the trail companion · baylands, and the lucy evans big steam park. the bay trail, full of...

By Geoffrey SkinnerWe are pleased to introduce the new

members of our revitalized Board ofDirectors as we move into our twentiethanniversary year. David Alderman, EdAlderman, Rich Feldman, BruceHartsough, Aparna Kapur, David Kison,David Taylor, Bob Tracey, and Dawn Woohave all stepped up to the challenge weissued at the close of last year. With thehelp of these and many other volunteers ata critical time, the Trail Center and many ofthe TC’s projects have new life.

The Situation at the End of ourNineteenth Year

As we approached our twentiethanniversary year, we had accomplished alot in the past two years alone:

· Publication of the Trail Map of theCentral Peninsula and the third edition ofPeninsula Parklands

· Creation of the Trail Center MapSource

· Construction and maintenance ontrails in Castle Rock State Park,Arastradero Preserve, Jasper RidgeBiological Field Station, and future

The Trail CompanionSpring 2003

The Trail Center at Twenty Years…and Counting

Inside this issue:What's Going on with the SF Bay Trail? - page 3

Park News — page 5

The Heritage of the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve - page 8

Bay Area Trail Book Review — page 10

Trail Center Construction and Maintenance — page 14(continued on page 7)

2003 new board members: front row (l to r) - David Alderman, Bruce Hartsough, and EdAlderman; standing (l to r) - Aparna Kapur, Dawn Woo, David Taylor, and Hank Magnuski,

David Kison; not pictured - Bob Tracey and Rich Feldman.Photo by Geoffrey Skinner.

The Trail Center

The Trail Center is a non-profitvolunteer organization formed

in 1983 to provide and promotequality non-motorized trail

opportunites for all people inSan Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa

Cruz, Alameda and San Franciscocounties. The Trail Center works

with government agencies,outdoor enthusiasts and other

interested parties to create andmanage an interconnected

network of trails for the five-county region. The Trail Centerpublishes The Trail Companion

and organizes trail building,repair and mapping projects.

The Board of Directors meetsevery month on the second

Monday of the month at 6:30p.m. at the PeninsulaConservation Center.

Board of DirectorsDavid Alderman, Ed Alderman,

Kim Cousin, David Croker, GaelErickson, Rich Feldman, BruceHartsough, Scott Heeschen,Aparna Kapur, David Kison,

Geoffrey Skinner, David Taylor,Bob Tracey, and Dawn Woo

Address:3921 East Bayshore Road

Palo Alto, CA 94303Telephone:

(650) 968-7065Emai Address

[email protected] Site Address

www.trailcenter.org

Trail Companion:Scott Heeschen andDawn Woo LayoutGeoffrey Skinner Staff Writer

The Trail Companion (ISSN1528-0241 (print); 1094-222X(online)) is the quarterly news-

letter of the Trail Center.

An Occasional Columnfeaturing TC members

and volunteersGeorge Taylor, a long-time TCvolunteer and trail builderextraordinaire, was spotlighted in theHidden Villa (Los Altos Hills) newslet-ter. George has been volunteering atHV for many years and has beenresponsible for creating or maintainingHV’s trails. George’s skills, knowl-edge, and general trail building prow-ess is legendary. Check out the storyat:www.hiddenvilla.org/Assets/George%20Story/George.htm

Crew Leader Trainee JustinKnowles hiked a big piece of theAppalachian Trail last summer. Thelast we heard from him, he was in themidst of a thousand mile sectionbetween North Carolina and WestVirginia before starting Wharton’sMBA program in Philadelphia inAugust. Unfortunately that means hehasn’t been able to attend any moreTrail Center events. Before leaving,he wrote, “I wanted to thank you forall of your help. I learned a great dealand had a wonderful time on the trail.”He added, “Right before I left SanFrancisco, a wise man told me, “Goeast young man, go east.” For somereason though, all the ConestogaWagons were heading west on I-70.”

Former Crew Leader Trainee ReedPalmer is still in Panama with thePeace Corps. He recently finished uphis regular two-year stint with thePeace Corps in Panama under theEnvironmental Education Program, buthe branched out into other areas andspent a lot of time doing water

projects, including a project in his townto collect and filter water during therainy season, with a 4,000-galloncistern to store it for the rest of theyear. The end of his service coincidedwith the Peace Corps Panama creat-ing an Environmental Health Sector,for which he proposed and obtained aposition as Volunteer Coordinator.

When he’s not riding the parks on hismountain bike and (now) avoidingpoison oak on TC projects, volunteerEric Larsen heads to Yosemite forpark cleanup efforts with The PGVIPTeam, sponsored by Planet Granite.The team holds monthly work partiesthroughout the park. Projects haveincluded building demolition, camp-ground clean ups, and more. ContactEric for more [email protected] and check outthe PGVIP website at:www.pgvip.net/

Along the Trail focuses on ourmembers’ and volunteers’ activitiesboth inside and outside the TrailCenter (is there really a life beyondthe TC??). If you have interestingtales to tell, have created a websitethat may be of interest to ourmembership, or basic gossip thatyou’d like to share, we’d like to hearabout it.

Along the Trail

Building, Preserving and Promoting Local Trails page 3

by Cherise Thompson

The San Francisco Bay Trail is a partiallycompleted recreational corridor that, whenfinished, will encircle San Francisco andSan Pablo Bays with a continuous 400-milenetwork of hiking and bicycling trails. Itwill provide transportation routes throughand connect the shoreline of all nine BayArea counties (San Francisco, San Mateo,Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa,Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin). Thetrail was launched in 1989, and thus far, 215miles have been completed under thedirection of the Association of Bay AreasGovernments (ABAG). Although it hastaken about 13 years for a little more thanhalf to be completed, momentum on thetrail’s progress is now increasing. Trailsupporters are now working on construct-ing difficult segments (as there are manybarriers to overcome, e.g. land structure,property rights, etc.) in Napa and Sonomacounties, including areas of the North Bay,San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Interna-tional Airport. As reported in the Winter/Spring 2002 Trail Companion, ABAG andNASA signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) toward establishing a trailcorridor along Moffet Field’s perimeter –which will close one of the major remaininggaps.

One of the major advances in the trailsprogress has been finally getting wetlandand restoration programs started andunderway. San Francisco Bay Trail hasbeen working with the California Depart-ment of Fish and Game to find a way tobring the trail close to the shoreline, whichaccording to Laura Thompson, Bay TrailPlanner, has not been easy since “analyz-ing a way to bring the trail closer to the

Bay has been a long process.” Fortu-nately, increased funding from the coun-ties has allowed more progress in recentyears.

On May 29, 2002, an agreement betweenthe federal government and CargillCorporation marked first steps towardplacing Cargill’s salt ponds in the SouthBay and in Napa County on the NapaRiver in public hands. Once the funding issecured, restoration can begin in the SouthBay ponds that line the shorelines ofAlameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateocounties. This will take a number of years;the exact amount of time is unpredictable,but once the process is complete theinstallation of the trails will begin. This isvery exciting news for the Bay Trail sincethe revitalized marshlands and ponds willmake the trail even more of a public asset.

