calico's Journal

On Sat. April 20 we took the pooch on a hike up Mission Peak in Fremont, CA. We were forewarned that we would be sharing the trail with the urban masses, particularly on a spring weekend, and that was definitely the case! It was also an unusually warm April day (80s)...not the best weather for doing a mid-day uphill hike through exposed grasslands. However, the views were lovely (even the urban ones, in a weird sort of way) and nature was showing off its spring finery. Going in from the west side, we were grateful that we opted to use the trailhead from Ohlone College -- the trailhead on Stanford Ave. was such an absolute people zoo that we almost turned around and headed back to Santa Cruz before even starting the hike! Next time I'll trade the extra driving + hiking time to go in from the less traveled Ohlone Wilderness Trail out of Sunol Regional Wilderness Park on the east side.

On Sun. April 7, 2013, we visited Pigeon Point Lighthouse on the CA coast between Davenport and Half Moon Bay, and spent the night at the hostel -- an incredible location for a hostel! Even better, they have a very private hot tub perched on a cliff above the ocean...a lovely way to enjoy the sunset. The weather was breezy and 50s-60s on Sun. afternoon, and the typical CA coastal fog crept in at sundown. Around midnight a gale blew in, and it sounded like the buildings were going to blow into the ocean! It was still incredibly windy when we left Mon. morning. One of the staff said it was the most wind he'd experienced in 3 years at the hostel.

The state parks are restoring the grounds around the lighthouse to native vegetation. As a result I was able to get a good look at several species of plants. I also got shots of a few birds and critters, although the weather wasn't very conducive to bird-watching!