Mount Madonna County Park Hike

B:Jim Beyer,Gisela Pearson,Brad Hinckley,
Gigi Clarke,Faye Swanson,Nancy Rumple,
Dot Armbruster,FrancesWilson,Karan Foss,
F:Amy Meier,Rosa Balderas
Photographer:Chuck Wyatt

Twelve hikers hiked 7-8 miles on hilly trails with a 800 ft elevation gain through the Redwoods led by Nancy Rumple. We also visited the white fallow deer herd in the park and saw some wildflowers. It was pleasant with light breezes.

Rosa w/home made walking sticks
B:Amy Meier,Faye Swanson,Chuck Wyatt,
Jim Beyer,Frances Wilson,Nancy Rumple,
Gigi Clarke,Dot Armbruster,Gisela Pearson
F:Rosa Balderas,Karan Foss
Photographer:Brad Hinckley
Nancy had a surprise for us!!

Posted on Categories 2014, News

Russian Hill Mid Peninsula Open Space Hike

Nancy Rumple,Wate Bakker,John Walker,
Sandra Walker,Faye Swanson,Frances
 Wilson.Gisela Pearson,Eve Gebhardt,
Jackie Jones,Brad Hinckley
Photographer:Susan Brown

Wate and Johanna Bakker  led 15 ramblers and long hikers in the Russian Hill Mid Peninsula open space area on Saturday, May 10th. We had a wonderful wild flower hike today. It was sunny and cool up there and we saw so many wild flowers that some of us had never seen before This was a very good trip as the weather was great  and there were many beautiful wild flowers.

Jackie Jones,Faye Swanson,Wate Bakker,
John Walker,Frances Wilson,Sandra
Walker,Nancy Rumple,Brad Hinckley,
Gisela Pearson,Eve Gebhardt
Photographer:Susan Brown

Eve Gebhardt,Susan Brown
Eve Gebhardt,Jackie Jones,Faye Swanson,
Wate Bakker,Sandra Walker,Susan Brown,
Gisela Pearson,Frances Wilson,Nancy Rumple,
John Walker,Bonnie Preston,Johanna
Bakker,Cookie Hunley,Katy Peretti
Photographer:Brad Hinckley

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Overfelt Gardens Park Hike

Bonnie Preston,Katy Peretti,Faye Swanson,
Stan Pegram,Suzanne Pham,Nancy
Mosher-Williams,Brad Hinckley,Marie Buck,
Debbie Siedband,Amy Meier,Susan Brown

On 5/7/14 Eleven Ramblers joined the journey to the Far East tour of the Overfelt Gardens on Mckee Rd in San Jose with a guided tour by Ranger Valeri Heyberger. The 33 acres of land was donated by Mildred Overfelt in memory of her parents, William and Mary to create a peaceful and tranquil park surrounded by natural plants, wildlife and ponds. The park is also known as the Chinese Cultural Garden due to Frank and Pauline Lowe who worked to acquire several historical objects from Taiwan including: a 30 ft bronze and marble statue of Confucious, an ornamental front gate, Sun Yat Sun Memorial Hall, Chung Kai Shek Plum Pavillion, a sundial and the Black Stone which was mined from the Mt. ranges of Taiwan.We also toured the Overfelt family house located in the park. Afterwards, we visited Pao Hua Buddhist Temple on our own which is located also on McKee Rd. Everyone enjoyed a Dim Sum lunch at Creekside Chinese Restaurant on Piedmont Rd before going home.

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Harvey Bear Ranch County Park

B:Gisela Pearson,Johanna Bakker,Faye Swanson,
John Trudeau,Eve Gebhardt,Nancy Rumple,
Quincy Chang,Jim Beyer,Nora Chang,
Carol Allbright,Frank Allbright
F:Amy Meier,Debby Siedband,Gigi Clarke
Photographer:Susan Brown
There was a special hike to Harvey Bear Ranch County Park on Monday, May 5th led by Nancy Rumple and Jim Beyer. The participates hiked on the easy hills of the Coyote Ridge Trail before cutting over at Calaveras Trail to the flat Valley Oak Trail and returned on Campground trail to the Coyote Ridge Trail. We then climbed the switchback trail over Mummy Mountain for a total of about seven miles.The elevation gains were less than 1000 ft. It was a crisp, partly sunny day with some wind that made for a delightful day of hiking. 
Amy Meier,Faye Swanson,Eve Gebhardt,
Gisela Pearson,Debbie Siedband,Susan Brown,
Nancy Rumple,Johanna Bakker,Gigi Clarke,
Nora Chang,Quincy Chang,Jim Beyer,
Frank Allbright,Carol Allbright
Photographer:John Trudeau
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Calero County Park Hike

Johanna Bakker led a rambler hike on Wednesday, April 30th in Calero County Park. They took the Figueroa trail to the, Vallecito trail and the Pena trail and Los Cerritos trail loop back to the car. It was about 3 miles and one of the Healthy trail hikes. There was a nice picnic bench to eat our lunch.

