Suggested Future Hikes

Dear Students,

Thanks for a glorious last hike, and for so many wonderful hikes over the years.  You're an amazing bunch and I'm honored to have spent time in nature with you.  I'll miss you very much.

And still not sure what's on for summer, so do stay tuned and check the catalog.

If you wanted to do some hiking for the glorious Spring bloom coming up, here are some places I would recommend.

Week 1:  Return to Coal Mine Ridge off Alpine Road to catch the last of the Houndstongue and Indian Warrior.  Location details at: http://bahiker.com/southbayhikes/cmr.html

Week 2:  Roll out to Santa Teresa County Park in South San Jose  where the bloom is going to be bumping!  Check out this good resource: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/Whats-Happening/Documents/WildflowerHikes.pdf and be sure to look for the green Serpentine rocks.  You could follow this hike or find another: http://bahiker.com/southbayhikes/santateresa.html.

Week 3:  Sunol Regional Wilderness!  Sure, it's Fremont, but it is AMAZING and since I'm not actually leading it I don't have to worry about logistics.  I've always wanted to take y'all there.  Seriously, hills just carpeted with flowers!  If you're reading this but not planning doing your own hikes, do go check out the Sunol Wildflower Festival on April 9th if you can! http://www.ebparks.org/features/Spring_Wildflower_Festival_at_Sunol_Regional_Wilderness

Week 4:  Back to Edgewood!  Take the same trails we took and catch a whole different aspect of the show.  Hopefully you'll be not too late for the delphinium and columbine in the shady places but right on time for the swaths of goldfields and tidy tips in the grasslands.  They have free docent led hikes (way too early in the AM, lol), check them out at:  http://www.friendsofedgewood.org/springtime-wildflower-walks.   Be sure to stop at the nature center and see what's blooming!

Week 5:  Wrap it up at Russian Ridge.  Look for wildflowers and butterflies, enjoy the massive oaks and the gorgeous views.  You can do the featured hike at: http://bahiker.com/southbayhikes/russianridge.html or pick your own at: http://www.openspace.org/preserves/russian-ridge.


Some helpful resources: 

• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District:  http://www.openspace.org/ (Includes Russian Ridge, Skyline Ridge, Fremont Older, Purissima Creek)
• San Mateo County Parks:  http://parks.smcgov.org/county-parks (Includes Edgewood, Huddart)
• Santa Clara County Parks:  https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/parkfinder.aspx  (Includes Santa Teresa County Park, Uvas Creek Canyon)
• GGNRA:  https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/maps.htm  (Includes Mori Point)
• California State Parks: https://www.parks.ca.gov/ParkIndex (Includes Castle Rock and Mt. San Bruno which we never made it to despite best intentions!)
• East Bay Regional Park District - truly an incredible wealth of resources, worth driving for!  http://www.ebparks.org/parks
• Santa Clara County Open Space Authority - Mostly South Santa Clara County, some huge and gorgeous preserves.  http://www.openspaceauthority.org/trails/

Other resources!  

• Miri's favorite field guide (It's ancient but marvelous, and truly covers almost everything.  Plant names have changed but hopefully not too much else): https://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Society-Field-California/dp/0679446788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490424339&sr=1-1&keywords=national+audubon+society+field+guide+to+california
• If you are interested in planting your yard with natives, check out http://www.larnerseeds.com/ - they sell only plants indigenous to California.
• Some highly excellent blogs are:  http://natureofaman.blogspot.com/, and http://dipperanch.blogspot.com/.  

Enjoy the wonders of the natural world, check the catalog for summer, and please keep in touch!  Xoxox!

Tomorrow: Edgewood!

Hello everyone, I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our last hike of the quarter...and for a while.

Edgewood Park is a legend for its wildflower displays.  We are a little early for most of them, as they peak around May, but we should still get to see some pretty sights.

So unlike some of our other parks, Edgewood has a bathroom, drinking water, and a wonderful little nature center.  The parking lot is liable to be PACKED, so be patient, and carpool if you can.  Learn more here:  http://parks.smcgov.org/edgewood-park-natural-preserve

Wonderful Coal Mine Ridge Recap + Resources

Hi everyone!  First of all, please be SURE to check out Kathryn's amazing photos from our hikes at: http://bit.ly/2lsS1dF

She's so incredibly talented!  There are some really great pictures of Houndstongue, Indian Warrior, False Turkey Tails, and of course Poison Oak!  :)

So we talked in the last class about the Ba-Hiker site, which is a wonderful site.  Especially since I will not be offering the class next quarter, if you want to keep hiking, I highly recommend it.  You can look at it here: http://bahiker.com/.  Here is their write-up of Coal Mine Ridge, it's one of the few descriptions of that preserve available:  http://bahiker.com/southbayhikes/cmr.html

You can find trail maps of Portola Valley at: http://www.portolavalley.net/for-residents/portola-valley-trails.

Some ways to find other places to hike if you are interested:

Go to maps.google.com and find your house.  Slowly scroll the mouse outwards until you see a green splotch that indicates park or open space.  Hover over it to find its name, and Google it if it looks interesting to find trail maps and hours of operation.  Some green splotches will be golf courses, but others may be parks you didn't know about!

You can also go to the website for your city or county.  Use the search function to find parks, or open space, or trails and to learn more about them.

Also, go to Yelp, enter your zip code or have it locate you where you are, and search for "hiking" or "hiking trails."

The Dipper Ranch Blog has a great write-up of wildflower hot spots, check out one entry at: http://dipperanch.blogspot.com/2013/03/santa-teresa-county-park-wildflower.html.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District offers an incredible suite of guided hikes.  Check them out at:  http://www.openspace.org/.