Category: Hiking

Stevens Creek County Park

Leave a comment

Location: Cupertino, Santa Clara County
Hike Date: 2015, August 29

We were quite late to start with the hike – 5:30 P.M.! To add to the delay, we were unable to find a parking spot close to the trailhead; we drove up and down the Stevens Creek Canyon Rd to find a designated parking place. We finally ended up parking on the side of the road just next to the trailhead.

While driving south the first time, we went past the very scenic Stevens Creek Reservoir. We decided to stop here on our second round and enjoy the panoramic views while there was still ample light.

Stevens Creek Reservoir
Continue reading →

Coyote Point Recreation Area and Seal Point, San Mateo

Leave a comment

Hike Date: Januray 18, 2016

Occasion: MLK National Holiday (Monday)

What better way to celebrate a national holiday than to go for a long walk in the wilderness, not too far from home. After our first year’s experience of living in the Bay Area, we had dismissed the idea of going for a road trip anywhere around because one would invariably be caught up in a traffic load of people trying to do the same. Or of people returning home via road after a long weekend.

Destination: Bay Trail in San Mateo’s “Coyote Point Recreation Area“, just next door to the San Francisco International Airport

Coyote Point Recreation Area

Continue reading →

Alum Rock Park, San Jose (South Rim Trail)

2 Comments

Hike Date: August 16, 2015

Alum Rock Park is a municipal park in east San Jose; in fact, the first one established in California! The park spans from west to east, snug within the Alum Rock Canyon, and at the foothills of the Diablo Range. One can only imagine how any hike starting from the base of a hill would be like.

The South Rim Trail runs along the southern escarpment of the Alum Rock Canyon. The north and south escarpments of the canyon are characteristically different from each other in foliage – one is almost completely devoid of tree cover (North Rim Trail) and the other provides an excellent cover from the harsh summer sun (South Rim Trail).

Continue reading →

Alum Rock Park, San Jose (North Rim Trail)

1 Comment

Hike Date: August 1, 2015
4.7 miles, 1.5 hours, 1337 feet

We had paid a leisure visit to the Alum Rock Park in December 2014. At that time, we did not know much about the trail system here. So we had just followed a bunch of other people and strolled on one of the trails that was flanked by a creek. We had been wanting to go back to the Alum Rock Park for some serious hiking, and so we did, in August 2015.

Continue reading →

Almaden Quicksilver County Park, San Jose

Leave a comment

Hike Date: July 25, 2015

We planned our second hike with a meetup group – Off Peak Hikes & Trips of Silicon Valley. I had been seeing an invite for Almaden Quick Silver County Park hike from this group weekly in my inbox. The group hikes in evenings on Wednesday and in mornings on Saturday. The Saturday morning hike started at 10:30 AM, which was not too early to rush for, so I immediately signed us up for the hike.

Continue reading →

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Loop I

Leave a comment

Location: Cupertino, Santa Clara County
Loop I: PG&E – Wildcat – Coyote Loop Trail
Hike Date: 2015, July 12
Hike Stats: 3.8 miles, 1.5 hours, 928 feet
Repeat Visit: 2016, May 14 (added the High Meadow Trail to the loop)

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve

(For my other hike in Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, see “Loop II“.)

Continue reading →

New Hiking Shoes!

1 Comment

With the experience of my first hiking trip, I knew what we needed was good hiking shoes. Running shoes or any other sneakers would be no good.

We had a trip coming up for the Lassen Volcanic National Park. From the looks of it (from what I had read about the place), there would be a lot of walking involved on the unpaved, dirt trails in the national park. The terrain and the hilly surroundings called for ‘hiking’ shoes.

Continue reading →

First Hike Ever, Solo, in Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve || PG&E Trail

3 Comments

Hike Date: June 26, 2015

(For my later hikes in Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, see “Hike: PG&E – Wildcat – Coyote Loop Trail” and “Hike: Rogue Valley – Wildcat Loop – Upper High Meadow – Upper Wildcat Canyon“.)

I have for long been a member of various outdoor meetup groups but never really participated in any of the activities. But I did take one advantage of the membership without going for a meetup – the constant email notifications from the different groups kept me abreast of the trails people were heading out to from time to time.

Continue reading →