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.

Sy Gelman led a rambler four mile hike in Ano Nuevo State Park on Wednesday, November 16th .  It was mostly on sand and boardwalks where there were lots of birds and other animals observed including elephant seals.

Akiko Giordono led long hikers on a 10-11 mile hike that was a moderately hilly route in Harvey Bear Ranch Park in Gilroy.  The hike started from the Martin Murphy Trail parking area off San Martin Ave, and offered views of south Santa Clara Valley and Coyote Lake area.

The Villages Hiking Club Helps Maintain Local Park Trails

Nine  members of The Villages Hiking Club joined with other volunteers to help maintain the trails of one of our favorite parks, Alum Rock Park on Saturday, November 5th.  Sponsored by REI, The City of San Jose and the Ridge Trail Council, volunteers helped in repairing trail tread, improving drainage,  and pruning overgrown vegetation.  All tools were provided for together with a free lunch from Chipotle and a raffle where volunteers could win valuable prizes (which one lucky hiking club member did).  Debbie Siedband,  one of the member volunteers noted  “We got a lot done, & that was really satisfying.  As always, we met nice people & received some atta-boys from those who noted our age.  We continue to inspire wherever we go.”  The Villages Hiking Club leads hikes on most Wednesdays and Saturdays together with social activities every other month.  For more information about the Hiking Club and our hikes and programs contact Sy Gelman 408-532-1239.  Also please check out our web site http://villageshikingclub.blogspot.com.

Johanna Bakker and Bonnie Preston led a rambler hike to Montgomery Hill off of Yerba Buena and in back of Evergreen College on Wednesday, November 2nd. The hike went back to the Villages by way of Starbuck’s Coffee Shop.