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Winter 2003-04 CalendarJan 17 (Sat) Murietta Falls (Lauren and Sundar) Jan 24 (Sat) Uvas Canyon (Julio) Feb 1(Sun) Feb Whale Watch Cruise at Moss Landing (Girish) Feb 7-8 Cross-Country Skiing in Yosemite (Arturo) (*) Feb 8 Monte Bello (Nicole) Feb 21 (Sat) Pleasanton Ridge (Julio) Mar 7 (Sun) Leader's Choice (Craig) Mar 13 (Sat) Castle Rock (Matt) Mar 13-14 Cross-Country Skiing in Truckee Area (David A.) (*) Mar 20 (Sat) Andrew Molera (Julio) Mar 21 (Sun) Pinnacles (Matt) Mar 27 (Sat) Pinnacles (Sarah) No advance reservations are needed for any of the trips with the exception of the ones marked with (*). A few weeks before those trips, we will post instructions on how to sign up. Jan 17 (Sat) Murietta Falls (Lauren and Sundar)
A long long time ago, I can still remember
How that mountain used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people hike
And maybe, they'd be happy for a while ...
But February made me shiver .. .. and so we decided to do this hike in January!
Back to prose - This is waterfall season in the Bay Area. And so we
decided to hike and see one of the longest waterfalls in the Bay Area.
Both "longest" and the definition of "Bay Area" are of course
debatable, but hey dont hold us to it!
BTW, this is probably not a good hike for beginners. It will be very
strenuous, with a lot of ups and downs come prepared for a workout!
But it will be well worth it. The hike follows the Ohlone Regional
wilderness trail through ancient oak trees to the Bay AreaN!NGs longest
waterfall (100 ft). Along the way we will encounter amazing views of
Mount Whitney and the sierras, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and San
Francisco Bay and the city. Rose Peak, the bay areaN!NGs second tallest,
will be a short distance away from the falls.
We will take the Ohlone Wilderness trail over the upper
canyonsides to the crest of Rocky Ridge, which, in the spring, is
covered with flowers. We will then drop down to Sycamore flat, climb
up Schieper Rock for far-reaching vistas to the north and east, and
pass JohnnyN!NGs Pond. After passing several impressive rock formations,
we will cross a creek and come to the rim of the falls. We can then
navigate a trail down to the pool below.
Directions: Del Valle Regional park is located about 9 miles south of
Livermore off of Mines Rd. From Stanford, take 101 North to 84 East
(continue on 84 via a small detour on Alvarado Niles Rd/Niles Blvd
towards Livermore), about 30 miles. Before Livermore, Turn right on
Concannon Blvd. After 2 miles, turn right on S. Livermore Ave which
turns into Tesla Road. After 3.8 miles, turn right onto Mines Rd.
After 3.6 miles turn right onto Del Valle Rd. Continue for 3 miles to
the Rocky Ridge visitor center.
For more information, see the following link or google:
< a href="http://kevingong.com/Hiking/MuriettaFalls.html">
http://kevingong.com/Hiking/MuriettaFalls.html
Optional Dinner afterwards. Location to be determined.
Light rain will probably not affect the hike. Unless we have very
heavy rain or a storm forecast, we will most probably hike even under
mild rainy conditions.
We will have to leave from Bectel I center on time. This being a long
hike we must start early, in order to complete the hike by sunset.
Questions: contact group leaders
Take me to the top!
We will thoroughly explore this park which is known
for its scenic waterfalls. A portion of our route will
include the Waterfall Loop which often makes $(B!H(Btop ten$(B!I(B
lists of best hikes in the San Francisco Bay Area.
From the Ranger Station we will proceed up Alec Canyon
Trail. Portions of this trail are quite steep but the
reward for our efforts will be the Triple Falls. We
will then retrace a portion of our route on Alec
Canyon Trail to join Contour Trail. This winding trail
takes us across Swanson Creek and provides good views
of Basin Falls, Upper Falls, and Black Rock Falls. We
will continue to walk along Swanson Creek and join the
Waterfall Loop trail. We will then proceed to the
Knibbs Knob trail which is steep but takes us to a
lovely view from Knibbs Knob. We will then return to
the Ranger Station.
