To be accurate, this was part II. Part I happened two weeks ago, a six-mile hike up Betsy Crowder Trail and Spring Ridge Trail, to Skyline, and back. It was wide open and, not to disappoint entirely, somewhat windy. Part II, yesterday, was not at all windy, traversing the heavily wooded southwestern quadrant of the 1123-acre preserve located about forty miles south of San Francisco.
I was concerned about the rather late (10am) start, but until noon or so the air was relatively cool, in part due to the heavy canopy throughout most of the hike, a nine-mile loop, starting Spring Ridge Trail and continuing to Hamms Gulch Trail, Eagle Trail, Razorback Ridge Trail, and Lost Trail, and then down Hamms Gulch and Spring Ridge to the Portola Road parking lot. Eagle Trail and Razorback Ridge Trail were empty, and Lost Trail, slightly less so. A few serious day hikers (oxymoron, perhaps) were running up and down the narrow footpaths. Dogs, sometimes off leash, were enjoying their freedom, the cathedral of trees, including second growth redwoods, and the relative quiet, but for wind rustling and the occasional plane high overhead beginning its descent to SFO. Despite another drought year, all three trails were lush and green. I was reminded of the Cape Sebastian Trail just south of Gold Beach, Oregon, except that instead of the frigid Pacific below there were verdant ravines. Hamms Gulch, the main artery up and down Windy Hill, besides Spring Ridge, was more open, but still memorable, with its oak, madrone, and firs. We stopped for quick bite on our way down Hamms Gulch, when we heard zen-like music nearby, from, as we soon realized, the phone or speaker of an approaching hiker. Apparently, the sounds of the forest were not zen enough for him. Soon enough, following a long descent, the hike, and another adventure, had ended.
The conversation during this hike was wide-ranging: current events, political trends, career next steps, planned vacations, family, yoga, fitness boot camp (I had a completed a class from 8-9am; hence, the late start), and so on. There was also silence, natural (and inevitable) breaks in the conversation, just the sound of the forest.
During this hike, it was impossible not to plan my next. Fire season starts in a few months, perhaps earlier, so there is limited time to enjoy the three or four hikes that I have tentatively planned. Of course, I will need to negotiate time for these hikes, each, not inconsequential, an opportunity cost, easily a four to five hour affair, including transportation and the obligatory post-hike meal, this time, just as in Part I, at Amigos Grill Cocina Mexicana Y Cantina in Portola Valley. It was also time to plan my next hike to Windy Hill, most likely for some time in the late Fall, after fire season, perhaps after the first rains, in November, for another perspective.
Comments welcomed.
The Peninsula Hiking Club 