The parts of the Bay Trail alreadycomplete are very popular, and opening upnew areas such as the ponds will allowmore people to enjoy bird watching,biking, rollerblading, and hiking in differentareas. Current popular trails or hikesinclude a 5-mile trek from Pt. IsabelRegional Shoreline to Richmonds MarinaBay, a 2-mile long paved path from MillValley to Sausalito Valley, which goesthrough Bothin Marsh and attractscommuting cyclists, the Palo AltoBaylands, and the Lucy Evans Big SteamPark.

The Bay Trail, full of recreationalpossibilities for outdoor enthusiasts,serves more than just an enjoyableexercise route. Other opportunities includewildlife viewing, environmental educationof and respect for the Bay, and transporta-tion benefits. The trail connects to publictransportation facilities such as ferry

terminals, light-rail lines, bus stops,Caltrain, Amtrak, and BART stations, andwill eventually join to all the major tollbridges in the Bay Area. The Bay Trailwebsite also points out some general areasit offers access to, including commercial,industrial, and residential neighborhoods;points of historic, natural, and culturalinterest; recreational areas like beaches,marinas, fishing piers, boat launches, andover 130 parks and wildlife preservestotaling 57,00 acres of open space. Itpasses through highly urbanized areas likedowntown San Francisco as well as remotenatural areas like the San Francisco BayNational Wildlife Refuge (the Bay Trail’spolicies specifically seek to protectsensitive natural habitats). Depending onthe location of its segments, the Bay Trailconsists of paved multi-use paths, dirttrails, bike lanes, sidewalks or city streetssigned as bike routes. The Bay Trail alsoconnects to trails that lead inland, and withthe Bay Area Ridge Trail.

More information about the Bay Trailcan be found on their Website atbaytrail.abag.org or baytrail.abag.ca.gov/.With new funding and new land openingsit won’t be long before the planned visionof a 400 mile trail around the whole SanFrancisco Bay is complete and availablefor all to use.

Cherise Thompson is a member ofthe Stanford Class of 2005. She isoriginally from Rapid City, SD.

What’s going on with theSan Francisco Bay Trail?

by Richard Allsop

The new Henry W. Coe State ParkTrail and Camping map, published bythe Pine Ridge Association(www.coepark.org/pra.html), is anessential guide to the largest state park innorthern California. It’s a big map, twoand a half feet high and over three feetwide, with the northern and southernparts of the park on opposite sides. Thetopography is shown with 50-footcontour lines and shaded relief. It showsnew trails and trail reroutes (featuresmissing on the USGS quads), informationabout springs and possible campsites.You can get it printed on plastic, whichimproves the durability. I was glad tohave it available before I went on aneight-day backpack in the OrestimbaWilderness, since I could carry one map,instead of six (five USGS quads and theolder Coe Park trail map).

I went in with folks from the SierraClub’s Loma Prieta section backpackinggroup, starting from the park HQ. We hikeddown through Poverty Flat and overJackass Peak to camp near Little LongCanyon on the east fork of Coyote Creek.The next morning, we began our hardestday as we climbed over Bear Mountainand back down into Red Creek Canyon inthe Orestimba Zone. Fortunately, thisgrunt was followed by a layover day. Ispent it hiking up Red Creek to the UpperSan Antonio Valley, a high, open valleywith oaks scattered through meadows.

Picking up our packs once more in themorning, we hiked over the ridge and intoRobinson Creek, camping near the mouthof Pinto Creek. This is one of the loveliestareas in the park, a wide valley surroundedby high ridges, with huge gray pines andsycamores. The following day was the

longest in terms of mileage. We started byhiking down Robinson Creek to OrestimbaCreek, near the northeast corner of thepark. We then turned south up OrestimbaCreek, which actually had some runningwater in it. We went around the RoosterComb on the new Rooster Comb trail (newto me, at least. When I did the trip twelve

years ago we bushwhacked over theRooster Comb and down the other side toavoid trespassing — a truly brutal day).We continued on up Orestimba Creek andcamped near the mouth of Hartman Creek.

The sixth day was short, but the climbover the Hartman Trail was demoralizing.

Into the Orestimba Zone:A Coe Trip Diary

County Line Road, San Antonio Valley

(continued on facing page)

Mississippi Lake


Bear Creek Redwoods OSPand Sierra Azul OSP MasterPlan

Midpeninsula Regional Open SpaceDistrict ("MROSD") is about to beginthe process of preparing a master planfor Bear Creek Redwoods and SierraAzul Open Space Preserves. Althoughmuch planning has been done sincethe acquisitions of both preserves,neither has undergone a masterplanning process. Given their closeproximity, and their similar roles asconservation areas in the region, BearCreek Redwoods OSP and Sierra AzulOSP will be included in one masterplan. The master plan will guideresource management, land usedecisions and any low-intensity facilitydevelopment. Details available from theMROSD website(www.openspace.org), which includesa nice slide show, or by joining themaster plan mailing list([email protected]).

Coastal Annexation MovesForward

Following public hearings and acomment period last summer, MROSDhas prepared a draft program Environ-mental Impact Report (EIR) and willhold a public meeting early this year tocertify the EIR and other steps neces-sary to submit the annexation applica-tion to the San Mateo Local AgencyFormation Commission (LAFCo) laterthis year. San Mateo County LAFCowill forward the application to theSanta Clara County LAFCo forcomments and a recommendation. SanMateo County LAFCo will then holdanother public hearing to consider theproject. Please check the MROSDwebsite for updates.

(continued from facing page)

The trail climbs steeply up over one littlepeak, back down the other side, and thenon up to County Line Road. We continuednorth on County Line Road and camped atthe Ramada Inn – a camp with a sunshade,a picnic table, and an outhouse (real luxuryafter sitting on the ground for severaldays) – on the north end of MississippiLake. The lake is actually a big reservoir,nearly a mile long. It’s a popular destina-tion with fishermen and hikers, while I likeit for the turtles, redwing blackbirds andcoots.

Our trail the next day took us backtoward Los Cruzeros on Coyote Creek. Wehiked along Willow Ridge, which is calledRoller Coaster Ridge on some older Coemaps; the road climbs along the top of theridge, following it up and down over andover and over again. We then made a steepdescent down Willow Ridge Trail to ourcamp at Los Cruzeros. We came out thelast day through the Narrows to ChinaHole, then up the China Hole Trail toManzanita Point, and on back to Parkheadquarters via the Forest Trail.

We started right at the cusp of spring,when the oaks were beginning to leaf outand the wildflowers were blooming. Thecountry seemed to get greener every day. Icounted over fifty varieties of wildflowers,and I probably missed as many more. I’mamazed every time I realize that I had thisweeklong backcountry experience anhour’s drive from San Jose.