DIRECTIONS from Stanford to Uvas Canyon County Park
headquarters:
Trip "leader": Julio Magalhaes It is the Whale Watch season and it is the time for
Gray Whale migration. We will be seeing Gray Whales for sure
and there are good chances to see bottlenose dolphins and
Risso's dolphins and maybe killer whales (Orcas)
Check out the website for their latest logs and stories of the trips:
website
and make your own call.
For event log of the trip I lead last time, check out :
website.
COST : $32 for cruise (*), carpool costs, money for lunch, munchies, etc.
(* includes a group discount of 20% )
NOTE : Exact CASH ($32 per person ) is required for Cruise fee.
Meeting Places:
NOTE: Trip leader will carpool from Safeway location in San Jose.
All other location carpools are on their own.
Duration of Cruise : 4-5 hours ( Heidi & Steph always love to show us more )
QUESTIONS/INFORMATION: http://www.sanctuarycruises.com/information_1.html
WHAT TO BRING / WEAR : http://www.sanctuarycruises.com/information_2.html
Driving distance/time: ( from San Jose ) 60 miles / 1 hour 15 mins each way
BRING : A windproof jacket, sun-screen, hat, water, binoculars,
camera with Zoom/Telephoto lens, tripod, picnic lunch and goodies to share.
Trip "leader": Girish ( luvz2hyke__no_spam__yahoo.com )
Cell (925)-984-9077 ( Good on the day of the cruise )
Welcome to the 6th annual Outing Club cross-country ski weekend in Yosemite. On Saturday Feb 7th, we will be driving very early (around 7am) to Yosemite Valley and ski for half
a day at Badger Pass. On Saturday night we will stay at Curry Village. On Sunday, we will return to Badger Pass and ski all day. We will return to Stanford Sunday evening.
Some skiing experience preferred but not essential. If you are a beginner, you can take cross-country ski lessons at Badger Pass. Snow-shoes and downhill skiing are also
available at Badger pass.
Other costs that you should consider (which are not included above) are the Yosemite park entrance fee ($20 per car, unless somebody in the car has a national park pass), food,
the ski rental at Badger Pass ($17 for a full day and $14 for half day), lessons, and carpooling cost ($15 per person). There is no fee for trail use in Yosemite.
On Saturday, we will probably get started skiing around 1pm, so the trip should be short. Beginners can take a Learn to Ski Class. For the rest, we can take the Glacier Point
Road (easy terrain) to the Bridalveil Campground (4.5km). This is all on a wide groomed trail. On the way back we may want to take a non-groomed trail, depending on the
conditions. On Saturday evening, we can go ice skating. Skate rental is available at Curry Village.
On Sunday, we have a full day. Possible destinations are Dewey Point (12.8km round trip in a difficult trail) or the Ghost Forest Loop (14-15km round trip in a medium difficulty
trail). Most likely the group will split up because of different skiing skills. Another possibility, that have been very popular in the past, is for people to rent snowshoes
and hike to Dewey Point.
To sign up, please answer the following questions
After confirmation of your reservation, you will be asked to send a non-refundable $40 payment. This is necessary since I had to pay 100% up front to hold our group reservation
in Curry Village.
More information about Yosemite can be found at
http://www.nps.gov/yose or at
http://www.yosemite.org/ or at
http://www.yosemitepark.com.
For further questions, email Arturo at crespo__no_spam__cs.stanford.edu (preferred) or call at 650-623-4778 (o).
We will explore this beautiful pastoral oak-covered
ridge which includes wonderful ridgetop and canyon
views. The trail is dotted with lovely Oak trees,
Buckeyes, and Olive trees. Our hike is an extension of
a featured hike at bahiker.com.
