening for a picnic and a short tribute to Wallace Stegner and his vision of "The Wilderness." We were appreciative of being able to feel the truth of his words when he wrote, "And so that never again can we have the chance to see ourselves single, separate, vertical and individual in the world, part of the environment of trees and rocks and soil, brother to the other animals, part of the natural world and competent to belong in it. " On the bench is inscribed another quote from the Wilderness Letter. It says " . . . to try to save for everyone, for the hostile and indifferent as well as the committed, some of the health that flows down across the great ridges from the Skyline, and home of the beauty and refresment of spirit that are still available to any resident of the valley who has a moment, and the wit, to lift up his eyes unto the hills." We basked in the peacefulness of this beautiful spot until the sun began to set and we decided to get a better look at the sunset. We hiked through the high grass to the edge of the hills.

And this is where WE WERE SHOT AT!! We had inadvertently wandered off onto private property and some maniac starting shooting at us with a shot gun! Even though it was bird shot, it hit several of us, including Kathy in the face! Even though we turned around and left, he continued to shoot at us repeatedly, and continued even when we had reached the Stegner Bench again. For most of us, it was our first time being shot at, but for Kathy and Ian, it was just another adventure!
On the way back to the car Ian found a Geo-Cache which was a little toy figurine and replaced it with a book mark of the Stegner Bench that Andrea had made for all of us. It was a hike we won't soon forget.

Carmel Walking Tour

2008-07-11T23:06:00.001-07:00

Saturday, July 5, 2008: We went on a walking tour of Carmel with a bunch of other "mature" people. (and dogs). Carmel is very dog-friendly and are allowed in many restaurants and hotels. We went through several hidden courtyards downtown (there are 60) and through restaurants and art galleries. Afterwards we drove to the Carmel Mission and then out to dinner at the Mission Ranch, a dairy farm which has been restored by Clint Eastwood. As usual, the pictures are somewhat out of order.

An outdoor hallway at the Carmel Mission
One of the outbuildings at the Mission.

The Mission Bell
This is a genuine thatched roof, the only one in Carmel.

Trumpet vines in the foreground of the Mission

Carmel Mission, Father Serra's favorite.

I

I love this picture. It looks like a watercolor.

The Mission Courtyard.

A very old lintel above the door. (Probably not redwood!)

Stained glass window, not at the Mission, but at the Methodist Church, which of course, allows dogs in its service.

Jeanette and Janeen in the Mission Courtyard.

Father Serra's sarcophagus

Door to one of the smaller chapels

Mass was being held in the Mission Chapel

The original home of the architect who popularized this style of house in Carmel.

Casanova Restaurant.

In one of the courtyards.

Doris Day's Dog Hotel. It's called the Cypress Inn, I think.

This is Van Gogh's table where he ate in Paris. One can dine at this table for a price.

The Elkhorn Slough

2008-07-09T22:27:00.001-07:00

Sunday, July 6, 2008. Ok, taking a boat up the Elkhorn Slough isn't exactly a hike, but it was a nature adventure, so it counts. The Elkhorn Slough is a wonderful habitat for all kinds of birds, sea otters and seals. It is seven miles long and starts in Moss Landing. In case you're wondering what exactly a slough is, and how it differs from an estuary, it's like this: an estuary has fresh water running into it and in the winter this is the case with the Elkhorn Slough, but in the summer it is only a slough, which is a very general term for any marshy body of water.
Dan and Jeanette

Dan, Cheryl, Jeanette and Janeen.

This bird is called a curlew I believe.

These are Canadian Geese.

Some kind of birds nesting on the posts.

Pelicans in the background and harbor seals in the foreground.

I forget what they called this guy.

The sea otters don't seem a bit afraid of people. Next time we want to go up the slough in kayaks to get even closer.

This raft of otters totaled 26. In all we saw 61 sea otters, more than 2 percent of the entire otter population.

He looks like he's praying.

I also forget what they said this bird was called.

Harbor seals in all different colors

Seals and birds on the rocks

King Pelican

They used these sticks in the collection of salt somehow.

More otters

These two looked like synchronized swimmers.

Forest of Nissene Marks

2008-07-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 4, 2008, we went on a hike in a little known State Park called the Forest of Nissene Marks. Nissene was a woman. The Marks family donated the land to the State and named it in honor of their mother. This park, east of Aptos, was the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. We didn't take that trail, it would have been 13 miles round trip. We'll save that for another day. We hiked on Bridge Trail, a seven mile loop. This was probably the lushest park I've seen in this area, particularly given the fact that we had a very dry winter. The nice thing about this trail was that the second half of it was an old railroad bed, from the rail line that hauled redwoods out of the forest in the 1800's. You may not realize that the great thing about a railroad bed is that it is almost always level. Trains just couldn't go up and down hills very well. For much of the trail you could still see the railroad ties.
This gigantic stump was a dramatic sight. To see such a huge tree cut down made me sad, and the unusual thing about it is that it never sprouted new redwoods. I have no idea why.