How to Get there: From Highway 101 atMorgan Hill, take the East Dunne Avenueexit. Look for the Henry Coe State Parksign 13 miles. Follow this winding road 13miles into the Diablo Range until it deadends at the Henry Coe State Park head-quarters. Camping is available just beyondthe headquarters (reservations usuallyneeded on weekends). See the parkwebsite for more information:www.coeparks.org.

Arastradero’s Missing Link Saved

After years of negotiations and courtproceedings, POST was able to step inwith a successful bid to acquire the 13-acreparcel known as the Bressler property inthe middle of Palo Alto’s 609-acreArastradero Preserve. Palo Alto had hopedto buy the property many years ago, butthe asking price was much to high. Aluxury home could have been built on theproperty and only the Oct. 10, 2002, rulingby the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of theNorthern District of California in San Joseallowed the competitive bidding to goforward. As a result, POST paid much lessthan the original asking price of $5 million.The purchase gives the City of Palo Altothree years to buy the property from POST.

Key Coastside PropertyDonated

Mike and Margaret O’Neill and theirfamily, in one of San Mateo County’sbiggest ever land gifts, donated 462 acresabove El Granada (near Half Moon Bay) toPOST in early December, 2002. The landincludes magnificent views of the coastand Montara Mountain, open grassyhillsides, coastal ridges, and a massiveeucalyptus forest. Three other protectedproperties border the O’Neill parcel:Rancho Corral de Tierra (POST), QuarryPark (San Mateo Co. Parks; managed byMidcoast Park Lands, a local nonprofit),and Mirada Surf (SM Co. Parks; currentlyundeveloped). The donation makespossible future trail connections betweenHalf Moon Bay beaches, Montara Moun-tain trails, and the Bay Area Ridge Trail.

Park News

by John Rote

The Peninsula Open Space Trust(POST) is a nonprofit land trust dedi-cated to preserving the open spaces ofthe San Francisco Peninsula and, sinceits founding in 1977, POST has protectedmore than 50,000 acres—78 square miles(equal to 49 Golden Gate Parks). Thetrust raises the funds necessary for theacquisition of lands ranging from coastallands like the San Gregorio Farms andBolso Point Ranches to redwood groves,open meadows, and mountain vistas.Maintaining a ready reserve of landacquisition capital is one of the mostsignificant challenges faced by the trust,especially in the face of rising real estateprices and development pressures.However, this has not kept the trust frommaking a significant impact on the openspaces of the San Francisco Bay area.And, they have already secured 10,148acres of land and over one hundredthirty million dollars for their current20,000 acre, 200 million dollar project,“Saving the Endangered Coast”, whichis proposed as a three-year project aimedat saving the open spaces of the SanMateo coastline.

However, even before launching their“Saving the Endangered Coast” cam-paign, POST had already made signifi-cant steps towards preserving peninsulaopen spaces. In the past 20 years, POSThas been working toward the acquisitionof property and subsequent protection.POST purchases lands using a combina-tion of public and private funds. Afterraising funds and buying property, thelands were then sold to public agencieswhen public money became available forpurchase. There are few sources ofpublic funds for immediate land acquisi-

tion, which is why POST plays a vital rolein the protection of local lands through thefunds they raise and make use of. POSThas been so effective in raising fundsquickly that some developers liken them toan 800 lb. gorilla in the land market for theirability to act as soon as desirable proper-ties come available. The 40,000 acrespurchased so far amounts to over two-thirds of lands targeted for protection byPOST’s original founders. In the future,POST plans to achieve their goal with theacquisition of the remaining third oftargeted land.

This goal begins with the continuationof “Saving the Endangered Coast”, whichis scheduled to continue into 2004.Already, over 134 million dollars has beenraised, of which the David and LucillePackard Foundation and the Gordon andBetty Moore Foundation gave onehundred million. Already, six majorproperties have been purchased and thereare plans to acquire more. However,POST’s function lies not just in purchasinglands for protection, but also securingplans for their future protection anddevelopment as properties. The manage-ment of these lands after purchase andeventual transfer into public agencies orrestricted private ownership is just as vitalto their survival as open spaces as is theiroriginal purchase. If the proposedMidpeninsula Regional Open SpaceDistrict’s coastal annexation plan isapproved, many of the properties will betransferred to MROSD to manage as publicopen space preserves in perpetuity. ThePeninsula Open Space Trust embraces allof these duties and makes a similar pledgefor the future, planning to continue toprotect the peninsula’s open spaces forpresent admirers and future generations.

For more information on POST, visit theirweb page at: www.openspacetrust.org. Call

(650) 854-7696 or visit POST’s web pageto give funds their land bank.

John Rote is currently enrolled atStanford University as a member of theclass of 2005 and is exploring optionsfor major in departments of bothInternational Relations and ReligiousStudies. He is originally from Memphis,Tennessee.

Keeping the Peninsula Green:A Profile of the Peninsula Open Space Trust

FavoriteTrailProject

Chances are very good that youhave a favorite trail in the Bay Area orbeyond (or perhaps many favorites) -and we want to hear about it! Withyour help, we’re putting together a listthat will appear in an upcoming issue ofThe Trail Companion and on ourwebsite. A few entries have alreadycome in following a note in our emailTrail Center News & Upcoming Eventsand we’re looking for more. Send us abare-bones description with traillocation, name, and why it’s on yourlist - or flesh it out with map andguidebook references, scanned photos,and anything else that adds to yourdescription. Send your contributions [email protected] or mail to us atFavorite Trail c/o Trail Center, 3921 E.Bayshore Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303. Welook forward to hearing your choices!


parkland on Gazos Creek adjacent to AñoNuevo State Reserve.

· Providing trail expertise to helpcreate the Trails Master Plan for CastleRock State Park

· Expansion of the Trail Centerwebsite

· A first-class newsletter and thelaunch of a popular email newsletter

Nonetheless, the active Board haddwindled back to dangerously lownumbers after a promising regroupingduring the summer by the time of the2002 Annual Meeting on Nov. 17. Thethree remaining active members feltoverwhelmed by the task of keeping theorganization healthy and were generallysuffering from burnout as other obliga-tions loomed. Unlike many of our sisterenvironmental nonprofits, the TC was ingood financial shape – thanks to goingall-volunteer in 1999. With no staff,nearly all of our funds could directlysupport our programs. On the flip side,without enough volunteers to run theorganization, the organization hadsputtered along on momentum (even ifthe faltering hadn’t been particularlyvisible), but the Board was aware thatmomentum alone couldn’t sustain theTrail Center. We had no problem recruit-ing for trail event volunteers (nor for trailprojects), but our recruitment efforts forleadership and other organizationalvolunteers had been clearly and painfullyinadequate.

