Dan's Outside

Purisima Creek Redwoods Park and More…

At Two-Heel Drive today, an extensive post about hiking at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. And the best part? The prettiest photo of an outhouse I’ve ever seen. Really. Follow the link to the article to see what I mean.

Deep in the woods at Purisima. Summertime’s upon us in Silicon Valley and I’ve finally gotten it into my had that it’s not necessary to spend every weekend sweating through dusty trails on hills that have gone from green to brown. Along the Santa Cruz Mountains nearest the Pacific Ocean, everything’s green as all get out — heck, there’s even mud on the trails in a few parks.

One such park is Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, a few thousand acres of second-growth redwood forest that is one of the coolest hiking locales in these parts, temperature-wise and vibe-wise. It’s on Highway 35, Skyline Boulevard, west of San Mateo, a bit of a haul from San Jose at over 30 miles, but worth the drive… [Two-Heel Drive]

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June 6, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Purisima Creek Redwoods Park and More…

Big Basin and Mt. Abee

Yesterday I hiked in a park that I visited often when I was younger, but where I have hiked infrequently in recent years. When I was a kid my family would often go to Big Basin State Park between (what was not yet known as) Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz, often to picnic and play in the creek. On occasion we would also do some hiking.

I’m almost embarrassed to say that I started my morning by spending the better part of an hour hiking half of the little Redwood Trail loop by the parking lot. My excuse is that I was carrying my photo gear, and I ended up spending a bunch of time photographing some old redwoods.

Having finished with this I started hiking with a vague plan to hike out on part of the Skyline to the Sea Trail. However, some of the trail junctions are a bit confusing and I wasn’t carrying a map, and I ended up sort of inventing the hike as I did it. (Regarding the confusing trail signs… I ran into one group of backpackers four times during my hike. They had gotten confused and backtracked several times.) Eventually I ended up on a steep road that joined a fire road heading to Mt. Abee.

The route was steadily uphill with the exception of a few more or less level spots near the top. “Mt. Abee” turns out to be an open spot along the trail where there is a bench from which one can see all the way down Waddell Creek to the ocean. Looking closely you can spot cars on the coast highway and even kites flying on the beach.

All in all, not the world’s most spectacular hike but pleasant enough and a good way to spend a few morning hours at Big Basin.
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May 13, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Big Basin and Mt. Abee

Hikes: Sunol Regional Wilderness

Tom Mangan (of Two-Heel Drive) has another trail article in the Murky News this week. (And do you have to be named Tom to have an outdoor column in a Bay Area paper? :-)

Hikes: Sunol Regional Wilderness – It has hiking. It has camping. It has cows. Sunol Regional Wilderness even has a stony canyon called Little Yosemite, which is a little like Yosemite in the way a flower made of frosting is like a whole wedding cake.

Speaking of flowers, Sunol has bunches of wild ones sprouting this time of year. The poppies, lupines and shooting stars draw the biggest crowds to Sunol every spring. If you adore lovely things planted by the Unseen Hand of Nature, then this is the place to be.

I don’t go to Sunol for the flowers. I go for the hills, the rocks and the vistas, which are among the best in the Bay Area. Every visit brings pointed reminders that the hills are frequently high and the trails are frequently steep. The park headquarters is on a valley floor, and almost everything worth seeing is up in the hills.

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May 5, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Hikes: Sunol Regional Wilderness

Two From Stienstra

Tom Stienstra of SFGate:

Coast offseason a turn-on / This year’s dry winter is perfect for hiking some thrilling trails. In Fern Canyon, you walk along a creek, edged on both sides by nearly vertical walls of ferns, one of the most heart-touching spots in Northern California. On the Boy Scout Tree Trail, you hike amid giant old-growth redwoods for hours, with the chance… By Tom Stienstra. [SFGate: Tom Stienstra]

and…

Crisp air, spectacular views / Big Sur / There’s no time like winter to experience one of the state’s coastal jewels — you may even spot a condor. From Rocky Ridge at Garrapata State Park, you tower over the Pacific Ocean and get one of the most eye-popping and long-distance lookouts on the California coast. At Andrew Molera State Park, a 30-minute walk will lead you to secluded and spectacular… By Tom Stienstra. [SFGate: Tom Stienstra]

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January 25, 2007 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Two From Stienstra

Bald Peaks Trail (6/3/06)

Today’s hike took me up to the ridgetop Bald Peaks Trail at Calero Park.

Bald Peaks Trail. Calero Park. June 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

While I could have made a long (10 mile) loop out of this hike, I didn’t have quite enough time this morning. I started at the parking lot by the McKean Road entrance to the park and headed out on the Figueroa Trial – a mostly easy and level trail on the portions I hiked.