This was an unusual weeping rock wall.

These redwoods were cut down and left in a big pile, probably a hundred years ago. The ends were cut off and left to look like lincoln logs.

This is Maple Falls, a half mile off of Bridge Trail. The trail here was like hiking through a jungle. Parts of it keep criss-crossing the creek.

Here you can see the old railroad ties, a testament to the longevity of redwood.

Rushes along the trail to Maple Falls.

Dan as John Muir.

Fossil filled rocks in Bridge Creek. Means the ocean used to be here.

A giant mushroom!

Ruins at the Hoffman site. Hundreds of lumbermen lived in this forest and there are many piles of debris from what used to be houses.

Crossing Bridge Creek.

Bridge Creek.

The storms of 1983 caused alot of damage to this park and evidence is still abundant of the flooding here.

Crossing the creek again!

Dan and Cheryl

Dan and Jan at the weeping rock wall.

From Wilder to Shadowbrook

2008-06-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

This was a quick hike from Empire Grade through UC property, then down into Wilder Ranch. This was actually a closed area according to the Ranger we met. We also met the Ritchies and Ian showed us a beautiful little canyon. We were late getting back and had to almost run the 2 miles back to the car. Good exercise.

This little canyon looked like it never saw any sunlight and so it was very lush and green. Lots of sorrel and ferns.

The no name trail into Wilder

This is the meadow you have to cross to reach the Wilder trails that are in the trees in the distance.

Young redwoods clustered in the canyon.

Look who we ran into! Some of our favorite people.

Trail through the shady canyon

Today was a special day for Jeanette. I can't tell you why! We picked up Lacey and met Jeanette for dinner at Shadowbrook. Thanks to Cheryl who picked up the tab!

First Hikes in Marin

2008-06-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

So after we went to Muir Woods, (see below) we followed the signs to Mt. Tamalpais. We had heard it was a great place to hike. We parked on the side of the road and walked up a trail to this hill. The higher we went, the more spectacular the views. We will definitely come back here for a better look at the park.

Rarely do you see the Pacific Ocean looking this blue and clear. (Thanks to 100 degree weather.)

The hills look like they're planted in wheat.

See San Francisco's Sutro Tower in the distance?

Now we could see the city itself along with the ocean and the bay.

Anyone know the name of this little bay in the SF Bay?

Shellee and her sister and Mom were visiting in SF and invited me to meet them at Muir Woods in Marin County. Muir Woods is a National Monument and you can tell it has more money than the State Parks. (The bridges are finished hardwood!) The Redwoods are not as big as in the Santa Cruz Mountains but it's a peaceful, pretty place. And they have soda-fountain diet coke, which is a huge step above what I'm used to in hiking! It happened to be about 100 degrees this day, but it didn't feel that hot because we were mostly in the shade. I hate to sound like Ronald Reagan but it is kinda true that "you've seen one Redwood, you've seen them all," so I didn't take alot of pictures! At least if you've seen one Redwood on this blog, they all look pretty similar. The hike we took was 5 miles and went to over 1200 feet in elevation. It was pretty hard, especially in the heat. I must say that Shellee fared better than me and Cheryl. (Shellee is a runner.) Gives me something to aim towards.

i

This is the view of the ocean from the Dipsea Trail.

Henry Cowell State Park

2008-06-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Father's Day! Dan had to work. So when he got done at 4:00, what did I do for him?
Made him go on a 7 mile hike at Henry Cowell Park. Now tonight he gets to take a
muscle-relaxant and go to bed! The good thing about Dan's schedule is that he can
eat anything he wants and never gains weight!

The upper regions of Henry Cowell are full of pines, not Redwoods.

This This is the view from the Observation Deck at the highest point in the park.

This is one of the sandy trails leading to the observation deck. This area used to be an ocean floor. Like being at the beach.

Resting at the Observation Deck. Dan wanted to take a nap but no chance of that.

More views from the Observation Deck.

Redwoods on the way back to the car

This is actually some falls in Mt Hermon, about 1/4 mile from the house, on Bean Creek. We walked here first, before going to Henry Cowell.

Terri's first hike! Dan is pointing out that on one side of the trail is Bean Creek and the other side is Zayante Creek.

Back to Henry Cowell. The observation deck from below.

