Exploring Las Trampas

If you were on this hike in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness on May 22, I am sure you would agree this was a butt "kicker" of a hike! I added up the mileage for all the trails we did and it came to 6.38 miles. Only 6.38 miles? How can it be? It certainly seemed like 10 miles or more. When you go up and down and up and down and up and down -- well you get the idea..... I don't think I remember a flat section.

Luckily, all of our hikers, 13 in all, were seasoned veterans; all in great condition. We had blue skies and cool temperatures. Thank our lucky stars for the cool temperatures or the hike would have been gruesome. As soon as we left the trail head, the trail headed up a relentlessly steep, seemingly endless ascent of the Rocky Ridge View Trail. I do believe this is the steepest start to any hikes that we do all year long. We were all huffing and puffing.

We stopped on Rocky Ridge to explore the unusual "wind caves" carved in sandstone; taking great care to avoid the abundant poison oak. As we passed over the ridge, we paused for a lunch stop and were amused by humming birds darting around a blooming California Bayleaf tree. After passing over Rocky Ridge, we descended the "Sycamore" trail. The Sycamore trail was bordered by Pennyroyal and Sticky Monkey flower shrubs in full bloom. It was truly beautiful but steep and sometimes treacherous.

Finally, at the end of the Sycamore trail we reached "Devil's Hole" which actually seemed more like a little bit of "heaven on earth" in a forest of oaks and Bayleaf trees just made for climbing. We paused for a break and a few of our number did some tree climbing. In the trip photos you can see the smiling faces of those "monkeys" in the trees.

And at last we found out why it is known as "Devils Hole". The trail that
ascends back to Rocky Ridge is aptly named Devil's Hole Trail, and it is
steep and steeper on sometimes loose footings. A definite challenge even
for seasoned hikers. All in all, a great day on the mountain.

Great day at Sunol

On Saturday, May 8, twelve hikers enjoyed the creeks and trails and wildlife in Sunol Regional Wilderness in near perfect weather. As we entered the park a deer crossed the road in front of us and a male wild turkey was strutting his beautiful fan of tail feathers. Of course, ground squirrels abounded at every twist and turn of the trail, sometimes peeking out at us and at other times boldly approaching as if they expected us to feed them. Perhaps other hikers have been feeding them in violation of park regulations.

We took the lovely Canyon View trail through pastures and rolling hills to a rock formation that overlooks Sunol Creek and "Little Yosemite". Wildflowers abounded; poppies, lupines and fields of Ithuriel's Spears. Due to the extended rainy season, the waterfalls and cascades in Sunol Creek were spectacular. Many of us went down to the creek, took off our shoes and socks and cooled our heels in the clear water.

From Little Yosemite we ascended a series of steep fire roads climbing over 1000 feet of elevation gain in about two miles. The cool breezes eased our ascent. What fun it was, like an outdoor stair-stepper. After going over a high pass we stopped near a bench for snacking and napping in the wild oats. The leader actually fell asleep for a few minutes, as did several hikers. How good life can be sometimes!

From the high point we quickly lost most of the elevation gain and came to Indian Joe's Creek trail which led us to Indian Joe's Rocks and Caves. These are not true caves but caves formed under and around the huge boulders. A few of the more adventurous hikers followed the leader, creeping, crawling, climbing and squeezing in and around the boulders and caves. Thus a great day in the wilderness was enjoyed by all.

Full moon spectaular

On the evening of April 28, three hikers, Sandy, Kathy and Bob (me), put on our moon glasses and moon screen, braved a cold and fierce wind and hiked up the trail in the hills behind Benicia to Doris Klein's Bench.

The clouds had dissipated just for us or so it seemed. The moon was not
scheduled to come up until 8:44 which is exactly what it did. We were a
little early so we planted our rear ends in the tall weeds (careful to avoid
the thistles!) to get a little protection from the wind and waited a few
minutes for the moon to catch up with us. From the top of the ridge the views of the Bay Area are spectacular. We could see all the major peaks, Diablo and Tam and much more. We could see all the bodies of water in the Bay Area.

Old Eagle eyes (Sandy of course) was the first to spot a tiny yellow fleck
rising in the east. It is truly amazing how fast the moon comes up and
soon a brilliant yellow globe had emerged. Boy did that make our day! As
the moon was still fairly low the stars started popping out and the big
dipper was straight up over our heads.

