Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Today I lead my Foothill College class on a scenic and eventful 5.6-mile ramble through Almaden Quicksilver County Park, south of San Jose. The weather was as perfect as it gets, and we saw acorn woodpeckers, a striped skunk, a tarantula, deer, and several redtail hawks.

Our hike began at the Hacienda entrance on Almaden Road next to the town of New Almaden. We charged uphill on the Mine Hill Trail, then continued on the Randol Trail to the Day Tunnel Trail. From there we headed west on the Great Eastern Trail and then back on the Mine Hill Trail. After a short detour to the Powder House, where the miners used to keep their explosives we continued south on the Mine Hill Trail and on to lunch at the San Cristobal Mine. After exploring a short distance into the mine and watching a tarantula, we continued to the Castillero Trail to an overlook where we examined the Rotary Furnace where cinnabar was heated to release its mercury. After sampling some delicious bay nut brownies I made, we headed north to English Camp and then downhill on the English Camp and Deep Gulch Trail to where we started.

Cinnabar was mined from New Almaden from 1845 until 1972, when the price of mercury plummeted as substitutes were found for this toxic metal. It is the oldest mining area in California, and was the world's second largest producer of mercury. Despite 127 years of intensive mining, and the deforestation and environmental degradation that was the result, this area is remarkably natural. It is amazing how fast human structures fall apart and disappear after they have been abandoned.

After the hike, we stopped at the New Almaden mining museum at Casa Grande in the town of New Almaden. The museum was recently renovated and is worth a visit. It is open Friday through Sunday from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM.

TO GET THERE... There are four entrances to this park. To reach the Hacienda entrance from Highway 85, take Almaden Expressway south and turn right on Almaden Road through the community of New Almaden. Look for a big parking lot and entrance on the right side of the road.

Ano Nuevo State Reserve

My Foothill College class enjoyed a pleasant, though mostly overcast day, at Ano Nuevo State Reserve on the southern San Mateo County coast.

Ano Nuevo is famous for its elephant seals, which are the largest members of the seal family. Most people visit from December to March during the mating and pupping season. Male elephant seals arrive in early December to establish breeding hierarchy and are followed in late December by the females, who join the harems of dominant males. From December 15 through March you must be on an organized tour.

This fascinating peninsula is worth visiting all year, and in fact, can be most enjoyable when most of the seals and their hordes of admirers are gone. There are elephant seals at Ano Nuevo nearly all year. In October the juveniles arrive to strengthen their bones by moving around on land for a month or so. We saw several hundred juvenile seals, mostly males, hanging around the beach at North Point. Some of the older juvenile males were engaged in mock combat to prepare for the mating battles to come when they reach maturity.

There is a lot more to see at Ano Nuevo than elephant seals. We also saw California sea lions on the island, two cavorting sea otters, and lots of pelicans and other birds. We stopped at an Indian shell mound to discuss how the native people thrived in this abundant place. We walked about 5.5 miles over mostly level terrain, some it sandy. Then we had lunch at Cove Beach before heading back to the parking lot.

TO GET THERE... the main entrance is on the west side of Highway 1 about 19 miles north of Santa Cruz and about 23 miles south of Half Moon Bay.

Pescadero Creek County Park

On Saturday, October 8 I lead my College of San Mateo class on an adventurous field trip to Pescadero Creek County Park, deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Past field trips to this park took us along the Tarwater Trail Loop through the east side of this park. I thought it was time to explore the west side of the park.

After meeting at Sklyonda (Skyline Boulevard/Highway 84 intersection), we carpooled to our trailhead on Wurr Road, which is between San Mateo County Memorial Park and Pescadero Creek County Park. We then took a loop that included the Old Haul Road, Pomponio Trail, and Shaw Flat Trail, which took us back to the Old Haul Road. We hiked a short distance up a side trail which was too steep. I will leave that one out in the future, though it was a great aerobic workout. We ate lunch at the Shaw Flat Trail Camp, which is one of two trail camps in this park, and one of the few trail camps in the Santa Cruz Mountains that allow camp fires.

This loop, minus the steep side route, is about 5.5 miles. The biggest challenge was crossing Pescadero Creek twice. There are no bridges on this route, and the water level in the creek was higher than expected due to unseasonable rain last week. Some people got wet feet or else took off their shoes and socks to wade across the creek.

Though this park has been heavily logged, we came across some large and ancient redwoods. We also saw a maypole in Worley Flat, lots of banana slugs, and some crawdads in the creek. The consensus was that despite the wet creek crossings this is a worthy field trip destination. In the future I will urge students to bring sandals or water shoes for the creek crossings.

TO GET THERE... From Skyline Boulevard, take La Honda Road (Hwy 84) west. Past the town of La Honda, turn left on Pescadero Road toward San Mateo County Memorial Park. Turn left on Wurr Road and park at the parking lot just beyond the bridge over Pescadero Creek.

A Butano State Park Ramble

On October 1, 2011 I lead my Foothill/De Anza class on a wonderful 5.12-mile loop hike at Butano State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is hard to overstate the charm of this cool, green canyon park. Because of its location on the west side of the range, far from population centers, Butano is one of the most remote parks in the Bay Area.

Our hike began on the park road, which becomes a dirt road past the gate. We then turned uphill on the Goat Hill Trail and then headed east on the Doe Ridge Trail. Just east of where this trail intersects the Olmo Fire Road we stopped for lunch on the ridge top where we enjoyed views into the Little Butano Creek Canyon and the Gazos Creek Canyon. We examined the dense cones of the Knobcone Pines that grow atop the ridge.

Many banana slugs, some mating, were seen that day.

TO GET THERE... from Highway 1 in southern San Mateo County, take Pescadero Road or Gazos Creek Road to Cloverdale Road. The park is about 5 miles south of Pescadero. There is a parking fee.