Nancy Rumple led 8-9 mile hike on a new trail for the long hikers with a 1400 ft.elevation gain on the Lower Calaveras Trail in Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve on Saturday, April 16th. They saw thirteen kinds of wild flowers. The ramblers hiked on the other trails in the Preserve on a 3 mile hike and saw great views and flowers. At one point they spotted an object down in a canyon and was told by the ranger that it was a Honda Civic that had been down there about 3 months.
Katy Peretti led a Villages trail hike on Wednesday,April 6th. The hike started at the upper garden at 8:30 A.M. and then walked up the hill.
John Trudeau led a hike to admire the excellent work done on Trail Maintenance Day, March 19. Meeting was at Foothill and the Rawhide was taken to the garden steps (where work was done), then to Skyway to Oak to Buffalo (where work was done), then over Buffalo to Bay to Meadow. Work was also done at the top end of Bay trail and on Meadow trail between Bay and Tower.
Wate and Johanna Bakker led rambler hikes in the Shoreline Park of Mountain View. We saw many migratory and other shoreline birds. Some brought binoculars and cameras. Johanna led a 2-3 mile hike emphasizing bird watching while Wate led a five mile hike along the levies toward Palo Alto. Afterwards we had lunch in the Shoreline cafe.
Johanna Bakker led a rambler hike in Coyote Valley over easy hills and thru wooded areas.
Gary Holmquist led a hike on Saturday, September 19th in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos. The hike was 7.3 miles round trip and was predominantly in a second growth redwood forest area with moderate elevation gain. Even with the hot temperatures elsewhere, the hike remained cool and pleasant.
On Wednesday, February 25th Katy Peretti and Bonnie Preston led a group of ramblers on a hike to the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve just above the Alum Park.
Nine hikers came on the Coyote Hills Regional Park hike led by geologist Warren Nokleberg. We enjoyed perfect weather and the informative talk provided by Warren, a retired professor and field geologist. We now know why there are hills in a park next to San Francisco Bay, and which parts of Fremont may liquefy when the next big earthquake hits. Unfortunately, Warren declined to predict when that will be. After the hike over rolling hills, the Ramblers toured the visitor’s center which has exhibits about the approximately 13000 year history and culture of the Native American Ohlone people and the wildlife of the area. The long hikers circled the marshland inhabited by multiple bird species and visited the butterfly garden.
Johanna Bakker led a hike to Calero County Park. The trail was about 3 miles long and is one of the Healthy trail hikes which is the Los Cerritos loop which is the part close to the reservoir.
With the hope of spotting some California Condors close up, John Trudeau led a hike to the High Peaks on Saturday, February 14th – Condor Gulch Loop in Pinnacles National Park. It was a spectacular 6-mile loop with an elevation gain of 1350ft. The trail started at the Bear Gulch area and went through or around some interesting caves to the small reservoir. Some hikers continued up to the High Peaks area covered in rock spires and equally impressive boulder-filled gorges and then closed the loop by coming back down to the Bear Gulch area.