Now aren't you sorry you didn't join us?! Just kidding, I know it was
short notice and a week night and not everyone is retired yet.

There will be more opportunities for moon viewing, and of course that is
the purpose of this trip report. Get you motivated for the next one!

Alamere Falls Adventure

On Sunday, April 25, 14 eager Benicia Day Hikers arrived at the Palomarin
Trail Head of Point Reyes National Seashore at around 10:15 a.m. Shortly
thereafter we headed out on the lovely Coastal Trail. This trail follows
the coastline at first along the top of cliffs that drop precipitously to the
rocks and crashing waves below. We enjoyed near perfect weather and blue skies. The abundant rainfall this spring encouraged a luxurious growth of wildflowers as we hiked up and down passing several fresh water lakes along the way. The rainfall also guaranteed that the waterfalls of Alamere Falls would be the best ever and they were indeed. Our cameras were snapping away.

The final hike down to the beach is always a series of challenges. The first challenge was snaking our way down a narrow un maintained trail through poison oak thickets clearly marked, "dangerous, pass at your own risk". And of course, pass we all did, and arrived at the top of an ugly looking eroded gully that provides access to a little bit of "heaven on earth".

The cascading waterfalls were surrounded by lush wildflower displays. The descent in the ugly gully brings one to a level area still about 50 feet above the sandy beach. Next comes the most challenging bit -- a rock scramble down a rather nasty ravine of crumbling rock. Not everyone did the scramble; but those who did were rewarded with the most beautiful sight of a waterfall crashing straight to the black sands of the beach. We enjoyed lunch on the beach and most of us took off our shoes and socks and allowed the sand and water to massage our feet and clean between our toes.

Pinnacles Camping Trip

Our camper trip on April 17 and 18 to the Pinnacles National Monument was so fantastic. We had seven hikers/campers and I only wish more had joined us. Saturday, we hiked through the Bear Gulch caves with the aid of flashlights and enjoyed the sight of three beautiful waterfalls inside the caves. Saturday night we sat around a campfire and enjoyed a potluck dinner with delicious hors d'oeuvres, salads, barbeque chicken and barbeque vegetables. I was so stuffed I could hardly walk and now I have to get rid of this belly! While we were eating we were visited by a wild bobcat.


Sunday we hiked the "High Country" trail that ascends through spectacular rock formations. It is so steep that steps have been cut in the rock and iron railings are provided for safety. While we were on the top, a really big black bird came and landed nearby. It was a California Condor our biggest bird and one that was almost extinct a few years ago. The wildflowers were among the best we have seen in years.

Bob Colby, Leader

Good Day on the Mountain

Here is a brief trip report on our hike on April 10 to Mount Diablo. Eleven hiker's turned out on a cool and cloudy day for our hike of six miles up Donner Canyon Road. We did the Middle trail and Falls trails to make a loop around and back to Donner Canyon Road.

We were treated to wonderful array of wildflowers including the rare Yellow globe tulip that occurs only on Mount Diablo. Indian Warrior and Indian Paintbrush were side-by-side on the Middle trail so we could easily see the difference between them.

Of course the falls were all spectacular due to the heavy rains this winter and spring. The top of Mount Diablo was hidden in clouds and fog that looked threatening, but we were back in our vehicles before it started to rain. Good day on the mountain.

Well, I might as well add that we did do a "mini" Colby Challenge on a steep section of the Donner Canyon Road. Several of our stronger ladies gave me a run for my money, passing me and forcing me to dig deep to catch up.

Bob Colby, Leader

First hike of 2010

Here is a very brief trip report on our first hike of the Season, last Saturday, March 13. Eight hikers joined me for a wonderful hike in Benicia State Recreation Area. We hiked the entire park from one end to the other (7.4 miles) , sometimes on the blacktop trail and roads, but also on the improved trails that wind through the hills overlooking the Strait.

We enjoyed the cool breezes and blue skies. Checked out Dillon Point and the trails along the water to get there. The flock of egrets that has called the marshlands adjacent to Southhampton Bay home is still there.

We went to Benicia State Rec. Area because after the heavy rain on Friday, the trails in Lynch Canyon would have been muddy and slippery -- not fun.