Our hike will consist of a partial loop which will
allow us to explore the Pleasanton Ridge. We will
begin on the Oak Tree Trail and the Woodland Trail
which will take us up to the ridge and to Ridgeline
Trail. We will then take a left onto Olive Grove Trail
which will take us through a beautiful grove of olive
trees. Our route will then continue along the
Thermalito Trail where we will have very nice views of
Kilkare Canyon. We will then continue over to
Ridgeline Trail and follow it until the start of the
Sinbad Creek Trail. Our return route will follow
Ridgeline Trail with its lovely views to the east and
continue to Oak Tree Trail, which will allow us to
descend to the parking area.
After the hike an optional exploration stop and
possible early dinner will occur in the historic town
of Niles. Niles Canyon was the original route of the
first transcontinental railroad, and this area,
including the town of Niles, was used extensively for
filming and production of early movies before
Hollywood became the center of movie making in the
U.S.A.
DIRECTIONS from Stanford to Pleasanton Ridge Regional
Park$(B!G(Bs Oak Tree Staging Area:
Trip "leader": Julio Magalhaes
On Friday, we will drive to the lodge at Soda Springs. On Saturday we
will ski the groomed xc-ski trails at the lodge. On Sunday, depending
on the conditions and preferences of the group we may ski some
back-country trails or ski some other groomed trails (The area offers
many choices) . We will return to Stanford Sunday evening.
Some skiing experience preferred but not essential. If you are a
beginner, you can take cross-country ski lessons at the lodge. There
are also several ski resorts in the area which offer lessons and many
miles of trails.
However, take into account that the leader of the trip is only an
intermediate skier and is not able to give instruction. The leader can
give suggestions of where to go, but is up to each person to decide
what's best for him or herself.
On Saturday, we will probably get started skiing around 9am. Beginners
can take a Learn to Ski Class. For the rest, we can ski the groomed
trails at the lodge.
On Sunday, we will travel to a new location and ski for the full day
and depending on the conditions and preferences of the group we may ski
some back-country trails or ski some other groomed trails. We return to
Stanford Sunday evening.
To sign up, please answer the following questions:
For further questions, email David at daltmar__no_spam__hotmail.com.
Pinnacles National Monument is a beautiful park just south of Hollister
- it was formed by an ancient volcano directly on the San Andreas fault
line, and over the millenia, the volcano got split with one half at
Pinnacles and the other half hundreds of miles further south. It is
famous for sweeping views, pinnacle rock formations, talus caves, and
its recently released condors, some with wingspans up to 10 ft. The
featured Bear Gulch caves are currently open - they are often a home to
the Townsend big-eared bat and are usually closed to the public.
Meet at the Bechtel I-Center at 8:00 and we'll carpool from there
(recommended), but if you want to meet us at the park directly, we'll
probably be at the Bear Gulch Visitor center parking lot around 10:00.
Give me a call at (650) 740-0647 so we can make sure we are together.
We should be back between 4 pm. After hiking we can stop on the way
back for dinner.
It is forecast to be sunny and warm this weekend, so bring plenty of
water. Bring lunch, camera and sunscreen, and bring flashlights for the
caves.
Directions to the park -
We plan on starting along the Bear Gulch caves trail through the caves.
It is dark inside so flashlights are required. If you do not wish to
go through the caves, you can hike a parallel trail and meet us at the
other end of the caves.
Past the caves, we plan on doing the Rim trail near the Bear Gulch
reservoir. It then meets the High peaks trail where it climbs providing
panoramic views near Scout peak. We then descend along the Juniper
canyon trail where we meet the Chaparral ranger station (we can stop
there for lunch).
Past the ranger station is the Balconies trail proceeding through the
Balconies caves (again flashlights required). We follow the Chalone
creek along the Old Pinnacles trail. One final climb on the other end
of the High Peaks trail provides sweeping views and overlooks where it
is possible to see the condors.
We descend the Condor Gulch trail back to the parking lot.
Questions: contact Matt Blum at mdblum at yahoo dot com
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