Obviously a map of the Park.

The Observation Deck. It could use some places to sit!

Little Yosemite!

2008-06-02T20:57:00.001-07:00

Basically if you've seen one section of the East Bay Hills, you've seem them all! Also looks alot

like the West Bay Hills!

But we found a unique spot in the midst of the Sunol Regional Wilderness. (Calaveras Road exit

off of 680) It's a

portion of the East Bay Regional Park System that resembles Yosemite

National Park. Hence the nickname. It's a section of creek bed that is

covered with huge boulders and lots of waterfalls. We had a blast hiking

around on the rocks.

The roots of this tree have grown around the rocks!

Jeanette needed rescuing from a precarious position

One of many little waterfalls

More roots and rocks

Janeen next to the waterfall

Jeanette and Cheryl

Rocks with purple stuff on them

Close up of rock in root

Dan and Janeen

3 Little Waterfalls

Cheryl navigating the rocks

Cheryl and Jeanette

Dan against a blue rock. (Not color enhanced)

Hiking to AT&T Park via the Omni Hotel

2008-05-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

I have a small part time job in addition to my regular job. I am the business manager for the California Rheumatology Alliance. This last weekend was our annual conference at the Omni Hotel in San Francisco. Andrea was there to help me at the conference and Dan and Brad came to join us in a "hike" during our off time.

We found this french restaurant for a late dinner after finishing up at the hotel

Dan and Brad at dinner

The Omni Hotel used to be a bank. It is located in the middle of the financial district at 500 California Street. It is very luxurious (and expensive).

This was the luncheon room for the conference

The classroom for the scientific sessions.

The Board Room for meetings. Incentive to be the President.

Andrea and Janeen at their posts.

Now the hike. Saturday afternoon we walked from the hotel to the Ferry Building and along the

Embarcadero to AT&T Park.

We took the cable car for about 3 blocks, just to say we did it.

Leaving the hotel for the Park

The Bank of America is the tallest building in SF, directly across the street

from the Hotel.

The view across the street from our room.

It was a special day at the Park and the first 3000 people with cameras got to go on the field and

take pictures of the players. We were there about 2 1/2 hours early and got in.

Brad and Andrea in Center Field

Janeen and Dan in Center Field

The Rincon Tower, recently completed, on the way to the Park. It is still a

mystery to me how these pictures get ordered.

Also on the way to the Park. (It's the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate.)

Back to the Park: Aaron Rowand

Rich Aurilia

Too happy for words

This is the field. An incredibly manicured lawn.

Where Bonds used to hit home runs.

Benji Molina

Tim Lincecum

Ray Durham. I don't know this girl.

Dave Righetti

Omar Vizquel, my favorite

How many players have spit on this grass?

After the game, which they lost, and which started out at 75 degrees and ended up at 55 degrees, we "hiked" back to the hotel in the foggy and cold dark. A warm bed never

felt so good! Sunday we had morning meetings and came home at noon.

What a way to hike!

Golden Gate Bridge Hike

2008-05-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 10, 2008, we helped Andrea celebrate her birthday by hiking across the Golden Gate Bridge, walking down into Sausalito, having a wonderful lunch at Scoma's, sailing back to San Francisco on the Ferry boat, then walking along the waterfront all the way from the Ferry Building, along the Embarcadero, along the Marina, across Chrissy Fields, through the Presidio and up the stairs back to the Golden Gate Bridge. 9.6 miles of walking, the last 5 miles against a 40 mile an hour head wind. One has to suspect that any activity that is exhausting, yet rewarding, must somehow be connected to Bob Wrathall. This was his brain child and we wish he had been there to "enjoy" it.

We started out from the south parking lot at about 11:00 a.m.

We ran head on into 7500 Girl Scouts who were also crossing the bridge!

The day started out slightly foggy.

This is really out of order! One of the sights we saw along the Embarcadero.

Jan and Dan in Sausalito

Rock Balancing in Sausalito

Don't breathe hard.

Fort Baker on the Marin side of the bridge.

One of the fun street artists at Fisherman's Wharf

One of Columbus' ships, the Nina. (Ok, it's a replica)

Brad and Andrea ready to sail away on the Nina at Pier 23

Skyscraper across from the Ferry Building

The Coral Princess sailing under the Golden Gate

Brad and Dan getting ready to ascend the stairway back to the bridge

The view of the bridge as we arrived back at the car at 5:00 p.m. and the view of the city below.

