La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve

Exploring the northern part of La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve requires some advanced planning. You need to contact the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District office to request a permit. This permit includes the combination to the locked gate at the end of Allen Road. There is room for only seven cars in the preserve, so carpooling may be necessary for groups. Getting to the entrance involves driving cautiously down Bear Gulch Road, which is a narrow and winding one-lane road. You then turn left onto Allen Road, which is also narrow. Watch for cars coming in the opposite direction.

Because access to this preserve is limited, the only people in the preserve yesterday were with my College of San Mateo class. Be aware that what passes for trails in this preserve are either dirt roads or faint and unmarked paths that are overgrown with grass. Be sure to check yourself out for ticks, especially in the Spring.

In the late 1940's an airline pilot, named Dyer, returning from Hawaii looked down on these open grassy fields in the Santa Cruz Mountains and decided he wanted to live there. He drove to the property and found that it was for sale. Soon after buying it Mr. Dyer's wife loaded up a truck with all their possessions and drove across the country to their new home. The current owner of the house told us that the truck is now inside the concrete garage near the house.

We walked west from the house and parking lot  to a telephone pole marked by the number 8 near a big manzanita. This marks the beginning of the trail that leads downhill about a tenth of a mile to the biggest redwood tree on the property. We measured the circumference and calculated that it is 12.2 feet in diameter.

We then retraced our steps to a path that heads south on a ridge. I caught a yellow-bellied racer snake on the trail. We continued on this old ranch road to Vista Point, where we enjoyed spectacular views of the La Honda Creek watershed, which flows into Pescadero Creek. Despite fog on the coast we were able to get a glimpse of the ocean. From there we retraced our steps to a faint old ranch road trail to the left. This route takes a steep descent to a wooded area where we ate lunch. At our lunch spot I caught a gopher snake and a rubber boa, and some of us saw a ringneck snake.

After lunch we headed uphill on another old ranch/logging road which returned us to our starting point. This is a very ecologically diverse preserve. It contains a combination of redwood, Douglas fir, bay, madrone, and oak woodlands, as well as large areas of open grassland. There were still many wildflowers in bloom, including Douglas iris, flax, checker bloom, globe lilly, Ithurial's spear, California poppies, and elderberry. We hiked in a small part of a much larger preserve, most of which is not yet open to the public.

TO GET THERE... Contact the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District for details.

Hidden Villa Hiking

Hidden Villa, in Los Altos Hills, is a 1,600 acre preserve that is privately owned and operated by a non-profit trust set up by Frank and Josephine Duveneck, who purchased the property in 1924. The Duvenecks were a socially and environmentally conscious couple who established the first youth hostel on the west coast and a multi-cultural summer camp. Hidden Villa has an organic farm, farm animals, and a network of trails that are open to the public from September until June. It is closed during the summer when summer camp is in session. There is a $5.00 per car parking fee.

Yesterday my College of San Mateo class carpooled to the main parking lot, where we began our outing. After touring the Educational Garden we visited the sheep, cows, goats, chickens, and pigs. We saw the white house and white barn which were built in the 1860's and we then poked our heads into the Duveneck's home, which was built in 1930.

From the big house we started our 5.7-mile hike by heading up the Long Bunny Loop trail, which climbs through a variety of habitats. We admired many beautiful bay, oak, madrone, and maple trees. Despite the drought, there were lots of wildflowers in bloom, including honeysuckle, pennyroyal, Ithurial's spear,  blue witch, cream bush, globe lilly, indian paintbrush, climatis, golden yarrow, morning glory, starflower, thimbleberry, crimson columbine, linanthus, wind poppy, ookow, larkspur, and indian pink.

At the intersection of the Long Bunny Loop and the Creek Trail we paused for lunch along Adobe Creek, which was flowing rather well. We then ascended the Creek Trail and the Ewing Hill Trail, which crosses into Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve. From a hilltop just off the trail we could see grand views of the Santa Clara Valley and San Francisco Bay. We then hiked the Black Mountain Trail south and tur

ned west on the Hostel Trail, which re-enters Hidden Villa. The Hostel Trail passes through chaparral, with great views and an unusual cluster of wind poppies. This trail makes a rather steep descent to near the hostel. Some of us entered the main hostel building and looked around at the adjacent cabins before making our way back to the parking lot.

