Author: Jim Beyer

John and Sandy Petrin  led a rambler hike to Vasona Park and followed the Los Gatos Trail along the stream. It was about 4 1/2 miles.

The group hiked from Grant Ranch to Santa Teresa Park. The hike was up 1100ft to Coyote Peak, down the Hidden Springs Trail and  then the  Bernal Hill Loop and the Vista Loop. It was a sunny but cold and a beautiful day to hike. We saw this healthy looking coyote on a hill left of us when we drove into the park. Later, we heard it cry for a while—never found out why??

Saturday December 10 John Trudeau led an enjoyable hike on our hill trails that included Rawhide, Tower, Skyway and Turkey trails — saw a lot of large mushrooms along the way.  We also explored the area at the south end of Tower trail where it meets the property line.  Despite the ominous clouds, the rain didn’t start until after the hike.

The Hiking Club’s annual holiday party was held on Thursday, December 8th at Foothill Center.  The festivities began at 5:30 pm with appetizers and socializing. The buffet dinner organized by Wendy Ledamun and prepared by our own club members featured tossed green salad with candied pecans and golden raisins tossed in a pear and champagne vinaigrette, herbed salmon, sliced beef tenderloin, roasted seasonal vegetables, rice, rolls & butter, dessert and coffee and all prepared with excellence. Our entertainment featured music and dancing.

Wate Bakker led a rambler 4-5 mile hike in Alum Rock Park. From the valley floor  the ascension was to the south rim on a well graded switch back trail and the returned to the parking on a slightly steeper trail near the parking lot. Total elevation difference was 400-500ft.

Wate Bakker led the long hikers in Grant Ranch County Park on a 7-mile round trip hike along the ridge overlooking the Villages. Johanna Bakker led the ramblers on a 4-mile hike to Bass Lake with a few hundred feet elevation gain.

Nancy Rumple,Eve Gebhardt, Al Girol

John Trudeau led the long hikers to Monument Peak on October 8th, starting near Sandy Wool Lake in Ed Levin Park in Milpitas and looping back on the Agua Caliente trail. It was a 9-mile hike with an elevation gain of about 1900ft, offering terrific views of the Bay, Livermore Valley, and eastward towards the snow-capped Sierras. Rich Bainbridge and Wendy Ledamun led a less strenuous hike in Ed Levin Park of roughly 5 miles length with a gradual elevation gain of about 500ft.

Rich Bainbridge,Wate Bakker, Jackie Jones

Rich Bainbridge and Wendy Ledamun led a rambler hill hike entitled Animal Trails on Wednesday, November 30th. They met at Foothill Center at 8:30 went up Rawhide to an animal trail past Turkey that took them up to Sky and then continued up Sky to another trail then over to Oak. Then up Oak to Buffalo, and over to Bay.  Down Bay to a trail that took them across Thistle to Meadow and then down to Richter and then up Cougar to Sky and down to the Garden steps and back to Foothill.

The Hiking Club held the annual hidden pathways in The Villages on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 26. The hike was led by Jackie Jones and started at Vineyard Center at 9:45 a.m. for a start time of 10:00 a.m. After the hike of about 1.5 hours (2-3 miles), everyone gathered at the Foothill Center for a potluck lunch.

Cookie Hunley led the ramblers on a hike to Starbucks on Wednesday, November 23rd. This was the Starbuck’s in the Canyon Creek Shopping Center on Silver Creek Valley Parkway.  The loop hike was approximately 5 miles.