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The Windy Hill Open Space Hike

B:Jane Ruona,Eve Gebhardt,Chuck Wyatt,
Sandra Walker,Gigi Clarke,John Walker,
Nancy Rumple,Johanna Bakker,
Katy Peretti,Bonnie Preston
F:Amy Meier,Rosa Balderas,Wate Bakker
Photographer:John Trudeau

On Saturday, May 3rd, John Trudeau led the long hikers on the Spring Ridge and Hamms Gulch loop for a hike of about 7.5 miles, with an elevation gain of about 1400ft.  Windy Hill is noted for lots of woodland and grassland wildflowers in the springtime. The day was notable for the abundance of wildflowers, good clear views, a variety of environments:  uphill, sunny & warm, cool ocean breeze, level hiking on the ridgline, woods & gulch, shade, big trees, woodland flowers. Ramblers started from the same trail head and left the long hikers at the Meadow trail cutoff to the Betsy Crowder trail around Sausal pond, with elevation gain about 230ft.

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Wilder Ranch Hike

John Walker,Eve Gebhardt,Faye
Swanson,Marc Siedband,Debbie Siedband,
Susan Brown,Jim Beyer,Nancy
Mosher-Willams,Bonnie Preston,Brad Hinckley
Photographer:John Trudeau

A rambler Hike today was led by John Trudeau to Wilder Ranch on Hwy 1 just north of Santa Cruz which we passed by on our way to Ano Nuevo. The weather was sunny, cool, and delightful with a stiff breeze. We were able to see many sights not available from a car. We were all thankful for our ability to walk in such a fabulous and visually pleasing area. We visited the small cultural preserve area in the park. The trail was mostly level and along the coast side bluffs and coves.

(Notice sign!)

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Saratoga Gap into Long Ridge Open Space Hike

Kneeling:Akiko Giordono,Amy Meier
Standing:Eve Gebhardt,Jackie Jones,Dot
Armbruster,Sandra Walker,John Walker,
Anka Hoek,Debbie Siedband,Katy Peretti,
Bonnie Preston,Nancy Rumple,
Gisela Pearson,Jim Beyer
Photographer:John Trudeau

Nancy Rumple led the hike Saturday, April 19th to the Saratoga Gap into Long Ridge Open Space. The long hikers hiked  9 miles on moderately hilly trails with a 600 ft. elevation gain from Saratoga Gap at Highway 9 & Skyline into Long Ridge. We saw many wildflowers and the Pacific Ocean. We enjoyed lunch at the Wallace Stegner Bench. The Ramblers(Bonnie Preston,Katie Peretti,Wate Bakker,Johanna Bakker,Ellen,Anna) hiked  in another area of the park. It was a pleasant day with light breezes and temperatures.

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Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve Hike

Katy Peretti,Rajni Bakhda,Gita Bakhda,
Pat Rutia,Faye Swanson,Cindy Fuller,
Johanna Bakker,Terri Molloy,Debbie Siedband,
Jerry Wilk,Karan Foss
Photographer:Susan Brown

Terri Molloy led a hike at the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in the Los Altos vicinity on Wednesday, April 16th. There was very little elevation for this hike. On the way, we stopped and saw the Deer Hollow working County Park with many farm animals and an herb garden. Afterward we stopped for lunch at Hobees, at the Oaks Shopping Center in Cupertino on Stevens Creek across from De Anza College. It was another beautiful day with cool temperatures and plenty of sunshine.

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Trail Maintenance Day 2014

On our annual Trail Maintenance Day on Saturday,April 12th approximately 26 hardy workers met at Foothill center at 8:30 AM and joined one of the work parties. We wish to thank all those who volunteered and worked on the trails. The well-organized and fun event resulted in the trails now being free of weeds, debris and now easier to transverse.  You can see great scenery, wild flowers and wild animals by using the many trails. There was a tasty lunch provided to the workers afterward at Montgomery center It was another great time with a fun group.


Pam Fuqua,Ann Jackson

Posted on Categories 2014, News