Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir

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Location: San Mateo County
Out-and-Back: Sawyer Camp Trail
Hike Date: 2016, December 12
Hike Stats: 6:00 miles, 2 hours
Repeat Visit: 2019, September 23, Monday

The Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo was a great find. The paved Sawyer Camp Trail along the length of the reservoir provides a great place to walk, run, cycle, or indulge in a leisurely stroll.

Sawyer Camp Trail

The day was perfect – bright and sunny (cold in the shadows) – drawing in moderate crowds. More families with kids started showing up later, after sundown. No pets are allowed on this trail.

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Getting Canada Visitor Visa (via Online Application)

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While it was a breeze to create an account and generate a GCKey on the http://www.cic.gc.ca/ website (that is the first step), we did face a lot of confusion while collecting the documents we had to submit as part of the process. The website is not always explicit in stating the documents they expect from us, such as for a category called “Purpose of Travel”. We did not want our visa application to get rejected just because we missed submitting something.

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Castle Rock State Park

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Location: Los Gatos, Santa Clara County
Hike Date: 2015, October 4
Hike Stats: 5.9 miles, 3.5 hours, 2108 feet elevation gain

Repeat Visit: 2017, June 10

Castle Rock State Park
Castle Rock State Park is a place of abundant solitude, wilderness, high cliffs, and sweeping vistas. Unique patterns on weathered sandstone, lush forests, and stream-fed canyons make up the park’s diverse features. – https://www.parks.ca.gov/
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Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, La Honda, Southern San Mateo County

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Hike Date: Saturday, September 12, 2015
4.6 miles, 2 hours, 780 feet
(Repeat visits: Sunday, June 19, 2016 || Saturday, June 24, 2017)

This is our second most-favorite-hike from 2015, the first one being at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Even though it was a dull, gloomy, gray day, the panoramic views of the Santa Cruz mountains and the vast expanse of forests that stretched out onto the horizon were spellbinding.

Ipiwa Trail in Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve

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Big Basin Redwoods State Park

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Location: Boulder Creek, Santa Cruz County
Hike Date: 2015, September 6, Sunday
* 8.7 miles, 3.5 hours, 2287 feet
* Dool Trail – Sunset Trail – Timms Creek Trail – Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail

Repeat Visit: 2016, July 30, Saturday (Sleep Late and Hike Meetup)
* 9.5 miles, 5.5 hours
* Berry Creek Falls Loop: Dool Trail – Sunset Trail – Berry Creek Falls Trail – Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail – Sunset Trail – Dool Trail

Big Basin Redwoods State Park
“These trees, because of their size and antiquity, were among the natural wonders of the world and should be saved for posterity.” –Andrew P. Hill, 1899 (Source: Big Basin Redwoods State Park official brochure)
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Stevens Creek County Park

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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
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We finally made it to Twin Peaks!

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Trip Date: 14 February, 2016

We finally made it to the much sought-after Twin Peaks in the most unplanned way. We’ve always been very skeptical about a) driving through the San Francisco city and b) finding a parking spot in the city. So Twin Peaks, which are right in the middle of the city, have always been one of those elusive spots that one can only drive to but seemed inaccessible because of the petty parking problems. After all, the satellite map showed only a handful of legit parking spots between the two peaks.

On top of one of the Twin Peaks

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Coyote Point Recreation Area and Seal Point, San Mateo

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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

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Alum Rock Park, San Jose (South Rim Trail)

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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).

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