On Saturday, October 16th, Gesela Pierson led a long hike of about 8 miles at Harvey Bear Park starting at the Mendoza Ranch entrance. They went up to Mummy Mountain over looking Coyote Lake where they observed fall colors on the trees.
The Annual Fall Hiking Trip for October 5th – 6th in beautiful Pismo Beach was a success. They stayed at the Oxford Suites and had 2 and a half days of hikes and enjoyment of the area. They stopped for a picture at Cave Landing trail in Shell Beach.
Cheryl Allmen and Terri Vivoli led a hike around the golf course. They met at the Clubhouse parking lot at 8:30am. The hike was about 3 miles
On Saturday, October 2nd, three long hikers, Manoli Kelley, Mary Stradner and Dan Kato, did about 7 miles at Henry Cowell Redwoods state park.  They started at the park office and followed the Big Rock Hole trail to a San Lorenzo River crossing. Wading in ankle deep water was the perfect way to cool the feet. They then crossed the peninsula and made a second river crossing, climbed out of the river valley, and returned via the Pipeline Road. A beautiful hike through redwood forest valleys.
The group met at the parking lot next to the Villages entry gate at 8:50am and left at 9:00am. They walked up to Yerba Buena and across to the community college and walked up the hill to the observatory and then along the buildings teaming with all the new students. Th e new park inside the college we’ve watched being built, has been completed and is a pleasant destination.
Rich Bainbridge and Wendy Ledamun led a hike at the Picchetti Ranch Preserve in Cupertino. The Preserve featured 3.7 miles of trail, the historic Picchetti Winery, and the surrounding homestead. They hiked along the Zinfandel Trail. The out and back hike was approximately 4-miles long through forested canyons of madrone, coast live oak and California bay. The Sierra Azul range, crowned by Mount Umunhum, was visible to the south through a break in the trees.
The hikers passed through untouched areas as well as partially burned areas and witnessed their renewal. They started/ended at the picnic/parking, The route included the Six Bridges Trail, Olmo Fire Road, Goat Hill Trail, Mill Ox Trail and Jackson Flats Trail. Parts of the trail were exposed but most were under canopy.
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Wate Bakker led a hike along a part of the Crystal Springs Lake, in the Sawyer section on Wednesday, September 15th . They did about 4- 5-miles. The trail was paved and mostly flat.
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On Saturday, September 11th the group had a nice hike at Fremont Peak and had a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in San Juan Bautista. There were 9 hikers.Â
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Al Girolami led a hike on our own Hill Lands. They walked 6 miles with a 1,300 elevation gain. The entire perimeter of our 550 acres was covered. They started at the cul de sac at the end of Village View Drive and proceeded to the Joe Marsh Trailhead. They headed up Meadow and did a loop returning on Rawhide. They were able to see where the recently VGCC approved rerouting of Upper Meadow and Garden Steps Trails will take place in the spring. They reached three of our high elevation viewpoints: NE corner at 2,250,Sentinel Oak at 2,330, and Hawk at 1,930.Â
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