After eating all those calories in Bucks Cafe, it is time to walk them off.
We arrive at the Old Stage Picnic Area and Trail Head car park on Edgewood Road just after 9 and already it is full. We managed to grab one of the two remaining spaces. As soon as I open the door I hear a woodpecker tapping away but I cannot see it, no matter how hard I try.
Edgewood is managed by San Mateo Parks Department and is a jewel hidden away above Redwood City. It is only 467 acres with five trails, the longest of which is nearly 2 miles long, so it is not a huge park. On one side it is bordered by houses and on another by Highway 280. But it is a great place to for a hike, especially in the Spring when the wildflowers are blooming.
We head off clockwise on the Sylvan Trail, which is a 2.5 mile exercise loop and is only for walkers and joggers. Horses are allowed on some trails but no bikes or dogs are allowed in the park at all. The start of the Sylvan Trail goes alongside houses but they are well hidden by trees. You see the occasional roof, a corner of a deck or you hear the sound of childrens’ voices but they are the only indications that we are that close to them. The predominant sound here is birdsong. Those little critters are busy building nests and raising their young at this time of the year.
The Sylvan Loop is quite narrow and very popular with joggers but there is room for all. Most of this trail is well wooded, mostly oak, but occasionally in the lower part an open vista with await you around a corner. The higher you climb on the zig zag path the better the view becomes. As you approach the Serpentine Loop, the San Francisco Bay, Foster City and the San Mateo Bridge can be seen. Oakland can also be seen.
We start round Serpentine Loop Trail anticlockwise and then anticlockwise round the Ridgeview Loop before joining up with the Sylvan Loop Trail again. Today we see no wildlife but in the past we have been lucky to encounter deer. No two visits here are the same and the place never ceases to amaze me. On one hike several years ago we spotted an orange mushroom about 10 feet off the trail and we speculated what species it might be. I checked with my binoculars to see if I could see more detail and was embarrassed to discover it was a plastic marker of some sort!
There are very few places to sit and admire the view but the very best bench with a marvelous view is on the Sylvan Trail. It has a dedication on it which reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
GEORGE V. DILLENBURG
1903-1988
DONATED BY HIS DAUGHTER
I guess George loved coming to the park and this was his favorite spot. From here on a clear day, and today is remarkably clear, you can see the AT&T tower in Redwood City, the office building monstrosity in downtown Palo Alto, Moffet Field and San Jose’s skyline.
We did see a few wildflowers but I understand the full show will not be for another couple of weeks. If you plan to visit the end of the month and early April are the best times.
After our hike up the mountain in Pinnacles last week I suffered with aching muscles in my legs for most of the week. This has been a very easy hike so hopefully I will be lucky.
March 20 2008 | Special Places | No Comments »
Last night the clocks ’sprang’ forward so we had an hour less in bed. We were up though soon after 5 and set off at 6. It was still dark and we were expecting less traffic on the road. After all it is Sunday and how many people are as daft as we are? Well, we were surprised at how many cars there were around. Maybe they put their clocks backward and not forward!
We took 101 south towards Gilroy, where we stopped for breakfast at the Black Bear Diner. No blog entry for it this time because we did one just six months ago. We were the only customers though.
It was getting light as we resumed our journey. Approaching Salinas we encountered fog. Now this was not expected. All the forecasts said it was going to be a nice sunny day but we have learnt that we should take nothing for granted and are always prepared for whatever weather is thrown at us.
South of Salinas there was no more fog. The sun was shining brightly on our left hand side as we drove through the fertile Salinas Valley. We passed neat rows of newly planted crops on both sides. Some plants were beginning to show above the soil and we had fun trying to work out what they were. Salinas Valley is called the Salad Bowl of California. They grow a lot of lettuce, celery, tomatoes, asparagus, etc., here. The valley is flat with the Sierra de Salinas range off to the right and the Gabilon Range to our left.
We are headed to the western sided of the Pinnacles National Monument. To get to the eastern side you have to drive through Hollister. No road connects the two sides though there are a couple of trails. Pinnacles is a very unusual place. It is the remains of a volcano. Well, it is only part of a volcano. The other part is 195 miles to the south due to the shifting of tectonic plates.
There are several interesting trails here. Today we will take take the Juniper Canyon trail from the Chaparral car park to where it joins the the High Peaks trail. There are 13 condors flying free over Pinnacles. They have been released here since 2003 and we hope to catch sight of them.
At Soledad we take Route 146 for 11 miles. We drive through the center of Soldad but there were very few people around. Ahead of us now are the mountains and the sun is just hight enough to make driving difficult. Salad crops have given way to grapes and we pass several wineries.
