Author: Jim Beyer

Gary and Terry Holmquist led a Rambler trip to Santa Teresa County Park on Wednesday, March 25th. The hike was about 4 miles with a 500 ft elevation gain.

Gary and Terry Holmquist led hikes in the Sunol Regional Wilderness on Saturday, March 21st. Gary took the long hikers on a 6 mile hike 1500 foot climb to Cerro Estes. Terry  took the ramblers on a 4 miler to Little Yosemite. The day turned out to be comfortable and pleasant. Flowers were abundant on the trail.

Cookie Hunley led a 4 mile hike along Coyote Creek within Hellyer County Park and beyond on Wednesday, March 18th. The hike begin at the Velodome (bicycle racing arena) within the Park and continued north on the Coyote Creek Trail (out of the Park) to the Los Lagos Golf Course.

Jackie Jones led the long hikers on 6 mile hike with a 800 ft. elevation gain along a shaded trail from the parking lot in Uvas. The ramblers took a shorter Loop Trail (about 4 miles with little elevation gain). Although the day was warm, the tree lined path was comfortable and pleasant.

On Saturday, March 7th Nancy Rumple led the long hikers to the overlook and beyond with an elevation gain of 1200 ft. The views were spectacular and the trail was sprinkled with many colorful flowers. The wildlife didn’t disappoint as we were ending our hike we spotted a mountain lion near where our cars were parked.  

Nancy Rumple on Saturday, February 28th  led the Long hikers on a 7-mile loop trail with 1000 ft. elevation gain from the new parking area at the Sierra Vista Open Space. The morning was spectacular as were the views. We saw many flowers and some interesting birds.

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.