We presented five scenarios at theAnnual Meeting, ranging from expandingwith renewed leadership and vigor toshutting down. The remaining Boardmembers didn’t want to see the organiza-tion close and neither did the otherattendees. In fact, nearly everyoneoffered some degree of help and wantedto see the renewed TC, but we all realize

(continued from front page)

we need to look to the general membershipand volunteers to make it happen. A letterexplaining the situation and survey wentout to our membership in December, aswell as to our email list, with a plea forvolunteers. If we didn’t receive enoughsupport and commitment, we warned thatthe TC would likely cease to exist by May2003. In the meantime, we put all but themost essential business, including all trailprojects, on hold until we had a better ideaof our future.

A Welcome Response

One-third of our membership responded,as well as a number from our email list, witha total of over 50 who said they couldcommit to areas ranging from newsletterediting to mail parties. Most importantly,over a dozen indicated they were inter-ested in serving on the Board. An initialmeeting of the Board potentials at the endof January showed a high level of enthusi-asm and concern. After a lively discussionabout the state of the TC and what itwould take to get us back on our feet,nearly everyone in attendance wanted tojoin the Board and get to work.

The new Board members will serve asappointed members until the 2003 AnnualMeeting election. They come from avariety of backgrounds and interests.Many, like David Kison, Dawn Woo andDavid Taylor, have been long-time TCsupporters and volunteers. Others, likeAparna Kapur and Bruce Hartsough, whoare taking on member services, are new tothe TC.

Trail Projects and other committees arealso getting a much-needed infusion ofnew energy. Long-time Projects membersBob Kelly has resigned as school andother obligations take priority, but manyothers have stepped forward to take hisplace and expand the committee. Likewise,the Newsletter, Membership and Finance

committees have new, enthusiasticmembers and are no longer the soleprovinces of Board member ScottHeeschen (much to his relief!). AlthoughMapping is currently on hold while weget the other parts of the organizationback on their feet, many people ex-pressed interest in volunteering forfuture TC map projects.

The Trail Ahead

The next few months will be a time oftransition. The new Board and committeemembers bring fresh ideas and ap-proaches, but may not have all thenecessary experience. The old Board andcommittee members will be working hardto train and impart all the unwrittenknowledge that informs TC leadership.Some of the changes planned or under-way include:

· A more regular newsletter publica-tion schedule (at a more manageablelength)

· Better response time for membershipapplications and renewals

· Improved volunteer relations

· Greater volunteer and membershiprecruitment efforts at events

· A fully stocked and current MapSource

· An updated website

· Expanded responsibility for manag-ing trail projects from beginning to end

· Revitalized crew leader training andapprenticeship program

We have also set up a full schedule oftrail events for the coming months (seeTrail Center Notes and back cover) andlook forward to a major project in PortolaRedwoods State Park. We’ll note detailsand additional developments in theupcoming newsletters.

The Trail Center and Twenty Years... and Counting

by Elizabeth de Rham

In the sunny splendor of an incredibleSaturday morning, I was ecstatic to be offcampus and winding up Page Mill Road toexplore the history of Monte Bello OpenSpace Preserve. As a busy and carlessfreshman at Stanford, I hadn’t managed toget out and into the hills at all. With eachbreathtaking view following a sharp turn orcrest in the road, I felt increasingly gratefulthat I finally had the chance meet the reallandscape of my new home.

The preserve, located southwest of PaloAlto, encompasses 2,750 acres of theupper Stevens Creek Watershed fromMonte Bello Ridge to Skyline Ridge in theSanta Cruz Mountains. Since 1977, thepreserve has been owned by the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District(MROSD) and now offers about fifteenmiles of trails, open to the public forexplorations on foot, bike, or horseback.Before 1977, however, the land wasprivately owned and from around 1969until the purchase, it supported a commu-nity of people who were participating in anextended experiment in harmonious living.Striving to live as lightly as possible onthe land and maintain a peaceful, loving,practically self-sufficient community, theysaw themselves as caretakers of thebeautiful mountainside that they came tocall “The Land.”

The last four miles of upper Page MillRoad was populated by a great extendedcommunity who lived in clusters withnames such as Black Mountain, Rancho

The people who migrated to The Landcame from all over the place, disillusionedbecause of the Vietnam War, violence incities, governmental repression, and thelack of environmental and global con-sciousness in society as a whole. Theycame seeking a space in which they couldthrive, as close to the earth as possibleand free from the restrictions and conven-tional authority of the government. Theybuilt their community so that it wouldblend into the landscape, basing the fewregulations of their society aroundprinciples of non-violence towards oneanother and the environment. Usingrecycled material, they constructed homesbeneath the heavy thickets of oak,madrone, and bay trees that line thetributaries of the Stevens Creek watershed.Electricity never spread further than the

“The Land” Lives On:Exploring the Heritageof the Monte BelloOpen Space Preserve

Diablo, Earth Ranch, and of course theoriginal cluster, The Land. About a miledown the road from the head of CanyonTrail, Mark Schneider welcomed me to theonly remaining cluster of houses, calledStruggle Mountain. Mark joined thecommunity in 1971, lived there until TheLand was purchased by MROSD in 1977,and then moved back in 1986 to theStruggle Mountain property that he andothers had managed to buy in 1976. Thecozy little kitchen where we sat drinkingtea had initially belonged to Joan Baez. Inthe late sixties the owner of the land,Donald Eldridge was looking for someoneto take care of the property. He called onBaez and Ira Sandperl, co-founders of theInstitute for the Study of Non-Violence,and soon after they moved up to the ridge.

Migration to The Land


few original buildings next to the road,they maintained communal organicgardens and had established guidelines toprotect the ecosystem services that theyobserved in their surroundings.

Into the early 1960s, the only structureson the property were the original ranchhouse on Page Mill Road – situatedimmediately to the left as you standlooking south towards the ridges from thetrailhead – and a large tin barn. Thecommunity began in and around the “BigHouse,” but by 1971 the overflow hadbegun to spread out into the “Backlands,”with residents living in teepees and tentsuntil wooden structures were completed.Eldridge, who had bought the land in 1968,felt that they didn’t mar the natural settingand essentially served as valuablecaretakers of his property.

At that point, in the early seventies,there were only 13 other houses on the hill,and though there were property lines,rarely were they heeded or boundariesenforced. “Yeah, people were trespassingall over the place,” said Mark. Court,another early inhabitant of The Land nowliving at Struggle Mountain. He related astory about a couple who began living inan abandoned chicken shed on one of thelandowners’ property and, when discov-ered, were simply asked for a little rent andthen left alone.

Human and Natural Changes

They explained that the actual landscapehas changed very little; the primarychanges were just those resulting from thepassage of time. As we walked alongCanyon Trail, Mark pointed to a particularbeloved tree is showing signs of age. Eachwinter’s storms and the ever-dynamic SanAndreas Fault are constantly reshapingthe gully where one of their friends’ hadonce built a six-sided dwelling. A littlefurther down the path, which they called“Swamp Drive” for the wetland area onone side and its frequently muddy dipsand turns, Mark pointed out that themajority of the present trails were cut

along pre-existing ones that they andothers before them had used. The BellaVista Trail is a new scar marring thebeautiful curves of the Monte Bello Ridgebut it makes for an incredible hike thataffords amazing views of the surroundingarea.

