星期六, 2月 25, 2006

Stevens Creek Reservoir

Date: 02/26/06
Park: Stevens Creek Reservoir, Cupertino, CA
Condition: Warm and Sunny with Haze
Start time: About 12PM
Length: About 6.1 Miles
Hikers: Noelle, Maria, Sarah, JC
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/stevenscreek.html
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/1234681/1/57827851
Views: The reservoir was pretty as usual, I forgot to bring the description print out. We have been there a few times so we did not get lost. I thought we made the wrong but in fact we didn't. Thank God. We saw quite a lot of new plants growing after the pouring rains. The place is so full of life. We went up to the vista point and the bay area is the view. It was a little bit hazy though. I was kinda sick that day so walking and resting on the way up. I was walking soooooooooooo sssssssllllllllooooooooowwwwwwwlllllllyyyyyy. Anyway it is nice to breathe cleaner air. There are a few kayaks on the water which makes the pictures more interesting around the green trees, green water and the green hills. There were a few blue Jays and other birds. We also saw 2 rangers with a radar gun to catch speeding bikers.

星期一, 2月 20, 2006

Mission Peak

Date: 02/20/06
Park: Mission Peak, Fremont, CA
Condition: Windy and Sunny
Start time: About 12:45 PM
Length: About 4 hours
Hikers: JC
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/missionpeak.html
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/1225321/1/57381141
Views: I was planning to see snow covered Mt Diablo and Mt Hamalton, neither was snow covered. San Francisco is not visible either, too hazy. But the view is still awesome. A lot of noisy cows and calves calling, running and eating. Very green hills. A few eagles/hawks. A perichute jumper. An insect that looks like bees without wings. Wild flowers are not abundant yet. Just a tree with flowers.

星期六, 2月 11, 2006

Los Trancos

Date: 02/11/06
Park: Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, Woodside, CA
Condition: A warm spring day.
Start time: About 3:00 PM
Length: About 3 hours
Hikers: Maria and JC
Trail: http://www.bahiker.com/southbayhikes/lostrancos.html
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/1197187/1/56004650
Views: This is on the San Andreas Fault and it is a nature trail which explains the geological features. We saw a fence split by the American Plate and Pacific Plate. Ground water generate source of the creek. A few water falls. There are trees that had almost fall but still have little bit of soil attached to the roots, branchs grows vertically. We still couldn't figure out what is roadlike bench. This is a short walk but plenty of elevation drops and climbs.

星期日, 2月 05, 2006

Rancho San Antonio

Date: 02/05/06
Park: Rancho San Antonio, Los Altos, CA
Condition: A very nice day.
Start time: About 3:45 PM
Length: About 2 hours
Hikers: Maria, Ceci, Hillary, Rachel, JC
Trail: The usual Wildcat Loop Trail
Condition: Nice and warm.
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/1183387/1/55343059
Views: A very clear day with views of SF at the vista point. The whole peninsular is in sight also. We went there after church, the farm is still open when we got there. We seldom got there when it is still open but there were only a few chickens and cocks. All other farm animals are hiding. Oh well, may be next time. Hillary and Rachel seemed to enjoy the hiking a lot. We should take them along for hiking more. It is near dusk so the wild animals came out. We saw several quails, a rabbit, a few deers and a bob cat. We even saw a domestic cat which ignores us.

星期六, 2月 04, 2006

Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge

Date:02/04/06
Park: Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, Alviso, CA
Condition: Nice with some clouds
Start time: About 4:30PM
Length: Approximately 1 hours
Trail: ad hoc, started at Gold Street Marina, Alviso
Hikers: Me, Maria
Pictures: http://jc-studios.smugmug.com/gallery/1183296/1/55339191
Views: Sunset is nice, the clouds are colorful. We even saw a patch of clouds with rainbow color. Normal winter wind. We saw a lot of birds and an Amtrak. After the Amtrak passed by, most of the birds evacuated the water. May be it is the noise or may be it is the shaking. The view consisted of the East Bay with sunset green hills. Sunset over the Western Hills, too bad the reflection on the water was not too great. The trail was a little bit wet but it was manageable. We started late because we started after Fr Andrew's liturgy retreat. Overall, a short stroll with very nice views.