A Foggy Day on Windy Hill

The weather did not cooperate today for my College of San Mateo field trip at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. It was foggy and windy and fog condensation dripped from the Douglas fir trees as steady as if it were a rainy day. The spectacular views that normally greet hikers could only be conjured in our imaginations. On the bright side, there were lots of wildflowers, especially columbines, and the forest is still lush and green.

I had never lead a field trip at Windy Hill before because there are no loops that are under six miles. Plus, it is very steep terrain. To avoid that problem, we met at the preserve entrance on Portola Road in the town of Portola Valley. The parking lot is next to The Sequoias retirement home. We then carpooled to the northernmost Windy Hill Parking lot on Skyline Boulevard. We then started our five mile trek almost all downhill to the Portola Road parking lot. Our route followed the Anniversary Trail, Lost Trail, Hamms Gulch Trail, Meadow Trail, and the dirt road trail that goes to the east side of Sausal Pond. From start to finish we descended about 1,200 feet.

This turned out to be an outstanding route. It would be even better had the weather been more like it should be in late May instead of what you would expect in January.

Castle Rock State Park

The weather was near perfect today when my College of San Mateo class explored Castle Rock State Park. It was such a great day that the parking lot filled up and there were only a few parking places left along Skyline Boulevard.

From the parking lot we headed west and downhill  and then uphill on the Ridge Trail to Goat Rock. After watching rock climbers from the bottom of the rock, we hiked up the trail to the backside of the rock, which is a much easier ascent. The more adventurous students scrambled to the top of Goat Rock for spectacular views of the San Lorenzo River Valley. We then headed down the trail and made a detour to Hole-in-the-Wall Rock. The truly adventurous among us climbed to the top of the rock and then lowered themselves down a small hole and into a cave in the middle of the rock. On our way to the lunch stop I caught a big alligator lizard.


After lunch we cut over to the Saratoga Gap Trail, which has lots of spectacular views. After pausing at Castle Rock Falls, we headed uphill and took a side trip to Castle Rock. The namesake feature of this park looks like it was designed for recreation. It has lots of caves and overhangs which make it a favorite with rock climbers. On the way to the rock we came across a display of a beautiful native orchid called spotted corral root.

TO GET THERE... The main entrance to Castle Rock State Park is along Skyline Boulevard about 2.5 miles south of its intersection with Highway 9.

Springtime on Sweeney Ridge

Sweeney Ridge can be a risky place to conduct a field trip because it is often foggy and windy.

Today, however, was sunny and mild, and wildflowers were blooming in abundance. The second session of my CSM class met at the west end of Sneath Lane this morning. We then carpooled about 4 miles to parking lot F at Skyline College. The trail begins at parking lot C, but it is closed on weekends. Our one-way 3.75-mile hike began at Skyline College and took us along Sweeney Ridge to several Nike Missile radar stations left over from the Cold War era. We enjoyed lots of beautiful views of the ocean and the bay and many wildflowers, especially cow parsnip, blue blossom, checkerbloom, Douglas iris, hedge nettle, monkey flower, and Indian paintbrush, to name a few. The deep purple iris were the star of the show.

We stopped for lunch at the stone monument that marks the place where the Portola expedition first sighted San Francisco Bay on November 4, 1769. After lunch we headed downhill on the Sneath Lane trail, crossing the San Andreas Fault, and back to where we started.

TO GET THERE... from Highway 280 in San Bruno, take Sneath Lane west to where it ends at a locked gate. From Skyline Boulevard (Hwy 35) take College Drive west to Skyline College and park at parking lot C on weekdays or parking lot F on weekends. No parking permit is required on weekends.

Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

It was a sunny and breezy day today for a 4.7-mile hike with my Foothill College class on Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. We met at the main parking lot on Skyline Boulevard and charged uphill on the Ipiwa Trail (Ridge Trail). Spectacular views of the Pescadero Creek watershed appeared as we reached the ridge summit. We then slowly descended to Alpine Pond, where we examined an ancient Ohlone Indian acorn pounding stone and watched a velvet ant cross the old Page Mill roadbed.