Eventually I turned left onto the Canada del Oro trail and ascended fairly steadily – though some poison oak – to the junction heading left to the top of the ridge and the Bald Peaks trail. There are some stunning views from this ridge, both looking south towards more coastal ranges and valleys, and looking north across Santa Clara Valley and on towards San Francisco.

I continued on this trail, following it up and down (mostly up!) until I reached the turnoff to the Chisnantuck Peak Trail.

Fences, Bald Peaks Trail. Calero Park. June 3, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Here I took a short side trip to the park’s boundary with the Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve. For a few minutes I thought about making this into a loop trip out on the Chisnantuck Peak trail wiht a return via Javelina. However, time was just a bit short so I headed back the way I came.
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June 3, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Bald Peaks Trail (6/3/06)

The Stegner Special?

A hike that leaves you in shape to hit sportsmen’s show. This week stands out because I’m looking for a first-class hike that I can chop short if necessary because of weather or time — and still have the energy to set out for the International Sportsmen’s Exposition in San Mateo. The best answers for this… By Tom Stienstra. [SFGate: Tom Stienstra]

Stienstra describes an “expandable hike” along Skyline Road near the junction with Hiway 9 above Saratoga. I have hiked sections of this trail, but not recently, and I think I rode parts of it on a mountain bike some years ago. He says that author Wallace Stegner was known to enjoy hiking portions of this route.
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January 12, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on The Stegner Special?

New Hike at Calero Park

Ridges on the Cañada Del Oro Trail. Calero Park. November 26, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.

Today I hiked into an area at Calero Park that I had not visited before. From the entrance near the stable I headed out on the Figueroa Trail, then turning left onto the Cañada Del Oro trail. I took the cut-off from this trail to the Bald Peaks Trail. Turning right I followed this trail for a short distance past the upper junction with the Cañada Del Oro trail to look at an interesting grove of oaks, before returning via Cañada Del Oro.

I ran out of time on this ridge top – otherwise I would have either done the Serpentine Loop Trail at the very south end of the park, or else I would have continued west-northwest on the Bald Peaks trail and finally looped back via the Javelina trail.
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November 26, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on New Hike at Calero Park

Thanksgiving Holiday Hikes

SFGate‘s Tom Stienstra shares his recommendations for a Bay Area Thanksgiving hike. He has some good suggestions, and this is a beautiful time of year for hiking. (A hike also has the benefit of working off some of those Thanksgiving dinner calories!) Unfortunately, in an unusual overisght, he doesn’t include any South Bay hikes. Here are few of my suggestions:

***Almaden Quicksilver County Park
– If you follow this blog much you know that I hike a lot at this park. Several trailheads are accessible from Almaden Expressway in south San Jose. Several easy and popular routes start at the MacAbee Road entrance including a loop that climbs past the old Senador Mine to arrive at Guadalupe Reservoir. Further south on old Almaden Road (turn right off of the expressway) is the Mockingbird Hill entrance. One of my favorite hikes here travels through more intimate terrain of small valleys on the New Almaden Trail. Many people travel further down old Almaden through the town of New Almaden to the Hacienda entrance, where one can climb the Mine Hill Trail or (my favorite) the Deep Gulch trail to arrive at the top of the ridge where views of most of the Bay Area may be seen.

***Calero County Park
– This park is further south, completely beyond the urban areas of south San Jose. It is very popular with equistrians, but there are great hiking opportunities. You will likely see fewer people at this park. I enjoy a hike that loops out on the Javelina trail, though other interesting variations are possible and some new trails have recently opened that expand the opportunities for longer hikes.

***Sanborn Park
– Above Saratoga, this park provides access to a great trail that climbs all the way to the summit of the Santa Cruz Mountains, passing through a redwood grove along the way. A great hike goes from Sanborn all the way up to Castle Rock State Park. Adventurous hikers can make a very long hike but then heading out on the trails at Castle Rock before retracing their steps back to Sanborn.

***Mission Peak
– It isn’t really in the South Bay (more of an East Bay hike) but it is easily accessible from there and it is a great hike. A climb of more than 2000′ will let you work off a pretty good portion of your Thanksgiving dinner, and the views from the summit are spectacular. On a clear day you can just make out the snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada.

(You can see photos from all of these parks by clicking the appropriate links in the sidebar.)

There is a good chance that I’ll be on one or more of these hikes during the holiday weekend.
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November 24, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Thanksgiving Holiday Hikes

Redwood Grove Near Saratoga?

Saratoga, California, that is. And, yes. Perhaps 10 minutes drive up the road from Saratoga espresso shops and restaurants is Sanborn County Park. A couple miles uphill from the parking lot is the Todd Creek Grove.
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July 2, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Trails | Comments Off on Redwood Grove Near Saratoga?