Despite Mark and Court’s estimation tothe contrary, as we walked and found theformer site of the cook shack or a friend’shouse, I realized there has been significantchange. Where there was once a cookshack, there’s now a sunny clearing, wherethere was once two-story dwelling under agnarled tree along a creek, there’s now asecret spot whose shadows beckon aglance from the trail. With most traces ofthe small, low-impact community disap-pearing, the area surely feels very differentand certainly wilder than in its heyday.

I asked about changes in the animal lifeand patterns of local species, but Markand Court were less certain about thosedifferences. They thought they’d noticedan increase in animals like coyotes, fox,and deer, but were unsure of exactly whatmay have caused that rise in populations.During The Land era, the ground squirrelshad “a field day” as a result of richscavenging in the humans’ wake, but theysaid that the squirrel population had sincesubsided to normal levels.

From Commune to Open SpacePreserve

In 1974 the owner of the property,Donald Eldridge, and the previous owner,Mrs. Alyce Lee Burns, disagreed over theterms of their payment contract afterregional downsizing and re-zoningchanged the status of property values andland rights. A series of lawsuits followedin which Mrs. Burns held a foreclosuresale on the untitled holdings at theproperty, bought them back, and began tolook for buyers. In January 1977 she begannegotiations with MROSD, which hadbeen created in 1972 for the purpose ofcreating a regional greenbelt of open spacelands in order to permanently preserve the

natural scenery surrounding mid-peninsulacommunities. In March MROSD agreed tobuy the land, but required that theoccupants be evicted. In August 1977 thecourts upheld Mrs. Burns’ claim to theland and ruled in favor of the eviction of alloccupants from the property.

During his recounting of the legalstruggles, Mark was careful to note thatThe Land had supported the formation ofthe Open Space District and their goal ofpreserving the vast greenbelt around thegrowing metropolitan area. When itbecame clear that they would be forced toleave their homes, tension arose becausethey didn’t agree that their experimentalcommunity was necessarily detrimental tothat goal.

Although the displacement of The Landinhabitants was unfortunate, I couldappreciate the fact that MROSD’s appro-priation of the area had allowed for manymore people to enjoy the beautiful space.The new trails, improved road access, andregulation of the area that came after theacquisition have made it possible to getinto the mountains quickly and easily. Inaddition, the purchase prevented furtherdevelopment on the ridge, limiting theluxury homes that surely would havesprung up, bringing with them the ele-ments of increased human population thatare thankfully absent as one looks outfrom trailhead. Could all this have beenaccomplished without evicting the peopleof The Land? Even in hindsight, thechoices weren’t easy. Though The Land islong gone, its hills have been preserved sothat the greater community of the area cancontinue to experience and appreciate amagic of a truly beautiful place.

Elizabeth de Rham is a Stanfordstudent, Class of 2005, originallyfrom Portland Oregon. She willprobably be studying Anthropologi-cal Sciences and Spanish, with anemphasis on Environment andPopulations

This book has a long history. Now in its8th edition, the first edition was publishedin 1976. It is a pleasant guide to a varietyof hiking experiences in the Bay Area. Foreach location the author begins bydescribing the historical significance andgeneral environment. He then describesone or two suggested hikes, pointing outlandmarks and some items of interest.Some of the trail descriptions are prettybrief. I would have preferred more detail.Driving directions (too vague in somecases), a decent map, a photograph, andcontact information, dog, equestrian andbike access information are provided formost locations. There is no consistenttrail-rating scheme provided with each hikedescription (no elevation gains or diffi-culty ratings), but trail specifications areprovided in an appendix. I really enjoyedthe special sections covering a wide rangeof topics including the legend of MountainCharlie, the biology of the banana slug,how to avoid getting poison oak, andcoastal access. I found this a veryinteresting book to read.

South Bay Trails - OutdoorAdventures in & around the SantaClara Valley, 3rd Edition

Overall Rating:

Written by Jean Rusmore, FrancesSpangle, and Betsy Crowder. (310 pages,$16.95, published by Wilderness Press,2001. ISBN: 0-89997-118-0) Covers100+ hikes in 32 locations in the SouthBay from Gilroy to Newark.

Introduction

With such a wealth of outdoor adven-tures in the San Francisco Bay Area, it isno surprise that we have a number of goodhiking guides available. The books differin the range of locations covered, theamount of background information andnatural history they provide, and thequality of the hike descriptions, maps andphotographs. These books can be dividedinto 2 categories.

The first category consists of hikingbooks that focus on a small region,providing a significant amount of back-ground information, and frequentlydescribing multiple hikes at each location.The books in this category are: The SantaCruz Mountains Trail Book, South BayTrails, and Peninsula Trails.

Books in the second category try tocover a larger region, provide lesserbackground information, and rarelydescribe more than one hike per location.The titles of these books inevitablyinclude the number of hikes covered.These books also tend not to limit thehikes described to “off road” trails, butmay also include descriptions of walks inneighborhoods, for example. The books inthis category are: 12 Short Hikes-SouthBay San Francisco Bay Area, 101 GreatHikes of the San Francisco Bay Area, and101 Hikes in Northern California.

In general I preferred books in the firstcategory to the second because of thegreater amount of information providedand the inclusion of multiple hike descrip-tions per location.

Trail Book Rating System:

I adopted a simple system for rating thebooks giving each a score of from 1 to 3hikers:

Doesn’t turn me on:

Recommended:

Highly Recommended:

Where to find Bay Area TrailBooks

Most of these books are availablelocally at independent booksellers such asKepler’s Books, major book retailers suchas Barnes & Noble and Borders, andoutdoor retailers including REI, as well asonline directly from Amazon and othersources. You will also find many of them atyour local public library and at the ActerraEnvironmental Library (www.acterra.org).

The Santa Cruz Mountains TrailBook, 8th Edition

Overall Rating:

Written by TomTraber. (223 pages,$12.95, published byThe Oak ValleyPress, 1998. ISBN:0-9609170-6-3).Covers 71 locationsin the Santa CruzMountains.

Bay Area TrailBooks ReviewBy Don DeBold


The book begins with an introduction tothe geography natural history of the southbay. For each location the authorsprovide an overview, covering the historyof the area and a general description, aswell as a summary of jurisdiction, facilities,park rules, relevant maps and how to getthere. One or more hikes in each area aredescribed in detail. Header data for eachhike includes a short summary of the hike,distance, estimated time, and elevationgain. I really like the background theauthors provide for the area. The hints onthings to look for are wonderful. Forexample, for a hike through Alum RockPark in San Jose, the authors help youlocate and identify remnants of the narrowgauge railroad that once brought visitorsto this park. You can tell the authors reallylove the bay area and want the reader toshare somewhat the experience they had.Good maps (including an overview mapshowing the location of each hike) andgood hiking directions - not too muchdetail, but enough to keep you on track.An appendix helps you choose a hikebased on a theme such as “Spring Flow-ers”, “Expeditions” (long hikes), or“Children’s Outings”. This book is verypleasant to read, and is especially good forthose who love to hike bay area trails as ameans of learning about and experiencingour outdoor treasures and natural history.

