Summer 1996 Calendar

Possible Mt. Whitney trip

Sunday Jun 16: Foothills Park

Jun 22: Henry Coe Park

Jun 29: Muir Woods

Come join us for this hike from Muir Woods to Mount Tamalpais. Muir Woods is located about one-half hour drive north of San Francisco. We will start our hike with at the main trail loop which goes through the only large, intact stand of ancient redwoods in the Bay Area. Then, we will go uphill through a mixed forest of redwoods and broadleafed bays and maples to the Old Railroad Trail. We will hike in a fireroad to the summit of Mount Tamalpais (2600 ft) to enjoy an incredible view of the north bay. From there, we will loop back to Muir Woods.

Jul 6: Big Basin

Hike description:

Big Basin Redwoods State Park, located about 23 miles north-west of the city of Santa Cruz, is California's oldest State Park. Because of the recent temperatures, we'll be staying almost exclusively in the Redwood forest, which should keep us reasonably cool.

Our hike will take us along the Sunset Trail, out to the Berry Creek Falls, than back along the Skyline to the Sea Trail.

Sunday Jul 14: Henry Cowell Redwoods

• Length of hike: ~8 miles
• Elevation diff: 700 ft.
• Meet: 9:00 am at the Bechtel Center, Stanford
• Driving time: 1 hr (each way)

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is located near Felton in the Santa Cruz Mountains. We start at the Park Headquarters (at the Felton entrance). We follow the River and Rincon trails through redwood forest to the San Lorenzo river. We will wade across the river twice. There are no bridges! Normally the water is about knee-deep at this time of year, but it could possibly be higher (especially for short people...) We suggest you bring a pair of sandals (e.g. Teva's) or similar to use for the river crossings since you don't want to get your hiking boots all wet and walking barefoot could be uncomfortable.

From the river we hike up 700 feet to the Observation Deck which has a nice view. We then continue our hike on the Eagle trail and return to the parking lot by the headquarters. The whole loop is only about 8 miles long, which is less than our average hike.

Saturday Jul 27: Pt. Reyes National Seashore

• Length of hike: ~13 miles
• Elevation diff: 1300 ft.
• Meet: 9:00 am at the Bechtel Center, Stanford
• Driving time: 2 hr (each way)

This hike will take us to the Inverness Ridge and Limantar. These are areas of Pt. Reyes that we, including the leader, have never visited before. We expect to do a 13 mile loop, but optionally there is also a 8 mile loop (e.g. if the weather is bad). Both involve hiking up and down from near sea level to 1300 feet. The trip leader, Mike, will meet the group at the Bear Valley visitor's center at 10:15am. (Alternative meeting place and time for people who cannot participate in the carpool from Stanford.)

Aug 3: Purisima Creek Redwoods

• Length of hike: 9-10 miles
• Elevation diff: 1600 ft.
• Meet: 8:45 am at the Bechtel Center, Stanford
• Driving time: 1 hr (each way)

This weeks hike is to Purisima Creek Redwoods which will be lead by Rachel. We will meet at the Bechtel center at 8:45 on Sat. Aug 3 and drive via 92 to half moon bay. Then south on Rt 1 for about 1 mile to Higgins-Pupisima creek rd. I have never been there, but some tell me it is their favorite hike!!. We will do a 9-10 mile loop with about 1600 Ft elevation. Some of the hike will be in the sun so bring lots of water!! I'm also told that after the hike, dinner at Duarte's in Pescadero is a must for cream of artichoke soup and home made bread!! (this is an option of course). If anyone would like to meet us at the trail head (at 9:45) please e-mail me.

Aug 10: Butano State Park

• Length of hike: 11-13 miles
• Elevation diff: <1500ft
• Meet: 8:30am at the Bechtel Center, Stanford
• Driving time: 70 min. (each way)

Butano State Park stretches almost from Big Basin to the Pacific Ocean. We will do a loop hike of 11-13 miles and quite a bit of up and downhill.
We'll start near the park entrance and go up the Jackson Flat trail. The trail will go through both redwood forest and later open areas with great views of the surrounding hills and canyons (and the ocean, if not foggy/cloudy). The return is down the Ano Nuevo trail which is quite steep with lots of switchbacks. Bring a sweater or jacket since it can be chilly/windy near the coast even if it is nice and warm around the bay.
Optional detour to a beach on the way home if the weather is nice.

The drive to the park entrance is about 70 minutes. You can take HW84 over to HW1. Take a left on HW1 and then a left again on Pescadero. Now follow the signs to Butano park. You'll make a right again on Pescadero a little ways from the ocean.

