Pleasanton Ridge 5-21-18

My hiking activity has slowed down a lot in the last year or two. That's partly because age has slowed me down in general and partly because sometimes arthritis in my knee makes it painful. I try to keep active with frequent walks near home, but those wouldn't be of much interest for this blog. I've done quite a few hikes at Pleasanton Ridge, and I've always been curious about the northern half of the park, but to get there from the Foothill Staging Area would take a longer hike than I was willing to do. Then a couple of months ago, I heard that a new entrance to the park had opened further north on Foothill Road, and I wanted to check it out.

Monday, May 21, 2018 seemed like the perfect day to try it. The weather had been very cool and cloudy for a week or so, but this day began with sunshine. I drove to Pleasanton, south on Foothill Road, and then found Old Foothill Road, a narrow one-way road with parking along one side. I had no idea where the trail was and a pickup truck was backing down the road toward me, so I backed out and drove further south to the other end of Old Foothill at the Alviso Adobe. I parked there and walked up Old Foothill until I came to the Castleridge Entrance and the Courdet Trail. I expected a parking area, but the only parking was along the side of the road.

The trail started off steep, but after a quarter mile or so it became easier. Most of the trail had a fairly easy gradient, but climbs steadily for a couple of miles. The woods were beautiful with big oaks and bays and lots of ferns and wildflowers. Between the trees are views of the valley below which feels kind of like being in an airplane. I was surprised to find the trail quite busy with hikers and cyclists. It seems that local people have not wasted any time finding this spot.

I was looking forward to reaching the top of the ridge, but when I finally arrived, it felt a bit anticlimatic. The views were nice but the rolling hills of dry grass felt rather plain after all of the trees and flowers on the way up. I had thought about exploring some of the many trails branching out from that point, but the long climb had used up most of my energy. I did walk a short way both directions along the ridge just to see what was there. I was surprised to find that to the north the trail ended at a gate with a couple of large houses beyond. These must be at the top of Santos Ranch Road, a private drive that has been there for many years. The walk back down went quite pleasantly and I was soon back at the bottom.

This was really a great hike and it was easy to see why so many people were using it. I'll be likely to come back and do it again next time I feel energetic.

5.1 miles, 1100 ft. climb

The Preserve Trail

Now and then I look around online to see what other hikers are doing. One of my favorite sites for that is that of Bob Burd (www.snwburd.com). I've always liked being on top of a hill, but Bob carries this to a very obsessive extreme. He is the ultimate peak-bagger, spending as much time as possible climbing anything he can find. On his site, he writes interesting reports of every climb with lots of good photos. It probably contains way more information about hiking anywhere in California and the west than is available anywhere else, but to use it as an information resource may take a lot of digging. I'm always curious about blank areas on the map and his reports often satisfy that curiosity and provide a little armchair adventure.

One of his recent reports was a climb of the high point of Main Ridge, in Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. I've been interested in this northern part of the park which I've never visited because it much too long a hike for me from the park entrance on Foothill Road. Bob chose to try a shorter approach from the northeast, which would probably mean crossing either private land or EBRPD land bank closed to the public. He didn't know which it would be but breaking rules doesn't seem to bother him much. In looking for a good starting point he happened on a staging area and small trail system near Stoneridge Mall that neither he nor I were aware of. The Preserve Staging Area is run by the city of Pleasanton, and provides a nice place to get a little exercise out in the hills.



 On a nice Thursday, I took Darby along for a drive to Pleasanton to pick up a prescription at Kaiser. When that was taken care of, I realized that the staging area was only about a block away, so why not go check it out. I hadn't really planned on doing any hiking, but there was the trail, so why not see where it led? We did a gradual climb along a grassy hillside with nice views all around. We could hear some kids playing in the creek below. Then a steeper climb and a loop around below several houses, and heading down again. Some ups and downs across a couple of ravines, and finally across the main creek at the bottom. As we did the short climb back to the staging area, we passed a couple of teenage girls leading a group of small kids. I was pleased to hear the girls explaining to the kids why they shouldn't be cutting switchbacks.

