Trish Smith  led a rambler hike on Wednesday, November 5th of three to four miles that went along the bluffs of Half Moon Bay above the beach coast. It was a warm pleasant day.

Brad Hinckley led a rambler hike to Almaden Quicksilver Park, north end. It was a moderate loop of five miles and 1,000 vertical feet. It was a scenic hike past mine ruins to the reservoir and back. Lunch was at Olive Garden Restaurant afterwards.

Dan Kato led a long hike of about 10 miles at Botano State Park on Saturday,October 18th. We started near the park entrance and first ascend the Ano Neuevo trail, a long and steep climb. A beautiful view awaited at the top. After that, things got a little easier but there were still some up and down climbs. We hiked along one side of the valley and came back on trails and on the fire road on the other side of the valley. The trails were mostly shaded with a few sunny stretches.

The Hiking Club Ramblers had its first geocaching trip. Geocaching is a real-world treasure hunt that’s happening right now, all around you. There are 2,478,102 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide. While geocaching you hunt for hidden caches that can vary greatly in size and appearance. You may find anything from a large, clear plastic container or a film canister or a fake rock with a secret compartment.

John Trudeau led a hike on Saturday, October 11th  up Black Mountain starting at Hidden Villa in Los Altos. It was about an 8-mile hike with about an 1,100 ft elevation gain. We took the Adobe Creek trail from Hidden Villa (1.0 mi) to intersect the Black Mountain trail, then took that to the first power pylon (1.6 mi). We returned to Hidden Villa via the Hostel trail (1.5 mi). The trail features some very nice woodlands and some of the best views of Silicon Valley of any trail in the Skyline Ridge area. The trail was mostly wooded, with no traffic noise and few trail intersections.

Gary and Terry Holmquist led a hike to Sierra Vista Open Space in San Jose. The hike  started from the newly opened parking lot/trail head on Sierra Road. We walked approximately 3-1/4 miles on mostly level trails. Most participants participated with an optional lunch at Lee’s Sandwiches on Berryessa Road.

On Saturday,October 4th all levels of Hikers and Walkers assembled at Jane Ruona’s  Seascape condo for a day of fun and viewing on our beach walk. Cameras and binoculars helped reveal shorebirds, dolphins, and whales. We saw many dolphins only a few yards out swimming parallel to the shore and through the incoming waves.

On Wednesday, October 1st John Trudeau led a hike at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. We started at the southern end of the Park and explored the park as we walked to the Vasona Dam.Then we followed the creek trail north to Los Gatos Creek County Park in Campbell. We then returned to Vasona Park and continued on a short way into Los Gatos and enjoyed lunch at T-Bird’s Pizza. We saw several birds and flowers along the way.

Canada Geese

 

Two Egrets

 

Johanna Bakker led a rambler hike along the Devil’s slide trail near Pacifica. It was a fully paved hiking and biking trail along the old highway one, now superseded by a tunnel. The trail is completely new with many look out points and rest stops but has some gradual ups and downs and was a  hiking distance of about 3 miles . Wate Bakker led the long hikers to near the top of Montara Mountain, starting at the San Pedro Country park parking lot. The hike turned out to be approximately 6.25 miles long with an altitude difference of 1700 ft. Afterwards we  late a late lunch at the Moonraker restaurant on Rockaway Beach in Pacifica.  It was another beautiful day for hiking with cool temperatures and light breezes.

Rich Bainbridge,Bonnie Preston,Robyn Siebenthall, Marie Buck,Johanna Bakker,Katy Peretti,Laura Gelman

Wedding at Moonracker restaurant