5-19-12 Anthony Chabot

 On a warm, clear Saturday, Darby and I set out for another hike. I chose Anthony Chabot because I didn't want to drive far, but to make it a little different, I decided to start near the campground on the Marciel Road and loop south along the northern shore of Lake Chabot. I thought we could park at the campground entrance, but didn't see any good spots, so we backtracked a quarter mile or so to the turnoff for the group campgrounds, where there is space for parking just before the locked gate.

We walked down the Marciel Road to the Live Oak Trail, then followed it steeply down to the bottom along the edge of the golf course. Turning right on the Honker Bay Trail, we were soon next to the lake. It was a pretty warm day, and Darby was already thirsty, so he found a way through the tules to the water. It was a pleasant walk for the next mile or so along the shore, passing several other hikers and bicyclists. It became much less pleasant when the trail turned up the hillside, and climbed rather steeply 300 ft. or so. The heat and the climb finally got to me and I had to stop at a bench and rest a few minutes.

We continued on the Columbine Trail as it winds in and our of a couple of several ravines overlooking the lake. I didn't have a map with me so I was just going on memory. I thought there would be a trail branching to the right taking me back to the campground entrance, but it wasn't there. Hiking cross-country there would be out of the question, as it is all dense brush and poison oak. So it seemed much longer than I expected before we saw a path branching to the right. This path took us climbing up a ridge to the Lost Ridge group camp. Along the way, Darby heard something in the grass, and flushed out a turkey. It went running off with Darby right behind. Luckily, he doesn't like to get too far away from me, and he soon came back from his little adventure. We skirted around the edges of the camp occupied by a lot of kids, and finally made it back to the car.

After doing this hike, I told my son, Chris about it. At the time, he was working a temporary job at this park. He told me that I must have passed near the location of a Bald Eagle nest that people have been watching. I'll have to go back some time and check that out.

5.2 mi. -- 1250 ft. down and up