I had been thinking that it would be nice to do some walking in some shady woods, and the Huckleberry Preserve in the Oakland hills would be a good place for it. So on a foggy monday morning I set off on Redwood Road from Castro Valley. As I drove I remembered that along the way I would pass a trail that I had never tried, the Big Bear Loop Trail, so I stopped at the Big Bear Staging Area. The sign on the only visible trail said "to McDonald Staging Area". That's not where I wanted to go, but I followed it for a short distance and found the Big Bear Trail branching to the right. It was a steep climb up into a small ravine until the trail bent to the right and traversed the hillside through lush vegetation. After passing a water tank, the trail descended back down to Redwood Road a short distance above the parking area.
I drove on up to Skyline and followed it up to the Skyline Gate of Redwood Park. This is a very popular spot, especially with dog walkers, but luckily there were still a few places to park. I walked along with several strings of dogs on the East Ridge Trail until the Skyline Trail branched left. Going over a small hill, I saw some beautiful magenta flowers on the trail side. I don't know much about flowers, and I thought these looked like some kind of orchids, imagining that I had found something exotic. Later, at home, I showed a photo to Maureen and she told me that they were sweet peas. Not so exotic but pretty all the same. My trail crossed Pinehurst Road, and soon came to a fork. I turned right, heading lower into the canyon. After winding in and out of a couple of ravines, I came to a trail branching left heading steeply up the hillside, and I followed it. It was steep enough that in many places it climbed wooden steps. At the top, I turned left again heading back to complete my loop. All along these trails I got my fill of shady woods and lush vegetation. In many places the trail sides are walls of huckleberrys way over my head.
So I got what I was looking for -- a nice walk in beautiful woods, not too long but enough to feel like I had gotten some exercise.
Big Bear Trail: 0.5 miles, 150 ft. climb
Redwood and Huckleberry: 2.2 miles, 380 ft. climb