Peninsula Trails, 3rd Edition

Overall Rating:

Written by Jean Rusmore, FrancesSpangle, and Betsy Crowder. (304 pages,$14.95, published by Wilderness Press,1997. ISBN: 0-89997-197-0) Covers 151hikes in 70 locations on the SF Penin-sula, including coastal areas.

Written by the same authors (Rusmore,Crowder and Spangle) as “South BayTrails”, “Peninsula Trails” is similar inorganization and style. This book coverstrails in parks, preserves and beaches fromSan Francisco to Southern San MateoCounty. An interesting introduction

provides an overview of the naturalhistory of the Santa Cruz Mountains andbay area, early inhabitants of the area, andactivities that shaped the area as we knowit today (farming, ranching, logging). Theintroduction also covers the basics of trailbuilding, trail etiquette and safety, andother topics. An appendix gives a crossreference of the hikes by theme. For eachlocation the authors provide a generaldescription of the area, a good qualitymap, a summary of facilities, rules anddriving directions. Most areas include atleast one black and white photo. Follow-ing the location information are detaileddescriptions of one or more hikes in thearea. Summary information on distance,elevation gain and estimated time areprovided for each hike. As in the SouthBay Trails book, the best parts of thisbook are the “trail notes” that describe thehikes, points of interest to look for, andprovide interesting historical facts aboutthe area. Again, the authors’ love of thebay area comes through. I highly recom-mend this guide.

12 Short Hikes - South Bay SanFrancisco Bay Area, 1st Edition

Overall Rating:

Written by Nancy Salcedo. (30 pages,$4.95, published by Chockstone Press,1997, ISBN: 1-57540-019-7) Covers 12hikes on the SF Peninsula from SanBruno to San Jose.

This small book focuses on 12 shorthikes (5 miles or less) from San Bruno toSan Jose. I liked the well-organized, step-by-step descriptions of the hikes, gooddirections to get to trailhead, the quicksummary of each hike in section headers(trail length, time, elevation change, drivetime), and elevation profile graphs.However, this book is pretty minimalist andnot much information provided aboutlandmarks, points of interest or the floraand fauna. Instead of traditional maps itincludes poor aerial photos of the areawith the path of the trail overlaid on top.

They are not very useful to the hiker.Unlike all the other books reviewed, thereis also no overview map showing thegeneral location of the hikes described.The biggest plusses of this book are that itis inexpensive and easy to carry with you.

101 Great Hikes of the SanFrancisco Bay Area

Overall Rating:

Written by Ann Marie Brown. (318pages, $15.95, published by FoghornOutdoors, 2000. ISBN: 1-57354-068-4)Covers 101 hikes in the Bay Area Southto Aptos and North to Calistoga.

This is a basic book that dispenses withmost of the detailed background informa-tion and natural history that are predomi-nant features of the Rusmore/Spangle/Crowder series. A clear overview mapshows the location of each hike. This bookprovides good descriptions of the trailsthemselves, and the features to look for.The header for each hike provides direc-tions to the trailhead, a quick summary ofdistance and estimated hike duration,elevation change, a quality and a difficultyrating. Graphic icons also provide a quickoverview of trail features such as water-falls, wildlife viewing, and panoramicviews. A simple map of the trail is in-cluded with most, but not all hikes. Brownprovides detailed trail descriptions thatshould enable you to complete the hikeeven without a detailed map. An appendixprovides a cross reference of the bestlocations for peak vistas, waterfalls,wildlife and bird watching, wildflowerdisplays, etc. Like other books that covera wide range, it provides descriptions ofonly one hike per location.

101 Hikes in Northern Califor-nia - Exploring Mountains, Val-leys, and Seashore, 1st Edition

Overall Rating:

(continued on the following page)

Written by Matt Heid. (272 pages,$16.95, published by Wilderness Press,2000, ISBN: 0-89997-257-8) Covers 101hikes in all of California north of SanLuis Obispo.

This is a well-organized book that lists101 different hikes throughout northernCalifornia. As with the other books thatcover a wide range, it only describes oneor in some cases two hikes for eachlocation. An overview map makes it easyto locate the hikes in your area. Of all thebooks reviewed this one provided themost complete summary information foreach hike - a quick glance at the header ofeach hike description summarizes thelocation, highlights, distance, elevationgain, hiking time, difficult, best times, andappropriate topographic map. Directionson how to reach the trailheads were clearand complete. I enjoyed the hike descrip-tions that included landmarks, points ofinterest, historical tidbits and advice (e.g.“fill your water bottles here”). A featurenot seen in the other books reviewed isthat distance from trailhead and elevationinformation is given for landmarks alongthe way. I didn’t care much for the trailmaps, which consisted of sections oftopographic maps with trails outlined, butno landmarks or points of interest marked.

Don DeBold is a Bay Area nativewith strong interests in astronomy,photography, and hiking the parksof South San Jose. His day job is theOperations Director ofhpshopping.com.

Trail Center Notes(continued from the previous page)

Upcoming Events

We will be working primarily in the StateParks this year. With budget cuts, ourefforts are more valuable than ever. Duringthe first half of the year, we’ll concentrateon Portola Redwoods State. For our majorproject, we will reroute the Iverson Trail,which has been closed due to severe stormdamage since 1998. The repaired trail willhave to bypass a great many big treesblew down and even the less damagedsections need repair. We expect to com-plete this project by mid-summer.

Moving coastside and north, we’ll workin McNee Ranch State Park to repair theGray Whale Cove Trail in May and thenOld Pedro Road when we finish at Portola.We are currently setting up the schedulefor the remainder of the year. Pleasesubscribe to our email newsletter, TrailCenter News & Upcoming Events to benotified for new dates or check ourwebsite.

Crew Leader Training

Congratulations to Bill Henzel, ournewest Crew Leader! Bill is a longtimevolunteer and supporter. Bill graduatedduring this year’s project at ArastraderoPreserve and is a welcome addition to theCrew Leader ranks after putting in manyevents as a trainee.

Congratulations also to Alex Fabrikantand David Alderman, who both joined ourapprenticeship program this year. Alex hasbeen a great volunteer and recruiter for thepast two years. His recruiting effortsamong friends and fellow ElectricalEngineering and Computer Sciencestudents at UC Berkeley have meant wewere able to complete a project on timemore than once. David has also been anactive volunteer, particularly on the GazosCreek project and recently joined the TCBoard.

Outreach Coordinator AmyMorris Steps Down

Amy Morris, who began as our Out-reach Coordinator in Spring 2001, steppeddown this fall after a year and half ofoutstanding service. A new job and otherresponsibilities made it difficult to con-tinue, but she looks forward to helping outfor special events such as Earth Day andNational Trails Day. We have all appreci-ated her work with our volunteers,including fielding many, many emails aboutour various events, and critical help incoordinating some of our bigger events.Thank you, Amy!