We strongly recommend that you meet at the Bechtel Center at 8:30am for car-pooling!

Aug 17: Canoe Trip on Russian River

Thanks to all who responded regarding the canoe trip.
The interest was far greater than expected, I now have 34 people on the list! This means the list is closed effective immediately. In fact, it may be a problem to get enough canoes but I'll see what I can do.
I forgot to include payment information in my first message. Please write a check payable to Erik Boman ($10 per person) and mail to

Erik

Orignal Announcement

We will leave from Palo Alto early in the morning (7am?) and drive up north to Healdsburg, Sonoma County. We rent canoes there and go for a 11 mile trip down the Russian River. This river is relatively easy (class 1) but we will do the uppermost part which is most exciting (a bit of "rapids"; you will need to watch out for rocks etc.). You do not need to have canoeing experience, as long as you have good balance skills and are in normal physical shape you should be OK. We will not have any professional guide on this trip, however, we will fly in an experienced canoeist from Norway who hopefully will be able to go first and show us how :-)

The canoeing part will take at least 5 hours. Even more, if we stop for swimming or fishing. The drive is about 2.5 hours each way so this will definitely be an all-day trip.

The cost will be $39 (+tax?) per canoe. With two people per canoe it comes to about $20 per person. Carpooling cost plus dinner on the way back will probably be another $20.

Sign-up:

I have already reserved 8 canoes (16 people). I can still adjust this number until Friday. Therefore, it is important that you reply to me (boman__no_spam__sccm.stanford.edu) as soon as possible if you want to come. If there is overwhelming interest, we will give priority to Outing Club volunteers (trip leaders).

To confirm your reservation, please send me a non-refundable $10 payment by mail before Friday 08/09 to this address:

BBQ dinner?

If we like, we could order a barbeque buffet dinner from the outfitter which will be served at the campground where the canoe trip ends. This will cost $8 per person. Please choose between these three options:

a) Yes, I would like the BBQ buffet.
b) No, I prefer to eat somewhere else but I'll join the BBQ if that is what the majority prefers.
c) No, under no circumstances will I take part in the BBQ.

Aug 24: Fall Creek Park

• Length of hike: 8.6 miles
• Elevation diff: 1500 ft
• Meet: 8:30am at the Bechtel Center, Stanford
• Driving time: 1hr min. (each way)

Fall Creek is the northern unit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Felton. The park was once the place of the IXL Lime Company which intensively logged the area for fuel and barrels to hold lime. Today, the forest has taken over and there are very few signs of the industrial past of Fall Creek.

We will start hiking in the Fall Creek Trail. This is a pleasant shaded trail that follows the Fall Creek along the central canyon of the park. We will go past the lime kilns and the barrel mill area. Then we'll go up Big Ben Trail, a steep, switchbacked route. Finally, we'll loop back on the Lost Empire trail. This trail follows oxen roads used for logging the area for fuel.

Aug 31-Sept 2: Eureka Valley Trip

Sept 21: Castle Rock Park

• Length of hike: ~11 Miles, not too hard, lots of wood. Come in a good mood!
• Meet: *9:00am* at the Bechtel International Center, Stanford

Sep 27-28: Yosemite trip

From Rachel Ettinger 30 Jul 1996 12:09:03
For those of you wishing to go to Yosemite in Sept. and have not yet sent in their $5 deposit, please do so now:

From Carl Adams Thu Jun 20 10:10:15 1996
Well we had an organizational meeting for the Yosemite trip last Tuesday night, and here are the results. We have ~13 people who are interested in going, and we have reserved 3 campsites in the Valley for the the weekend of Sept. 27-28. Since these campsites can hold 6 people each, we still have spots for about 5 more people. So if you're gazing into your crystal ball and trying to decide what you'll be doing at the end of September, consider coming on this 2 day trip to Yosemite, after the summer crowds have fled. Other things to note:

• We plan leave the Bay Area Friday afternoon (depending on when people can get away from work) and carpool up to the park. We will be returning on Sunday in the evening.
• A long hike is planned for Saturday, and most folks want to climb Half Dome. There may be another group taking the shuttle up to Glacier Point and hiking back down to the valley. A shorter hike around the valley is planned for Sunday.
• We'll probably have another meeting 2 weeks prior to the trip to organize rides and equipment. Anyone in need of a tent, sleeping bag, pad, etc. can bring it up at that time.