Author: Jim Beyer

Wate Bakker led a rambler hike to the Mountain View Lake Shore park on Wednesday, February 1st to go bird watching. Mary Fullerton came along to be our expert birder. Afterwards lunch was at the Lake Shore Cafe.

Richard Bainbridge and Wendy Ledamun led long and rambler  hikes  in the Pleasanton Ridge park near Sunol on Saturday, January 28th. The hikes were mainly along the ridge line with beautiful views of the east bay hills.To reach the ridge there was a 600-800ft climb The trails were mainly old farm roads with some well  groomed connector trails.

On Wednesday, January 25th Brad Hinckley led a group of ramblers on a 4-5 mile hike along Penitentia Creek. The creek was swollen and flooded out under a bridge forcing the group to go back.

The club once again celebrated New Year’s Day at the top of our tallest hill, at 2,330 ft elevation.  Wate Bakker led the long hikers to the top starting from the Foothill Center leaving at 9.45 AM. so the celebration started at  about 11:30 AM at the top of the hill. The ramblers celebrated at the picnic table at the juncture of Indian(Ohlone) and Sky. As usual there were many snacks and libations that were shared with friends and fellow hikers.

On Wednesday, December 28th  Bonnie Preston led a rambler hike around the villages to prepare for our annual New Years Day hike up the hill. 

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.