But where are all the guys? Eight hikers and no guys? Come on!
Hope to see you on a hike soon!
Bob Colby, Leader

First Snowshoe of 2010

Snow players and wanna be snow players,

Here is a brief trip report on our first event. Perhaps this report will motivate a few more of you to join us for future events. We had a small group of five of us -- your leader and four lovely ladies. We all stayed at my small condo at Northstar and so of course I was on my best behavior.

We drove up Saturday morning with good road conditions and fairly light traffic. We arrived at Northstar at 12 noon, had a bite to eat, and headed out the door and up the mountain on snowshoes.



The going uphill on the Northstar snowshoe trail gave us a opportunity to acclimatize to the 6500 foot elevation above sea level. The coming down was a blast with slipping, sliding, jumping and falling and no injuries.

Next we made a visit to the large adult (capacity 25) Jacuzzi for a nice relaxing soak with some of us showing off our "snow angels". If you don't know what a snow angel is you had better join us on our next event!

On Sunday morning we drove up to Donner summit and enjoyed several miles of snowshoeing in spectacular scenery with blue skies. One of our ladies is from Indonesia and this was her first big snow play event. What a splendid time she had!

Here is a panoramic 360 degree movie of the mountain tops on Donner Pass. Notice the fog bank in the valley over Truckee and Donner State Park in the background. (click the arrow to start video.)

Warning: high altitude reaction! Norma had an odd reaction to the high mountain air, but she enjoyed it!

Hike, potluck, and birthday party

Once again our annual pot luck dinner (Saturday, 12/12) was a success.
We had a wide variety of delicious foods, main dishes, salads, relish tray, deserts galore, on and on....

Of course we enjoyed the baked salmon supplied by Steve Chrisman and it disappeared fairly quickly.

I did not do a head count, but I would guess we had between 25 and 30
hikers and their guests. Conversation was humming nicely all evening long.

To my surprise the event also turned into a birthday party for your leader
who turned 75 on December 7. A birthday cake with candles and all the
trimmings showed up. Luckily not 75 candles to blow out. The biggest
surprised was when Pepe showed up with his guitar and played several songs especially for me. WOW! That really made my day.



And what happened to the hike scheduled for Saturday morning? Believe it
or not, seven hikers showed up and we did a couple miles in the hills of
Benicia State Recreation area. A little drizzle with fog and the sun
attempting to burn through was quite enchanting.

Awesome full moon hike

On the evening of September 4, eight hiker's approached the top of Mount Wanda (near Martinez) and were treated to the "totally awesome" sight of a bright yellow full moon rising over Mount Diablo.

We enjoyed the sparking lights of Concord and Martinez and of course the refineries. Then it was time to break out the red wine, chocolate, cracker's and cheese and enjoy a few minutes sitting around the picnic table. We all agreed that more of the full moon hikes are a definite must do.

Perfect day on Mt. Tam

The pictures do not do justice to the wide variety of scenery that twelve of us saw on our lovely hike on Mt. Tam on Saturday, May 23. And the temperature was cool and comfortable the whole day. Part of the reason for the cool temperature was the fog that shrouded the parts of the mountain that were exposed to the coast. This meant that the view of the ocean that we would have had along the coastal trail section of our hike was hidden in a fog bank. But the drifting fog painted the coastal scenery in its own beauty.

Much of the hike traversed well shaded winding paths through old wooded forests that were shielded from the fog. In these areas it almost felt like we were walking through a rain forest with old gnarled tree trunks covered in fuzzy moss, filtered sunlight, chirping birds, and many small creeks. When we got to Cataract Trail, we stopped for a pleasant lunch break, sitting on some fallen logs in the shaded forest.

(Click on photos for larger view)



We started out from Rock Spring trail head and did a loop hike down to Pantoll station, then along the Coastal Trail, and back around to Rock Spring via the Cataract Trail. It was approximately seven miles and we completed the hike in about four hours including a lunch break (from about 10 a.m to 2 p.m.).

Saturday morning workout hike, a success

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle -- I think we have stumbled onto something here. Fourteen well conditioned hikers turned out for our first official Saturday morning workout hike on May 16. Several hiker's mentioned that they liked the idea of a good workout and then getting back before noon to get "stuff" done.
"Stuff" probably includes housework, shopping and, who knows, maybe a good soak in the tub and a nap.