Welcome to Our New OutreachAssistant

Lisa Wong, like many of our volunteers,found us through VolunteerMatch(www.volunteermatch.org). She is apharmacist working in San Francisco andtook on the role of Outreach Assistant tomanage the TC’s incoming phone mes-sages. With Amy’s departure, we doublyappreciate the help. Thanks, Lisa!

Keeping the Map SourceStocked

Doug Hester is an avid hiker and hasbeen managing the Trail Center MapSource since summer 2002. By the time hejoined us, he had covered all the trails in allthe parks in Santa Clara County (some-times putting in 30 miles at a time) and wasworking his way north along the crest ofthe Santa Cruz Mountains. With all histravels, he is very familiar with both thetrails and the maps. Doug has alsovolunteered to be the TC’s trail answersource and welcomes any questionsregarding particular trails and parks at [email protected]. Thanks, Doug!

Bay Area TrailBooks Review(cont.)


department are interested in discussingfuture links.

Mendocino Redwood (a holdingcompany controlled by the Fisher family ofSan Francisco, owners of the Gap, BananaRepublic and Old Navy) acquired the landfrom Louisiana Pacific and was recentlycertified as practicing sustainable forestryfrom the Forest Stewardship Council, aninternational trade group. Although somecritics feel that any logging will furtherdegrade an ecosystem heavily impacted bydecades of mediocre logging practices,Mendocino Redwoods claims that it willaddress the problems it inherited from L-Pand will be logging only a small portion ofthe property. The Western WatershedAlliance, formed to protect the WillowCreek watershed, intends to monitorMendocino Redwood’s mitigationprojects. $200,000 of Proposition 13 moneywill fund extensive restoration efforts on

In the North Bay, a scenic 5,000-acreparcel belonging to the MendocinoRedwood Co., a logging company, is nowopen to hikers, bicyclists and equestriansseasonally by permit. The Willow Creekproperty, near the mouth of the RussianRiver, has long been eyed by open space,environmental and trails advocates.Although Sonoma County’s populationhas grown rapidly over the past fewdecades, the area lacks the recreationalaccess enjoyed by residents of much ofthe greater Bay Area who benefit fromsuch organizations as POST, MROSD, EastBay Regional Park District, and strongcounty park systems. Willow Creek,roughly equal in size with the heavily usedAnadel State Park above Santa Rosa, isnearly adjacent to the Sonoma Coast StateBeach at Pomo Camp. Although noconnections currently exist, bothMendocino Redwood and the state parks

Become a Member and Support Trails in theSan Francisco Bay AreaName:__________________________________________

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Evening Phone:__________________________________

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email:___________________________________________

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Membership and contributions are tax-deductible asallowed by the 501(c)(3) law. Employers will oftenmatch funds. Does yours? Please ask.

Please make checks payable to: Trail Center.

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Trail Center3921 E. Bayshore RoadPalo Alto, CA 94303

Willow Creek by a broad-based partner-ship led by the non-profit Stewards ofSlavianka, and including MendocinoRedwoods.

If you are going to Sonoma Countyand wish to visit this scenic area withsweeping views of western SonomaCounty and the Russian River, you canobtain a permit (spring and summer only)by contacting Michelle Whitman, (707)874-2305 or email [email protected], fill out, sign and return the liabilitywaiver to get gate combinations. Youmust carry the permit on your person anddisplay the parking permit on yourvehicle when on the property.

[Information from “New Path” byGeorge Lauer, The Press Democrat(Santa Rosa, CA), Aug. 9, 2001]

Notes from Afield: Sonoma

Woodrat Trail, ArastraderoPreserve, February 9 and Oct. 26,2002

We had expected to begin work onreopening an old trail in Stanford’s JasperRidge Biological Preserve in early spring,2002, but due to a study of erosion intoSearsville Lake, as well as a chaparralsuccession study, we returned toArastradero Preserve to do a one-yearfollow-up on our 2001 Woodrat Trail(formerly Acorn Trail) reroute. Wet groundconditions limited our effectiveness insome stretches, but we managed toimprove two of the switchbacks andcomplete the upper connection to the oldtrail, as well as many minor improvementsall along the route.

The City of Palo Alto hired DennisSmith, a trail contractor from Oregon, to doa variety of projects throughout thePreserve, including additional work onWoodrat in October, 2002, in partnershipwith the Trail Center. With a good turnout,the crews helped prepare two of thewettest stretches of the trail for gravelturnpikes, as well as touchups to severalother stretches. Despite some seriouslogistical problems, the result has beenencouraging and should allow the trail toreopen sooner for the dry months. Dennisclosed the old trail for good and the scar iswell on its way to restoration.

Thank you to everyone who worked onthe Woodrat Trail: Dave Croker, Tim Oren,Alex Fabrikant, Dave Kison, Pat Oren,Scott Heeschen, Bill Henzel, Alan Ross,Rich Allsop, Justin Knowles, GeoffreySkinner (Crew Leaders & Trainees); DavidSmernoff, Miles Hopkins, Peter Colby, JaneKos, Eric Klinker, Kate Kaczmarek, EmilyKaczmarek, Jeff Kaczmarek, JohnKaczmarek, Aaron Beverly, Bobby Shaw,Judith Weiss, Denise Gilbert, Abe

winter after a biological survey revealed noendangered plants or animals on the routeand we began work on March 10 inpartnership with the Arastradero habitatrestoration volunteers (including a largecontingent from Palo Alto’s Scout Troop5), led by Karen Cotter.

While trail crews cleared poison oak,prepared a culvert crossing, and closed offan unwanted trail next to the boundaryfence, the habitat restoration crewstransplanted dozens of ferns and soaprootplants from the new trail route into the oldboundary trail to both save the plants andspeed along the closure. We had about 25feet of new trail by the end of the day, aswell as a nearly completed culvert. Thepoison oak crew managed to clear nearlyall of the noxious vines, but at the cost ofone member coming down with a nastyrash. Eric Larsen estimated he had nearly200 square inches (!) affected and no

Epperson, Natalie Battle, Nicholas Chen,Wonsop Sim, Sangha Han, Dan Kuo,Aaron Jow, Allen Tsao, Francis Hsu,Gagan Prakash, Deborah Rodriguez,Jessica Gallagher, Zeneida Granados,Michael Jurka, TJ Ciglenjak, DavidAlderman, Kathryne Mulvaney, StacyRenteria.

Woodland Star Trail, ArastraderoPreserve, March 9, April 21, May8 and 15, 2002

We followed up our spring WoodratTrail improvements with our finalArastradero reroute project on WoodlandStar Trail (also formerly Acorn Trail) in thenorthwest corner of the Preserve. Thisambitious reroute replaced severalhundred feet of steep and badly rutted trailbelow the Meadowlark Trail intersectionnear Gate C. Approval from the biologistsand the City of Palo Alto came in late

The Trail Center at Work:Construction and Maintenance

Grassland trail blazers – Woodland Star Trail, Arastradero Preserve, April 21, 2002Photo by Geoffrey Skinner.


longer believes he’s not sensitive. Fortu-nately, no one else had more than a fewitchy spots.