Well folks, it is a beautiful sunny day though the temperature outside is only 45 degrees. I just know it is going to get a whole lot warmer before long., after all it is only 8.30 in the morning.
The road narrows with many twists and turns for the next 9 miles. Route 146 ends and we cross a cattle grid and enter the park. Soon the distinctive, red jagged peaks of Pinnacles hove into view.
The Ranger Station was closed so we filled in the form, part our $5 in the envelope and posted it. There were only three other cars in the car park.
We set off on the Juniper Canyon trail and it was cold, there was frost on the fence posts. Tom did not have a sweat shirt but we will soon get warm when we start to climb. The trail rises gradually and we follow the course of a small stream, crossing and recrossing it several times. The higher we climb, the steeper the trail becomes and the views get better. At one point we look down onto the car park and it looks a long way away.
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March 11 2008 | Special Places | No Comments »
After our abortive visit last Saturday, we made our second attempt today.
Once again we stopped at Peet’s on Geary but this time I remembered to take my bag with me and we didn’t get a parking ticket.
The weather today is not so good as last Saturday. No wonderful views of the city or the ocean but lots of fog. The higher we got the less we saw but we did rise above the fog and the sun was brilliant. We had several scary moment s along the way. The sun was blinding in places and Tom found it difficult to see where we were going. The edge of the road was just inches away and beyond that a steep drop, so it was a white knuckle ride.
Once again not many people around that that’s not surpriseing as it is jut 8 am. We head to East Ridge and park next to the Visitor Center. There is a parking fee of $6 which you place in an envelope and post in the green pipe, leaving the stub on your dash.
On a clear day the views are spectacular up here. Today it is surreal. We are way above the fog and we look down on a sea of fog. No buildings are poking through. In fact the only points of reference we have is Mt Diablo to the east and a few hill tops scattered to the south.
We climb to the top via the Plank Walk. A 0.3 mile trail to the peak. There is a fire look out at the top. The trail starts off as wooden planks and rises steadily but soon it become more and more of a rock climb.
As I approached the top I could hear voices. I rounded the top and saw a group of about a dozen young men all chattering in a foreign tongue. I noticed a smell but could not work out what it was but then spotted a bread roll with half a dozen sticks of smoldering incense stuck into it. I’d found the source of the aroma.
I sat below them on a rock in the sunshine writing my journal and waited for Tom to join me. He had stopped further down to take some photographs. As I sat there soaking in the sunlight and writing, I occasionally gazed towards the city. I noticed the top of the Sutro Tower sticking up above the fog.
More young men joined the group above and my curosity got the better of me. I climbed a little higher to see what they were doing and was met by a curious sight. Most of them were merrily chatting together but several were further down holding small silver bowls in one hand and a silver spoon in the other. The bowls contained a white liquid and they were scattering it over nearby rocks and bushes. Obviously a celebration of some kind, but what? Eventually I caught the eye of one young man and asked. He was pleased to explain to me and Tom (who had now joined me) that they wre from Mongolia and were celebrating their New Year, which this year was one day after the Chinese New Year. The liquid was milk and they were communing with the spirits. We were fascinated.
Of course this is a very spiritual area. The Native Americans who were here way before the Spainards arrived, regarded this as a holy place.
We waited, Tom at his camera and me sitting on a rock, for some time. The fog was slowly lifting. As we watched, one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge appeared. Tom was waiting for the Bank of America tower or the top of the Trans American pyramid to appear. We waited in vain though and just after 10 decided that it was time to find somewhere for breakfast.
February 18 2008 | Special Places | No Comments »
If you want to be far from the maddening crowd, head for Alviso. This small town, at the south
end of San Francisco Bay, used to be a bustling port until the San Franciso to San Jose railroad opened in 1865. Now the marinas are silted up and all that remains are the entrances to the docks and lots of weeds.
Alviso itself is a sleepy little town with the railroad running through it and several good Mexican restaurants. A lot of the new houses are built on stilts because this place has flooded several times. The last major flood was in 1958. Since then the sloughs and creeks have been improved so hopefully it won’t happen again.
The Marina car park has had a face lift recently and it is much improved. More footpaths, information boards and seats. This is an important wetlenad area with several large salt ponds. There are always a lot of marsh birds to be seen - American Avocets, Black-necked Sandpipers and Plovers. (Once Tom and I saw a Black Skimmer here but that was very unusual.) They nest on the levees and in the sedges, salt grass, rushes and cordgrass. Around the salt ponds are levees which are ideal for walking and cycling. You can go for miles and miles and see very few people.
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December 07 2007 | Neighborhoods | No Comments »
