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Winter 2005 CalendarJanuary
February
Upcoming Events:Winter Quarter Potluck 1/6 (Thursday)Meet other outdoor enthusiasts and help plan our activities for the Fall Quarter by attending our meeting and potluck dinner on Thursday, January 6, at 7:00 PM in the dining room at the Bechtel International Center. Please try to be on time, and bring some food item or beverage to share.The tentative agenda for this meeting is as follows:
If you would like to lead a hike, or some other activity, but can't come to the meeting, please send Craig your ideas by email before the meeting at cfoster01@yahoo.com. Also, please email Craig if you would like additional agenda items to be considered for the meeting. New prospective "members" are welcome to come and learn about the club. Tahoe Skiing 1/8 (Sat)We are going to Sierra at Tahoe for a day trip this Saturday. Some of us will be on the green slopes learning how to board, so if you would like to learn skiing or boarding, this would be a great time to do so. Experienced skiers/boarders are also welcome.
Here are the details:
Circumnavigation of Mt. Tam (Neil)We will start in Downtown Mill Valley and circumnavigate Mount Tamalpais on Sunday, 9 January.
This is a strenuous hike that will have more than 2,700 feet of climbing. I will be leaving from Berkeley, so I will not be at Stanford on Sunday morning. Amy Truong has graciously agreed to be the Bechtel I-Center Car Pool Coordinator. Amy's Cell: 650 814-5774 (day of hike only). HIKE ROUTE AND DESCRIPTION We will start at Peets Coffee at 88 Throckmorton Avenue in downtown Mill Valley. MapQuest Map of the starting location: http://tinyurl.com/6gmu7 Check your parking location to ensure that you are at an unlimited, free parking location, and walk to Peets Coffee to join the group. The hike will start at 10:00a.m., please be on time. I expect the hike to take around 5 hours. The first mile or so, will be on paved roads. We will pass some lovely homes as we start out ascent. Then it's onto the Temelpa Trail, the Hoo-Koo-E-Koo Trail, The Nora Trail, The Alice Eastwood Trail, The Arturo Trail, The Northside Trail, The Eldridge Grade, and then, depending on the time, either The Wheeler Trail or The Old Railroad Grade back to the start You can view a hike that I did which is somewhat similar to the hike scheduled for January 9: http://www.mishalov.net/circumnav-mt-tam-14dec04
Trip "leader": Neil Mishalov
Directions from Stanford:
Foothills Mountain Bike Ride I - Arastradero Preserve (Jan)* Destination: Arastradero Preserve above Stanford * Date: January 15 (Saturday) * Meeting Time: 9:30am at Bechtel I-Center * Total Length: 15-20 miles (depending on participants), ca. 2 hours. * Total elevation gain: < 1000 feet * Pace: Very easy; an introductory stroll into mountain biking. * Cost: $0 (local bike ride) * Equipment: Mountain bike in reasonable condition, helmet, water. * Sign-up: RSVP - if conditions are wet and trails are closed, I'd like to have the possibility to contact you/cancel Saturday morning. Spontaneous, non-RSVP show-ups at Bechtel welcome, but at your own risk. * Return time: Back before lunch. * Weather Policy: If slightly wet, we'll stay on paved/gravel roads. If very wet, cancellation. Weather forecast is fairly good though. Note: No cars, bike racks, etc. needed. This is a local, easy mountain bike ride starting at the Bechtel I-Center.