TO GET THERE... Take Highway 280 to El Monte/Moody Road exit. Follow signs to El Monte Road west and continue past Foothill College. Continue 1.7 miles to the entrance on the left side of Moody Road.

Tarwater Loop at Pescadero Creek County Park

Yesterday my De Anza College class hiked the Tarwater Trail loop, with a side trip to the Tarwater Trail Camp and lunch at Pescadero Creek. Most of the group carpooled from the park & ride lot on Page Mill Road just off Highway 280. We drove up Page Mill Road, crossed Skyline Boulevard, and continued on Alpine Road to the intersection with Camp Pomponio Road. Because it is easy to miss this turnoff, look for a sign on the left that says "Pescadero Creek County Park 7546 Alpine Road" and a small sign on the right that says "BUFFALO VALLEY DRIVE". Drive as far down Camp Pomponio Road  as you can go and park in the parking lot.

From the Tarwater Trailhead we hiked downhill on the Tarwater Loop Trail, pausing to look at numerous wildflowers and an enormous old-growth redwood, which the loggers spared because it is largely hollowed out by fire. This giant column of wood supports a grove of sprouted redwoods, called reiterations, high off the ground. Among the many wildflowers we saw were hedge nettle, forget-me-nots, ocean spray (cream bush) globe lilly, Douglas iris, star lilly, redwood sorrel, blue-eyed grass, buttercup, and bellardia.

On our way downhill we stopped to examine the remains of the Moore, Fisher & Troupe lumber mill established in 1915 to cut railroad ties. There is a large iron boiler used to generate steam to run the saw. We also saw three banana slugs.

Instead of continuing on the Tarwater Loop we headed south on the Bridge Trail, stopping to inspect the Tarwater Trail Camp, on our way across the bridge to our lunch stop on the south bank of Pescadero Creek. We saw several newts in the creek. After lunch we retraced our steps back to the Tarwater Loop to begin the uphill portion of our route.

On our way up the Tarwater Loop Trail we took a short side trip on the Canyon Trail to see the tar seep in the creek bed. Tar oozes out of the ground next to the creek, with globs of the black sticky stuff breaking off and flowing down the creek. Heading uphill, we climbed above the redwoods into an oak woodland and stopped to see a small wooden building that is all that remains of a ranch that once

operated here.

TO GET THERE... From Skyline Boulevard take Alpine Road west and turn south on Camp Pomponio Road to the trailhead parking lot.

Coal Mine Ridge in Portola Valley

Today I led my College of San Mateo class on a nearly six mile loop through Coal Mine Ridge on the Portola Valley Trails and through part of Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. Our route took us along the San Andreas Fault and revealed an extraordinary diversity of trees, bushes, and flowering plants.

We met near the intersection of Alpine Road and Willowbrook Drive in the town of Portola Valley. The small parking lot on Alpine Road was full, but there was plenty of parking on Willowbrook. From there we crossed Alpine and headed uphill to the Old Spanish Trail. We followed that trail all the way to two sag ponds formed where a curve in the San Andreas Fault caused the land to drop and fill with water. We ate lunch at the pond on Lake Road. While lunching, we saw a pond turtle, a grebe, and a blue heron.

After lunch we headed south on the Lake Trail to Alpine Road. We then walked downhill on Alpine Road to the Eagle Trail in Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. We crossed Corte Madera Creek on an old stone bridge and continued on back to our starting point.

We saw blue oaks, white oaks, black oaks, live oaks, madrone,  and bay trees. We enjoyed many flowering plants, which were abundant despite the drought. Here is a partial list of flowering plants:
slim solomon's seal, hairy honeysuckle, globe lilly (fairy lantern), soap lilly, flax, Ithu

rial's spear, Douglas Iris, hedge nettle, blow wives, several species of Clarkia, ookow, larkspur, mariposa lilly, pitcher sage, chamise, Chinese houses, crimson columbine, golden poppies, vetch, and cow parsnip.

TO GET THERE... from Highway 280 take Alpine Road south to the intersection with Willowbrook Drive.