The hike went very well. We drove a little way up Mt. Diablo on North Gate Road and then set off hiking at a quick pace toward Camel Rock. Several hikers made the 1.25 miles (and 500 vertical feet) up to Camel Rock in well under 30 minutes and most everyone made it in under 35 minutes.

Unfortunately, the hoped for wild turkeys were a no show, but we did see a red winged blackbird.

About half of the group hung out in the shade of Camel Rock while the remainder of us scrambled up two very steep and slippery sections of Burma Road . This section gained another 500 vertical feet in about a half mile. Due to the heat we decided to beat a hasty retreat and skip the last half mile and 300 vertical feet.



Everyone who attended this hike will now be "Charter" members of our new group and will be entitled to a total of three votes in choosing a name for our group.

Please consider joining us for our next Saturday half day workout hike which will be on Saturday, May 30. Stay tuned for an email message with more details a few days before the hike.

Regards,
Bob Colby, Trip Leader

Spectacular Alamere Falls hike

On Saturday, May 9, 12 hikers turned out for our spectacular hike to Alamere Falls at Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a perfect day with blue skies and light winds and a perfect hike -- well, almost. One car missed the turn from US Route 1 to the Bolinas Road. This happens all too often because the local "yokels" remove the signpost thinking it may deter visitors from coming through their neighborhood. It doesn't work; it just slows us down a bit. To shorten a long story, the missing hikers showed up on the beach only about 20 minutes behind the main group.

(Enjoy the photos. Click on photo for larger view.)



As always the waterfalls, wildflowers and wildlife were incredible. A flock of pelicans coasted about 10 feet above our heads shortly after we stopped on the beach near the main waterfall. The only bad part about this hike is that it is so hard to leave this beautiful paradise.

If you want to do this hike on your own, drive exactly 4.5 miles past Stinson's Beach (stopsign) and turn left on the road to Bolinas. Turn right on Mesa Road and go to the end to the trailhead.

One hike gone by and another one coming up‏

NOTES AND PICTURES OF MT. DIABLO HIKE ON APRIL 18

On Saturday April 18, nine Benicia Day Hikers, including one new hiker, one second timer and a bunch of veteran hikers did the WWW hike on Mount Diablo. WWW stands for wildflowers, waterfalls and workout. Indeed, we were successful on all three objectives. the waterfalls and wildflowers were truly wonderful. And as promised, we also had a terrific workout in six miles and 1600 feet of elevation gain. Enjoy the pictures.



ANOTHER HIKE COMING UP – CHANGE IN DESTINATION ON MAY 9

Our next scheduled hike was to be Redwood Regional Park in Oakland on May 9. However, I wanted to give you advanced notice that I am changing the destination. Instead, we will go to Alamere Falls in Point Reyes National Seashore on May 9. I usually say about this hike, "If you only do one hike this year, do Alamere Falls". Feel free to ask me why I say this, but most of you know why.

Please contact me if you intend to go on this hike.
Regards, Bob Colby, Leader, 707-745-4661, arocrat@aol.com

Come to WWW hike on Saturday, April 18‏

You may ask, "what is a WWW hike ?" WWW is for waterfalls, wildflowers and Workout. The workout will always be there but the waterfalls and wildflowers will soon be gone; so, I hope you can join me on this wonderful delightful hike.

We will do the Mount Diablo waterfall trail -- six miles and 1600 feet of elevation gain. This is a stiff hike with several difficult sections and one or two sections that are very difficult. We will get a good workout on the first two miles and then take our time to enjoy the wildflowers and waterfalls.

My daughter and I did the hike today and here are some of the wildflowers we saw: Of course we saw lupins and California poppies. We also saw, Chinese houses, blue dicks, ethereal spears, Indian paintbrush and Indian warrior, buttercups, owls clover, shooting stars galore and on and on ..........

Sturdy footwear will be very helpful on this hike. On the other hand, smooth tennis shoes could get you into trouble.

As always, we meet at the parking lot to the rear of Benicia City Hall at 8:15 am to organize car pools. If you arrive at the parking lot at 8:30 you will likely miss us.

We should be back in Benicia by around 2 to 2:15 pm.

PRIOR TO ATTENDING ALL HIKES WITH BENICIA DAY HIKERS YOU MUST CONTACT THE LEADER BY PHONE OR EMAIL!

Hope to see you Saturday,

Bob Colby, Leader
707-745-4661
arocrat@aol.com