Trip leader:
Jan Kratochvil
Castle Rock State Park, 1/29 (Sat)Destination: Castle Rock State Park Location: 15000 Skyline Blvd., Los Gatos, CA 95033 Trip Leader: Ken Chang Contact: kycmail (at) gmail.com or cell phone 408-930-2190 Date: Saturday, January 29 Hiking Distance: 4~5 hours Difficulty: Beginning to Moderate Driving Mileage: 26 miles from Stanford (40 min each way) Cost: $6.00 entrance fee per vehicle + round trip carpool costs ($8 per vehicle) Meet: Bechtel I Center at 7:30 am, or State Park parking lot (main entrance on Skyline Blvd) at 8:15am Cancellation: will cancel the hike if there is heavy rain. (if you are not sure, feel free to call me between 6:30am ~7:30am on Saturday morning. Description: This is one of the trips frequently led by our members and it's probably categorized as an easy hike in this group. But there are several sections that should be considered as "moderate" if you haven't hiked for a while. We are heading there for a morning exercise and will return for a late lunch (Only if you decide to join the group.) So bring some snacks or energy bar if you may feel hungry during the hike. San Francisco: Northeastern Neighborhoods/ Waterfront Hike, Feb. 5 (Sat.)Destination: San Francisco- Northeastern neighborhoods/ waterfront Date: February 5, 2005. Total length of hike: About 7 miles Total elevation gain: 500 feet (approx.) Fort Mason URL: http://www.fortmason.org Driving distance/time: 50 miles / 1h hour approx. each way Cost: Free parking, plus mileage. Optional Dinner Afterwards Meet: 9:30 am at the Bechtel I-Center, Stanford (for carpooling) 10:45 am across the street from main door of Green?s restaurant at Fort Mason, San Francisco bring: lunch, sunscreen, plenty of water, coat (in case it is windy and foggy), all the usual stuff. San Francisco is famous for its many intimate and distinct neighborhoods defined by the City?s hills and for the striking views of San Francisco Bay. Some of the nicest views and nicest neighborhoods are in the northeastern section of San Francisco. Based on the popularity of our earlier hikes to SF, we will explore the northeastern section of San Francisco as well as the scenic waterfront area along The Embarcadero. We will begin our hike at Fort Mason from which we will walk southeastward to Russian Hill and some of its little known vista points. We will then hike over to Telegraph Hill-- which has Coit Tower at its summit-- to sample the view from the top and to walk down the secluded and charming Filbert steps. Next we will walk down to and along The Embarcadero-- the boulevard along the northeastern waterfront of SF-- to see the historic buildings and views along the waterfront, passing beneath the Bay Bridge along the way. We will likely make a special stop at the newly renovated Ferry Building (at the foot of Market Street) to quickly visit the new highly praised food court and farmers market area. Our hike will then loop back through the downtown area to Nob Hill, where we will visit charming peaceful Huntington Park and walk by some famous imposing buildings from San Francisco?s colorful past. From Nob Hill we will return to Fort Mason by walking through a portion of the Marina District.
DIRECTIONS to Fort Mason from Stanford :
Trip "leader":
Julio Magalhaes
Take me to the top! San Francisco: Crissy Field/Coastal Trail/Presidio Hike - Saturday, February 12 (Ann & Julie)Destination: San Francisco - Crissy Field/Coastal Trail/Presidio Date: Saturday - February 12, 2005 Total length of hike: 7 miles (approx.) Total elevation gain: 500 feet (approx.) Crissy Field URL: http://www.crissyfield.org Presidio Map that we will be using: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/parks/prsf/ppMaps/ACF1DDE%2Epdf (Crissy Field East Beach Parking Lot is located in the upper right) Driving distance/time: 50 miles / 1h hour approx. each way Cost: Free parking, plus mileage ($15/car) Organizer: Ann & Julie (contact info below)
RAIN SATURDAY MORNING CANCELS THIS HIKE. CALL ANN OR JULIE SATURDAY
MORNING
AFTER 7AM IF YOU'RE NOT SURE.