Zion's National Park

2008-04-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

In late April, Cheryl, Dan and I went to Zion's National Park. We flew into Las Vegas with Jeanette, Morgan and Lacey and dropped them off at the Excalibur Hotel while we rented a car and drove to Zion's. We stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale, about 1/2 mile from the park entrance. The weather was perfect, in the mid 70's and we were overwhelmed by the grandeur of the park. Zion's is celebrating its 100 year birthday in 2009 and has chosen for its theme "A Century of Sanctuary." It truly is a place of sanctuary and sanctity. We had planned to hike the "Narrows" which basically means walking up the Virgin River into very narrow and colorful canyons, but the "trail" was closed due to high water. We would have been walking in waist deep water for 90% of the 11 miles. Now they tell us the best time to hike the Narrows is in June or September. Dan and I did hike to Angel's Landing, which was one of the scariest things I've ever done and one of the most rewarding. The Emerald Pools hike was beautiful and the Canyon Overlook Trail was breathtaking. It is only a mile long trail which starts at the far end of the long rock tunnel. Almost all of the trails in the Park are paved! This is to prevent erosion. The Park was created by the Virgin River carving through colorful sandstone. This is what we saw:

This is the short tunnel through the mountain.

The view of the road leading up to the long tunnel as seen from Canyon Overlook.

The view from Canyon Overlook.

Near the top of Canyon Overlook

On the Canyon Overlook Trail

Plants growing in rock at top of Canyon Overlook

The view of one of the windows in the Long Tunnel

Jan and Dan at the Canyon Overlook

Cheryl at the Canyon Overlook

Crazy rock climbers. They had been on the rock face for 3 days.

A little chow-hound eating a goldfish cracker

This is the back side of Angel's Landing.

"Walter's Wiggles" switchbacks on the Angel's Landing Trail

On the Angel's Landing Trail

Angel's Landing Trail

View from Angel's Landing

Looking over the edge at Angel's Landing

Dan and Jan near the top of Angel's Landing

Amazing trees at the top of Angel's Landing

Hanging on to the chain on the Angel's Landing Trail. 1500 feet drop off.

The trail goes up this ridge, only 3 feet wide in places.

One of the waterfalls at the Upper Emerald Pools

Mule Deer

Along the Emerald Pools Trail

Cheryl, Jan and Dan at the Emerald Pools

29 people have died at Zions. 5 have fallen off Angel's Landing,

7 have fallen off Emerald Pools Trail and several have

died in flash floods.

Big Basin Water Falls Hike

2008-04-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

33 years living in Boulder Creek and I had never seen the beautiful falls at Big Basin. No wonder. It takes 8 hours of strenuous hiking to get there and back! 14 miles! By the way, 8 hours of strenuous hiking burns about 1000 calories. We started out at noon on a warm day, without eating lunch first and by the time we got to the falls we were STARVING and running out of energy. We ate but we didn't bring enough water and became quite dehydrated. Dan drank out of the creek but the rest of us weren't that daring. So far, he's not sick. It was an incredible hike though and very satisfying. We got back to park headquarters at dark. We were all gratified that our feet held out and we lived to tell the story.

A rare "white" Redwood. (Covered in Lichen)

Happy Hikers starting out.

One of the beautiful Giants along the trail

This poor Giant was uprooted some time ago.

Golden Cascade Falls

More Golden Cascade Falls

Silver Falls

The trail to Silver Falls

Berry Creek Falls

Turkey Tail Fungus

Tired Hikers taking a break

Hiking up to Silver Falls

Golden Cascade Falls again

Dan at the base of Golden Cascade Falls

Poor Redwoods burned in a fire

The view from Sunset Trail on the way back

Ferns along Berry Creek

A lizard guarding the path

More black Redwoods

Even more tired hikers

In Our Own Backyard--Hiking in Mount Hermon

2008-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 6, 2008: We took the Canyon Trail which rises
high above the Bean Creek Canyon. We forded the creek on
a log and walked back to the house via one of the more civilized
trails. I was surprised to see many first growth Redwoods and
some of the biggest Douglas Firs I have ever seen.

Dan finds a hip bone! Who's missing a hip?

Fording the Stream

Dan doesn't like Douglas Firs

One of the many bridges in Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon Trail back to the house.

Literal Tree Hugger

"Moaning Redwoods" These two trees were

rubbing on each other and making very scarey

sounds.

Our First Triathalon!

2008-04-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 5, 2008: Dan, Cheryl, Bob and I drove up to Loch Lomond, a reservoir in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is the water supply for the city of Santa Cruz. The first leg of our "triathalon" was a hike along the shore of the lake and then back along the ridge--about 4.4 miles. Next, it was "rowing" down the lake to the island in the middle. Lastly, we were challenged by peddling in the paddle boats. It was such a funny sight to see Dan and Bob taking the task so seriously, as mature, grown men paddled down the lake wearing their life jackets. They claimed it was "no exercise at all." Next time we'll make sure they each have to paddle their own boats!

