Hi everyone! I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at Skyline Ridge Preserve. This is a gorgeous preserve with varied habitats, including two ponds. (May not be much water in them though.) Keep your eyes out in the grassland areas, maybe we'll see some tarantula boys looking for love! http://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-tarantula-mating-season-in-california-and-hikers-are-being-warned/
Class 2: 10/1/16 - Skyline Ridge Preserve - http://www.openspace.org/preserves/skyline-ridge. Free, there's a port-a-potty but no drinking water. Plenty of parking. Park at the MAIN parking lot. Coming up Page Mill road, you'd turn Left on Skyline and go for about a mile, then the preserve will be on your right side.
Let me know if you can't make it, but otherwise I'll see you soon!
Friday, September 30, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Thanks for a great first hike!
Hi everyone! I really enjoyed exploring the wonders of Wunderlich with you today! It was nice to see both familiar and new faces out on the trail. Please feel free to add your own photos, as well as questions or comments, in the "comments" section. We got a good start learning some of the key plants. We spent a lot of time learning how to identify poison oak. Here's a good little summary of that plant: http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/garden/bloom_10_06.shtml. We also spent some time distinguishing PO from its lookalike friend, California Blackberry: http://calscape.org/Rubus-ursinus-(Pacific-Blackberry). We saw California Coffeeberry, which, despite its alluring name, isn't recommended for snacking on trailside due to its laxative effects. Read more about Coffeeberry here: http://www.parksconservancy.org/conservation/plants-animals/native-plant-information/california-coffeeberry.html.
The park's website states: "The cool, lush, second-growth redwood groves and
mixed evergreen forest are contrasted with areas of
hot, dry chaparral. At the Park’s lowest level, a foothill
woodland includes white valley oak, black oak, and
California laurel.
Visitors may see black-tailed deer, raccoons, squirrels,
brush rabbits, lizards, and less commonly bobcats,
coyotes, and gray foxes. Commonly seen birds include
wrentits, acorn woodpeckers, chickadees, towhees,
scrub jays, and Steller’s jays."So of this list, we were lucky to see Black oak, California Bay Laurel, plenty of redwoods, black tailed deer (mature and young ones), and lizards. We saw tanoak, madrone, and coast live oak. We smelled yerba buena (Satureja douglasii) and Stachys (the hedgenettle / horsemint plant). We also heard but did not see red shouldered and red tailed hawks. All and all, a good day! Thanks for being a sweet group, and I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
New students...if you missed the orientation...
Welcome new students! If you missed the orientation, you'll need to know the following:
1. All the hike information is in the blog post previous to this one. I will post photos and follow-up information after each hike. I'll also post changes and reminders, if any are necessary. Therefore, please check this blog before each class! Our first class is at Wunderlich park, and the details are in the post previous.
2. Please wear long pants to your first class, until you get a sense for how much poison oak is near the trail. Please wear rugged shoes and be prepared for sun and/or cool temperatures. Please bring water, a snack, and anything else you may need to be comfortable.
3. Carpooling is recommended! Since you missed the orientation, hopefully you can make friends during the first class so that you may carpool to the remainder.
4. The three main hazards one may encounter in our area are ticks, poison oak, and rattlesnakes. At this time of year wasps can be, if not hazardous, certainly an annoyance. If you are allergic to bees and need an epi-pen, please bring one with you on the hikes. To prevent effects from ticks and poison oak, it is recommended to shower, wash your hair, and wash all your clothes after each hike.
5. Please let me know if you are going to be absent, so that we don't wait for you at the trailside. Please know that I cannot give you credit for hours you did not attend.
6. Hikes are generally between 3-5 miles, include a snack break, and are good exercise but not overly strenuous.
I look forward to seeing you Saturday! Email me if you have any questions.
1. All the hike information is in the blog post previous to this one. I will post photos and follow-up information after each hike. I'll also post changes and reminders, if any are necessary. Therefore, please check this blog before each class! Our first class is at Wunderlich park, and the details are in the post previous.
2. Please wear long pants to your first class, until you get a sense for how much poison oak is near the trail. Please wear rugged shoes and be prepared for sun and/or cool temperatures. Please bring water, a snack, and anything else you may need to be comfortable.
3. Carpooling is recommended! Since you missed the orientation, hopefully you can make friends during the first class so that you may carpool to the remainder.
4. The three main hazards one may encounter in our area are ticks, poison oak, and rattlesnakes. At this time of year wasps can be, if not hazardous, certainly an annoyance. If you are allergic to bees and need an epi-pen, please bring one with you on the hikes. To prevent effects from ticks and poison oak, it is recommended to shower, wash your hair, and wash all your clothes after each hike.
5. Please let me know if you are going to be absent, so that we don't wait for you at the trailside. Please know that I cannot give you credit for hours you did not attend.