After crossing Alpine Road, we ventured up Russian Ridge for some good views. However, it was quite windy and the wildflower display on the ridge was less than would be expected for this time of year; probably the result of rain that was less than sufficient and too late. We then headed back to Alpine Pond where we found two vacant picnic tables just in time for lunch. Before resuming the hike we looked around in the Daniels Nature Center.

Our hike back took us along the Sunny Jim Trail around Horseshoe Lake, where we saw a pond turtle resting on a floating board.

TO GET THERE... the main entrance is on Skyline Boulevard about a mile south of the Page Mill Road/Alpine Road intersection.

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Today I lead my College of San Mateo class on a 5+mile field trip through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, near Felton. The weather was perfect and the wildflowers were blooming.

We started at the main parking lot, just south of Felton. From there we walked through the small old-growth redwood grove, pausing to examine the ancient trees and the plants that grow on the shady forest floor. From there we took the River Trail along the San Lorenzo River and then hiked uphill on the Eagle Creek Trail. We stopped to examine a big old gnarly redwood that was probably spared because it has too many burls and fire scars to make good lumber. We headed south on the Pine Trail and paused for lunch at the observation platform, with views of the surrounding mountains and Monterey Bay. We also observed the unique vegetation of the sandhills ecosystem. We descended on the Ridge Fire Road and turned right on the Rincon Fire Road, left on the River Trail  and Pipeline Road back to the old-growth redwood grove. After finishing the old-growth loop, we walked across the parking lot to the Roaring Camp Big Trees Railroad property, where we examined some nineteenth century sawmill equipment.

This is the first time I have used this route for a field trip, but it will not be the last.

Steven Creek County Park & Fremont Older Open Space Loop

Today I lead my Foothill College class on a six mile hike through Stevens Creek County Park and Fremont Older Open Space Preserve. We started our outing at the Stevens Creek County Park parking lot on Stevens Canyon Road.
It was a hot day, and the combination of heat and recent rain resulted in an explosion of wildflowers. It looks like we pretty much hit the wildflowers at their peak. We say larkspur, globe lilly, striped coral root orchids, chia, monkey flower, phlox, blue witch, Chinese houses, linanthus, climatis, checker lilly, and many more. Being on the dry east side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the wildflowers will be fading in the next few weeks.
Our six mile hike started at the Stevens Creek County Park parking lot. We followed the  Stevens Creek Tony Look Trail along the reservoir to the group picnic area where we had lunch. We then made a steep ascent into Fremont Older Open Space Preserve  to the Coyote Ridge Trail, where we watched a mole burrow through the ground and disappeared out of sight into the ground. We then enjoyed a spectacular view of the Santa Clara Valley from atop Maisie's Peak. From there it was downhill on the Coyote Ridge Trail back to our starting point.
TO GET THERE: from Highway 280 take Foothill Boulevard south. It turns into Stevens Canyon Road before reaching Stevens Canyon County Park.

Edgewood Park Wildflower Ramble

After a long dry spell, the rains of March and April have brought Edgewood County Park & Preserve back to life. Because of the late rain and the unusually cool Spring, it will be another week or two before the wildflower display reaches its peak.

On April 14 I lead my College of San Mateo class on a 4.2-mile ramble through the serpentine grasslands and woodlands to view the emerging explosion of blooming plant life. We met at the Clarkia Trail head along Canada Road, just south and east of Highway 280. We then combined the Clarkia Trail, Serpentine Trail, Franciscan Trail, Old Stage Road, and Edgewood Trail, which took us back to the Serpentine Loop and Clarkia Trail.

The tidy tips and goldfields are out in force in the serpentine grasslands. We also enjoyed lots of poppies, cream cups, sun cups, buttercups, lomatiums, and some purple bush lupines in full bloom. It was a beautiful sunny day. Serpentine, the state rock of California, is associated with fault zone and provides poor soil for non-native grasses because of its high toxicity and low water holding capacity. This leaves room for native plants which are adapted to the serpentine soil to thrive.