Bob, Dan and Cheryl - barely in one piece after hacking their lungs out to keep up with me, oh yeah baby!

Hiking to Mt Umunhum

2008-04-07T03:01:00.000-07:00

Mt Umunhum is the 4th highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is 3486 feet tall. It means "resting place of the hummingbird" in Ohlone. It is a former Air Force Early Warning Base and is off limits because of toxic contamination. One cannot hike all the way to the top.

It was a chilly, overcast day that Dan, Cheryl and I hiked 6.6 miles along Woods Trail. This trail would have ended up at Lexington Reservoir if we were to continue another 10 miles or so.

Mt Umunhum in the Distance

Woods Trail

Jan and Dan.

Mt Umunhum

View of the Santa Clara Valley

Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve March 26, 2008

2008-04-07T02:13:00.000-07:00

March in the Santa Cruz Mountains is the most beautiful month of the year. The hills are velvety green and the wild flowers are blooming.

Cheryl and I walked the Ridge Trail from the beginning of the preserve to the end and then back on several other trails that lay west of the ridge. 6.6 miles in all.

The whole trail is fairly level and passes by Borel Mountain, the highest point in San Mateo County--2576 feet. One can see from San Francisco to San Jose from that spot. Looking west, you can see the ocean (on a fogless day that is). A rather brave coyote was loitering near the trail at the beginning and end of our hike and I suspect he knows that people mean food. We were also visited by a couple of crows that patiently waited for us to finish lunch. This was the most beautiful trail I have hiked so far.

Coyote at Russian Ridge.

Ridge Trail.

View from Ridge Trail.

Proof that I hike.

Rock at Russian Ridge.

Hills at Russian Ridge.

Rocky Outcroppings Russian Ridge.

Flowers and Bee at Russian Ridge.

Trails at Russian Ridge.

Looking West from Ridge Trail.

Emerald Hills at Russian Ridge.

Crow at Russian Ridge.

Alder Trail at Russian Ridge.

View from Alder Trail.

Ancient Oaks Trail, Russian Ridge.

Coyote on Ridge Trail.

Hiking in Pogonip--March 19, 2007

2008-04-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

Pogonip is an area of forest and meadows which borders UC Santa Cruz and Henry Cowell Park in Felton, CA.

Pogonip supposedly means "frozen fog" in an Indian language--an Indian tribe that actually lived near Yosemite, not Santa Cruz.

Anyway, it's an area that local environmental groups are rabid about preserving.

We started at the lower end off Hwy 9 and made a loop of about 2 or 3 miles and back to the car. Dan loves to stop and explore, I like to keep moving. His motivation is education and mine is exercise! But we make a good team.

Spring trail in Pogonip

Bay Tree in Pogonip.

Fern Trail in Pogonip.

View of Santa Cruz, from Pogonip.

Poison Oak.

Not Poison Oak.

Mossy Quarry in Pogonip.

Meadow in the Pogonip.

Lime Kiln at Pogonip.

Redwoods in Pogonip.

Hiking the Wilder Backcountry--March 16, 2007

2008-04-06T23:54:00.000-07:00

Dan and I parked one car at Wilder Ranch on the coast, then drove another car up to Empire Grade and started hiking back down to the car. It was about 5 1/2 miles. We had lunch at the Eucalyptus Grove and then took the Eucalyptus Loop Trail down to Wilder Ridge Trail.
This area is a former marine shelf, which means it used to be part of the ocean. It has flat shelves instead of steep mountainsides like the rest of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
The meadows and hills were covered with poppies blooming. Everything was green and only one cloud in the sky. (See picture below). It was a very clear sunny day and the views were spectacular. There are several ways to get from the top to the bottom and next time we'll try some other trails.

The only cloud in the sky.

Eucalyptus Grove

Eucalyptus Loop Trail.

More of the Eucalyptus Loop Trail

Meadow along Eucalyptus Loop Trail.

Looking toward Monterey from Wilder Ridge Trail.

Field of Poppies.

Fallen Tree

View of Wilder Beach

Reservoir at Wilder Ranch

Trip to the Pinnacles, February 20, 2008

2008-04-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

Pinnacles National Monument.

Pinnacles Trail

Pinnacles Rocks

Pinnacles Cave

Stairs to the Reservoir

Pinnacles Reservoir.

Bev, Cheryl, Janeen, Andrea, Dan

Pinnacles Trail.