I hadn't been expecting much since the area looks pretty small on the map and it is so close to lots of development, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a very nice little hike and I'll probably be back again sometime when I have an extra hour or so for a walk.

1.4 miles, 275 ft. climb

1-18-13 Pleasanton Ridge

Last winter, I just didn't feel like keeping up this blog. I haven't done anything to publicize it, so I doubt that anyone reads it. I'm not sure how public I want to be. One day I feel like it's a good thing to share information about trails, and another day I feel like who needs another self-absorbed blogger documenting everything they do. Lately, I've been thinking maybe it is worthwhile after all, and I may as well keep doing it, but I don't need to put so much work into it. I liked doing the little maps, but they are a bit superfluous with all the maps available online, so I'm going to drop them*. I've gone back and written up most of the hikes I have done this winter and spring, and I'm going to try harder to keep up with posting stories about future hikes.

* Half a year later I changed my mind and went back and inserted maps on most of my posts.
 

I had hiked Pleasanton Ridge last spring, but at that time I had wanted to go all the way to the beginning of Augustin Bernal Park, but ran out of energy. Today I thought I could make it that far and maybe a bit further. The climb to the ridge was strenuous as usual, and the climbing along the ridge top wasn't easy either. It was a beautiful cool sunny day and I made a number of good photo stops along the way. Finally I reached the point where the trail drops down the steep east slope of the ridge a 100 ft. or so. We soon came to a sign marking the entrance to Augustine Bernal Park, and then to a saddle on the ridge where the trail splits. To continue, we would have to climb the hill ahead. It is not such a big hill, but I was tired enough to decide that this was far enough. We turned left on the Thermalito Trail.

Recent nights had been cold, and next to a water faucet there were inch-thick slabs of ice that someone had broken out of a puddle. Heading west into the canyon, the warm afternoon light coming through the oak trees was really pretty. After a mile or so, we cut across up the hill to the Ridgeline Trail again, avoiding the ups and downs of the rest of the Thermalito Trail.



I was glad that I had accomplished my goal, but I was still curious about the miles of trails through Augustine Bernal Park and beyond. I looked online and found out that there is trail access to Augustine Bernal, but the staging area is within a gated community and it is only available to residents of Pleasanton. Non-residents can apply for a one-week pass from the city, and I may do that some day, but it sounds like a lot of hassle. I feel that open space land should be open to anyone, and that limiting access like that is just wrong.

about 5 mi. - 1300 ft.

2-25-12 Pleasanton Ridge

more photos 

President's Day was beautiful clear and Darby and I headed out for another hike. There were lots of other people on the trail up to the ridge, many with dogs, so I had to keep Darby leashed for much of the way. Luckily the other dogs were mostly well behaved. As usual, I had envisioned a more ambitious hike that I had the energy for. I had hoped to go beyond what I had done on previous hikes -- Augustin Bernal Park, but after climbing about 700 ft. to the top of the ridge, I realized that it wasn't going to happen today. We took the Thermalito trail which winds along the western slope of the ridge, passing a couple of stock ponds. Everything was very green and pretty. After about a mile, I decided that it was far enough and took a short connecting road back to the ridge top and started heading back.

I stopped at a picnic table on a nearby hilltop to make a phone call. It felt like a very big deal. It was my first girlfriend, Rosemary, who I hadn't seen or talked to in nearly 50 years. We went together for our last year and a half of high school. After a few years, I lost track of her, and always wondered what had happened to her. My 50 year high school reunion was coming up and they had set up a website with information about classmates. I didn't want to go to the reunion because most of the few friends I had were still on the missing list. But Rosemary was listed, and I got her phone number. I made the call -- no answer -- so I left a message, and continued on my hike.

The views along the ridge were great as we made our way back down, passing some old olive groves. We took an alternate trail down from the ridge, a footpath that was a bit shorter and steeper than the road up.

A few days later, I finally got in touch with Rosemary, and a month or so later, Maureen and I spent a lovely afternoon picnicking in Redwood park with her and her husband, Bo

5.3 mi. -- 1300 ft. up and down