We completed the bulk of the project onEarth Day, April 21, with a 65-personturnout. Despite hot weather, we hadcompleted about 1200 feet of the roughly1300-foot reroute. Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagelsand Hobee’s California Restaurants (bothof Palo Alto) donated bagels andcoffeecake for Earth Day, respectively, tohelp get the day started. A great lunch setup by Outreach Coordinator Amy Morrisand (now former) board member PriscillaMcGee fueled volunteers for the after-noon. We were also pleased to announcevolunteer (and recruiter extraordinaire)Alex Fabrikant’s promotion to Crew LeaderTrainee and give him his red Traineebandana.

Two evening sessions in early May inconjunction with the Arastradero Steward-ship Project’s Wednesday Evening WeedWarriors were needed to finish up theremaining sections. Since the trail didn’thave the customary winter to settle inbefore full use, some areas held up lesswell than we had hoped, but the old trailwas immediately closed and Dennis Smith,the trail contractor, began restorationefforts in the fall. We expect the tread to bein much better shape once the trail reopensafter this year’s seasonal closure andminor repairs are made.

Thanks to everyone who made thisproject a success! Bill Henzel, ScottHeeschen, Alan Ross, Rich Allsop, DarwinPoulos, Alex Fabrikant, Tim Oren, PatOren, Geoffrey Skinner (crew leaders &trainees); Karen Cotter and David “Tex”Houston, (Arastradero Preserve Steward-ship Project), Michele Wagner and City ofPalo Alto Open Space Rangers, SueWinslow and Palo Alto Scout Troop 5,Randy Farmer, Robert Farmer, Eric Larsen,John O. Miller, David Waylonis, CharlesEubanks, Jonah Berger, Judy Doi, LorenAlegria, Rich Toste, Cindy Russell, DavidSmernoff, Lisa Smernoff, Ivona Vogelsang,Daniel Rumenik, Anna Kim, CarrieCornwall, Linda Wilde, Jane Kos, Parag

Shah, Christine Lee, Jane Weber, JessicaBeard, Barbara Curlette, Ted Macintosh,Tirumal Panganamala, Valerie Wang. [Note:our list is unfortunately incomplete –apologies to anyone who was inadvert-ently omitted!]

Gazos Creek Trail Project, June 1(National Trails Day), July 13,Aug. 10, Sept. 14, and Dec. 7,2002

After eleven workdays spanning nearlya year and a half, we celebrated thecompletion of our Gazos Creek Trail projecton Dec. 7, 2002. We began the 0.8 mile-long project of improving a narrow existingtrail in future parklands along Gazos Creek(near Pescadero) on July 14, 2001. For ourfirst workday, we made preparations forour first footbridge. Two bridges, hun-dreds of feet of retaining walls, severalyellowjacket nests, and roughly 140volunteers later, we declared the trail doneand cut a length of flagging to mark oursuccess. Highlights included:

· Our wettest (and quickest) trail surveyday ever on Memorial Day weekend as weprepared for this season’s events

· Joining thousands of volunteersaround the nation on trail projects andcelebrations for the ninth annual NationalTrails Day with a challenging rerouteabove our second bridge (made even morechallenging by the four yellowjacket nestsnear the bridge).

· Cookouts at the Pescadero Conserva-tion Alliance’s Field Research Station.

· Two BIG buses maneuvering up thenarrow and winding Gazos Road to deposita large group of college prep students atthe trailhead on July 13.

· An enthusiastic turnout from the BayArea Williams College alumnae on Sept. 14

· Jockying several large, downed treesout of the trail on Sept. 14 and severalmore on Dec. 7

To everyone involved in this trailproject, including the Pescadero Conserva-tion Alliance, Hobee’s California Restau-

rants (coffeecake donation) and Izzy’sBrooklyn Bagels (bagel dontations), wewant to say THANK YOU!! To everyone— including those who haven’t seen thetrail in a while — we urge you to check itout next time you visit Butano or AñoNuevo State Parks.

Great work, volunteers! Alex Fabrikant,Scott Heeschen, Dave Croker, Dave Kison,Bill Henzel, Cathy Sewell, Pat Oren, TimOren, Geoffrey Skinner, Katherine Thomas(crew leaders and trainees); SandyVenning, Bill Warburton, Joey Hansell,Peter Crigger, Robert Gari, Priscilla McGee,Phil Carrol, Peter Nevin, Caedmon Cahill,Ed Alderman, David Alderman, ArtemTkachenko, Aqeel Mahesri, Alan Sheih,Dan Kuo, Jonee Duffield, Judy Geer, GaganPrahasu, Heather Young, Emilie Cortes,Pauline Seales, Kristen Burmester, AlexBurmester, Bill Brune, Vijay A. Parupalli,Jayanth Parupalli, John O Miller, DarrenCorzine, Jeanne McArthur, Karen Li,Katherine Thomas, Mark Choi, AnthonyCopioli, Kathleen Thurgate, Jason Tuenge,Stacy, Jennie Mollica, Grace Woo, JesseEngelberg, Sean McAvoy, Melissa PerkinsMcAvoy, Darcy Ogden, Edie DeNiro, AnuVuorikoski-Bullis, Suzanne Samuel, CarolAcker, Chris Acker, Charlie McNamara,Lauren Araiza, Charles Atkinson, LizShoemaker, Leila Jere, Greg Bronstein,Cabe Franklin, Bob Siegel, and JaySteinman. [Apologies to anyone wemissed]

Castle Rock Steps, June 30

If you make a trip to Castle Rock andvisit the waterfall-viewing platform on theSaratoga Gap Trail, you’ll see a beautiful,new set of steps constructed in part by aTrail Center volunteer crew last summer.Coordinated by Crew Leader Bill Henzeland under the leadership of State Parkstaff, the crew assembled the wood framesand hauled a large amount of rock and dirtfill. Thanks volunteers! Bill Henzel (crewleader), Bob Tracey, Dave Kison, DavidAlderman, Alan Ross, and six more(apologies for not getting all your names).

Upcoming EventsEarth Day Trail Construction – Portola Redwoods State Park

April 19, 2003 – Saturday

Gray Whale Cove Trail Maintenance – McNee Ranch State ParkMay 10, 2003 – Saturday

National Trails Day – Portola Redwoods State ParkJune 7, 2003 – Saturday

For directions and further information, email [email protected], check www.trailcenter.orgor call (650) 968-7065

Not receiving our email newsletter, Trail Center News & Upcoming Events, yet? You’re missingout on the most current announcements, news and alerts, Email [email protected] to sign uptoday!

Trail Center3921 E. Bayshore RoadPalo Alto, CA 94303

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