6. Hikes are generally between 3-5 miles, include a snack break, and are good exercise but not overly strenuous.
I look forward to seeing you Saturday! Email me if you have any questions.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Welcome new and returning students!
Welcome to the Fall quarter of Peninsula Nature Hikes. I'm really looking forward to spending some wonderful Saturdays with new and returning students as we explore the beauty and bounty of local parks and preserves!
Here's the DRAFT planned schedule. Please note that class locations may be subject to change, and that there may have to be some rescheduled or canceled classes due to weather or other unexpected circumstances. Also, I may unfortunately have to switch our class on the 29th to be on the 22nd due to a work conflict. I will keep you posted if that happens.
There will be an orientation tomorrow night, Wednesday, at 7 PM, at Palo Alto Adult School. This is a chance for you to meet fellow students, ask any questions, and arrange for carpooling! If you miss the orientation, you can always email me at m.sachs.martin@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Class 1: 9/17/16 - Wunderlich Park. http://parks.smcgov.org/locations/wunderlich-park. The parking lot is decent sized but it does fill up, so carpooling is a good idea. I thought there was a fee but can't find any info online. Bring a couple bucks just in case. Water and restrooms available. Redwoods!
Class 2: 10/1/16 - Skyline Ridge Preserve - http://www.openspace.org/preserves/skyline-ridge. Free, there's a port-a-potty but no drinking water. Plenty of parking. Park at the MAIN parking lot. Coming up Page Mill road, you'd turn Left on Skyline and go for about a mile, then the preserve will be on your right side. Two ponds, grasslands, sweeping views.
Class 3: 10/15/16 - San Bruno Mountain. http://parks.smcgov.org/san-bruno-mountain-state-county-park. Be prepared for wind! $6 entrance fee per vehicle, save money by carpooling! Water and restrooms available. Views for days, unique plants that are found nowhere else in the Bay Area.
Class 4: 10/29/16 - Coal Mine Ridge. http://www.redwoodhikes.com/Skyline/CoalMineRidge.html. No fee, no bathrooms or drinking water. Parking can extend down the side street of Willowbrook, so there should be plenty. *I may have to change this class to be on 10/22, will let you know!* My preserve that I manage! We'll go say Hi to the several hundred year old "Mother Tree."
Class 5: 11/12/16 - TBD, possibly Fremont Older OSP. http://www.openspace.org/preserves/fremont-older. Porta potties but no drinking water. Small parking lot, carpooling is a must! Sweeping views and wide open sky. Great preserve for the first hiking day of daylight savings.
Here's the DRAFT planned schedule. Please note that class locations may be subject to change, and that there may have to be some rescheduled or canceled classes due to weather or other unexpected circumstances. Also, I may unfortunately have to switch our class on the 29th to be on the 22nd due to a work conflict. I will keep you posted if that happens.
There will be an orientation tomorrow night, Wednesday, at 7 PM, at Palo Alto Adult School. This is a chance for you to meet fellow students, ask any questions, and arrange for carpooling! If you miss the orientation, you can always email me at m.sachs.martin@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Class 1: 9/17/16 - Wunderlich Park. http://parks.smcgov.org/locations/wunderlich-park. The parking lot is decent sized but it does fill up, so carpooling is a good idea. I thought there was a fee but can't find any info online. Bring a couple bucks just in case. Water and restrooms available. Redwoods!
Class 2: 10/1/16 - Skyline Ridge Preserve - http://www.openspace.org/preserves/skyline-ridge. Free, there's a port-a-potty but no drinking water. Plenty of parking. Park at the MAIN parking lot. Coming up Page Mill road, you'd turn Left on Skyline and go for about a mile, then the preserve will be on your right side. Two ponds, grasslands, sweeping views.
Class 3: 10/15/16 - San Bruno Mountain. http://parks.smcgov.org/san-bruno-mountain-state-county-park. Be prepared for wind! $6 entrance fee per vehicle, save money by carpooling! Water and restrooms available. Views for days, unique plants that are found nowhere else in the Bay Area.
Class 4: 10/29/16 - Coal Mine Ridge. http://www.redwoodhikes.com/Skyline/CoalMineRidge.html. No fee, no bathrooms or drinking water. Parking can extend down the side street of Willowbrook, so there should be plenty. *I may have to change this class to be on 10/22, will let you know!* My preserve that I manage! We'll go say Hi to the several hundred year old "Mother Tree."
Class 5: 11/12/16 - TBD, possibly Fremont Older OSP. http://www.openspace.org/preserves/fremont-older. Porta potties but no drinking water. Small parking lot, carpooling is a must! Sweeping views and wide open sky. Great preserve for the first hiking day of daylight savings.
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