Crissy Field and the Presidio are part of arguably the most unique and stunning urban park in the U.S. if not the world. Spectacular views of San Francisco Bay, the Marin Headlands, the city of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, or the Pacific Ocean are evident at almost every turn as one walks along the shore of San Francisco Bay. These parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area also offer many natural and historic features. San Francisco is famous for its many intimate and distinct neighborhoods with boundaries which are often determined by the City's many hills. Immediately adjacent to Crissy Field and the Presidio are some of the nicest neighborhoods and the nicest views. We will begin our hike at the Crissy Field East Beach Parking Lot from which we will walk westward along the shore of SF Bay towards the Golden Gate Bridge. We will walk underneath the Toll Plaza of the bridge and proceed to the Coastal Trail. We'll proceed south along the Coastal Trail taking in views of the Pacific Ocean and visit Baker Beach. We'll stroll through the famous Sea Cliff neighborhood and then proceed to China Beach. At this point, we'll head back on El Camino Del Mar and pick up the De Anza Trail and follow that through the Presidio to Fort Winfield Scott. We'll reconnect with the Coastal Trail and retrace our steps back to the East Beach Parking Lot.
Take me to the top! Winter Camping ski trip to the Hot Springs in Lassen Volcanic Park, February 19-21.Winter is a great time to go camping: empty parks, pristine snow, no bugs and the bears are asleep! Some of you may have heard or camped in Lassen and seen its wonders. Perhaps you have even skiied or snowshoed there in the winter. However, chances are you have NEVER done a trip like this one before! Besides enjoying the combined experience of winter camping/skiing and relaxing in sulfur-free natural hot springs, a gourmet menu will include casadias and cranberry pancakes etc. This will be my 10th. year leading a winter camping trip to Lassen and I am very much looking forward to it. For this trip, winter camping experience is very desirable but NOT necessary if you are in a good shape. Ditto for XC skiing experience - we'll be moving in a measured pace focusing on enjoying the experience and not racing anywhere. I plan this to be a winter camping trip of medium difficulty. We'll going on Backcountry skis which can be rented at REI. Everything else, backpacks, pads, tents, etc., can be rented from Redwood at Stanford as well as REI. We can expect temperatures in the mid 40s in the day and mid 10s at night - you'll want an appropriate sleeping bag&pad. The plan is to leave the Bay Area on the afternoon of Friday the 19th. to beat the rush hour traffic and head up HW5 to Red Buff and then Chester on HW36(5hr.) >From Chester, we'll hike/ski on Saturday into the Park arriving at the Drakesbad Area on Sunday. Here is a link with information about Drakesbad: http://www.nps.gov/lavo/drakesbadhome.htm Also, here is what Lassen looks like in the winter: http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np-image.lavo10156.html I would like to hear from all who are interested in this trip asap. This will help me plan the logistics of transportation, food, etc. I also planing to have a preparatory meeting a week before the trip for all who are interested. Meanwhile, I'll be very happy to reply to individual questions so please keep them coming. Cheers!
PS: This trip is also open to the Stanford Redwood
Club. Perhaps a few of you would like to help me lead
and organize this trip - I would love to hear from
you.
Take me to the top! Cataract Falls Hike, Marin Municipal Water District Hike, February 27 (Sunday)
So the point is mostly to see the waterfalls. With all the winter rains they should be flowing fairly well at this point. We will start on the aptly named Caract Trail, and follow it up for a series of 7 falls of varying height, and the to the Laurel Dell Picnic area, where we'll lunch. After that, we backtrack to High Marsh Trail, "gaining surprising views of San Pablo Bay" my book says. We will then turn left on the Kent trail at a somewhat confusing set of junctions (read: best not to try this without a good map, e.g. Trails of Mt Tamalpais the Marin Headlands Map by Olmsted Brothers Map company, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0941969053/103-1641727-4992664) We'll follow the Kent Trail for 1.4 miles, turn left on the Helen Markt Trail, and eventually left back onto the Cataract trail and back home. While I don't tend to rush my hikes, there significant elevation change. Consider it a "moderate" hike.
Take me to the top! Elephant Seal Guided Walk - Ano Nuevo State Reserve, Pescadero (Julie & Ann)Saturday - March 5, 2005 PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED. NOTE: Because we have purchased advance tickets for a guided walk, this outing can only accommodate 20 people. If you want to go, you must pre-register on the Evite invitation located at: http://www.evite.com/julie_amato@hotmail.com/anonuevo The organizers will send you a confirmation e-mail several days before the outing. Thanks for your cooperation!
