Redwood 10-2-14

Macdonald Trail

Hot weather was forecast for today, so I thought of where I could go hiking where it might be a little cooler. I chose Redwood Regional Park, but I thought I would try some trails that I hadn't been on in many years. I wanted to hike the Macdonald Trail in Anthony Chabot Regional Park from Redwood Road to the top of the hill at Parkridge Drive, a segment of the Bay Area Ridge Trail that I had missed in my recent hikes. But I wanted to make a loop out of it, and the only way I could figure that was to walk along Skyline Blvd. for a mile or two until I could get into Redwood Park. After that I could loop around along the Dunn Trail and the west ridge, a part of Redwood that I hadn't seen in many years.

Darby and I started hiking from the Macdonald Staging Area at about 9:30 am, early enough that it was still nice and cool. Actually, it stayed relatively cool all morning, with a nice northerly breeze. The climb up the hill wasn't too hard, and soon we were up on the ridge with some nice views through the trees. We left the park at Parkridge Drive, and walked through several residential blocks to Skyline Blvd. The walk along Skyline was much nicer than you would expect on a major street through a residential neighborhood. It's a divided road with a nice path through the median shaded by big old pine trees all the way.

Skyline Blvd.

At Redwood Road, we followed it east a few feet and then followed a trail past the Skyline Ranch Equestrian Center. Soon we were at the Trudeau Center, the former site of the EBRPD headquarters, and continuing on the Dunn Trail into the park. The trail is signed for off-leash dogs, so we were on the alert for them. We passed a couple of them with no problems because the owners were considerate enough to keep their dogs under control. The trail winds in and out of a number of little ravines with some redwoods, but mostly oak and bay trees. The Baccharis Trail led to the West Ridge Trail, and then we turned off on the Toyon Trail, a single-track leading down off the ridge. I don't think I had ever been on this trail that contours along some very steep wooded slopes. At the bottom, the Golden Spike Trail took us to the Big Bear Staging Area, and then back to our car.

I was a bit tired at the end, but it didn't seem like a particularly hard hike. It felt like maybe 4 or 5 miles, so I was surprised when I looked at the GPS on my phone and it read 7.75 miles. I usually don't look at the distance on my phone until I am done hiking. That way I don't give myself any excuse to feel more tired because of how far I have come. I guess the nice weather and the lack of any really steep hills made it easier.

7.75 miles, 1300 ft. climb