A Nice Walk

Lou and Dawn are away, so I get to play.

I had a nice breakfast at Whole Foods and then headed for the hills.


I went to Pescadero Creek Park on the other side of the mountains West of Palo Alto.


There is a trailhead off Alpine Road for the Tarwater Loop Trail. This is probably my favorite trail in the area. Even though it doesn't meet one of my standard criteria for favorite trails in that it goes downhill on the way out and you have to climb back up on the way back. Oh well, rules were meant to be broken. I usually walk in the clockwise direction on the trail (Opposite from the description in the link).


The trail was a bit slick due to the recent rains but in pretty good shape due to little abuse by horsemen and bikers (both prohibited at this time of year). The litter of leaves and small branches on the trail actually helped a lot. The weather was a bit cold but the sun was out and provided some welcome warmth at the occasional clearing.


I like this trail because of the variety of trees and scenery and because of the animals. I've seen bobcats, mountain lions, coyote, fox, and of course a variety of birds, squirrel and slugs. There is lots of disturbed earth, a sign of the wild boar that are so prevalent in the area and which I have been fortunate enough not to have ever seen.


Some places look much like a rain forest. On the right is a picture of the grandfather tree.

At the finish of the trail you enter an old ranch. They had an apple orchard and some of the trees survive. This area is where a herd of deer usually hang out and where I've seen coyote before. Nothing today. On the right, a picture of Pescadero Creek.

There are lots of other trails in this basin but this trail provides a good variety and is about the right length (about 5 miles).

This park was originally intended for a reservoir but environmentalists stopped its construction. The lake would have been useful and pretty but the area now provides more than 8000 acres of nice views and great hiking. Combine that with the adjacent Portola Redwoods State Park and all the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District land and you can hike for miles. I once even hiked from this trailhead all the way to Big Basin Redwood State Park (one way) possibly 10-12 Miles? West. Lou was nice enough to pick me up for the return trip by car.

Dinner was some nice Spanish rice prepared from some leftovers. Rice, peppers, onions, diced olives, black beans, a couple of Italian sausage, and some salsa. Very good!