DESCRIPTION: Ano Nuevo State Reserve, located near the town of Pescadero, is approximately 30 miles south of Half Moon Bay off Route 1 in San Mateo County. Ano Nuevo is internationally famous for the large elephant seal colony that visits its shores in the winter months to mate, give birth, and start raising its young before heading out to sea in the spring. Every day from December through March, the California Department of Parks conducts guided tours of the colony. At this time of year, the park is only open to guided walk ticket holders. Ano Nuevo guided walks have become immensely popular and tickets for the walks must be purchased months in advance. The Stanford Outing Club has reserved one tour for our group, which can accommodate a maximum of 20 people. We will start our day by driving along beautiful Route 1 to Ano Nuevo, passing scenic Pebble Beach, Bean Hollow Beach, and Pigeon Point Lighthouse. We will then take a three-mile, two-and-a-half-hour guided walk through the sand dunes and beaches of Ano Nuevo, viewing and learning about the elephant seal colony that resides there. After the walk, we will have lunch at Duarte's Tavern, a historic restaurant in Pescadero known for seafood, artichokes, and olallieberry jam (!). After lunch, participants are welcome to stroll downtown Half Moon Bay or head back to Stanford.
Take me to the top! Winter Car Camping (Paul)Destination : Sequoia/Kings Canyon Nat Park Meeting time : Sat, Mar 5, 8am Return time : Sun, Mar 6, 6pm Driving distance : 3-4 hours each way Hey folks! When we think about camping, we think warm sunshine, shorts & t-shirts and lots and lots of insects! Grin ... but think again. It is winter and really cold outside. How many of you have gone winter car camping? Yeah... the type where you drive all the way up to the campsite, unload the van, bring out the bbqs and then sit around all weekend relaxing ... now imagine the same except with about 6 to 10 feet of snow around you! I'm thinking of heading up to Sequoia National Park next weekend for such a trip. It is going to be cold but then again, if we are well preparred, it should be pretty relaxing being silly in the snow. (For your info, last couple of times we did this, activities include building a snow slide, grilling surf-and-turf on a bbq, demo snow kitchen and some other things I cannot mention in civilized company.) We will head out early Sat morning from Bechtel, drive to Sequoia NP and setup camp before it is dark. Exactly what we can do there depends on how much snow there is on the ground at the campsite ... igloo anyone? In any instance, I plan to spend a relaxing night in the snow and then head back sometime midday Sun. It will be cold (10 - 30F) so be forewarned. You will need to appropriate jackets, coats and other furries to keep warm. For tents and sleeping bags, I recommend you look at renting a cold weather bag rated to 0F or below. (Stanford Redwood Outdoor Club has good bags for rent) I can send you more info if you are interested. Anyhow, if you read this far are still interested, please reply to me
by
Sunday Feb 27. Will need to know if 1) can drive, 2) need help with
cold
weather gear, and 3) know the difference between pink, yellow and brown
snow!
Grin.
(By the way, winter camping also means no bugs!)
Take me to the top! March 6 (Sunday), Mission Peak (Chris)
DIRECTIONS:
If you would like to get maps/directions from your favorite map site, enter 2000 Stanford Ave Fremont, CA 94539. This is the address of the Stanford Ave trail head. HIKE ROUTE AND DESCRIPTION
This will be the classic hike up Mission Peak, taken at a relaxing pace
with ample time to enjoy the views. We will take the Hidden Valley
trail, then the Peak trial which will take us to the summit. We will
return via the Peak Meadow trial.
For more information, here are a couple of links.
Park map:
http://www.ebparks.org/resources/pdf/trails/mission_peak_map.pdf
Official Site -
Bay area hiker site for Mission Peak RP -
http://www.bahiker.com/eastbayhikes/missionpeak.html
Take me to the top! |