Austin Explorer's Logbook

Stats
Total Log Entries: 464 (Rank: 3rd)  [List Them]  [Map Them]
Total Distance: 1,842.07 Miles (Rank: 4th)
Average Distance: 3.97 Miles

Average Rating: 3stars (3.10)
Average Difficulty: 2stars (2.36)
Average Solitude: 2point5stars (2.59)

Earliest Log Entry: 4/7/2001
Latest Log Entry: 1/18/2025

Average ratings are based on the published values and not the values entered in your own log entries.

Photos
San Pablo Bay

Looking out over San Pablo Bay towards parts of Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano County. [Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve]
Log Entries
Quick walk while out running errands
Helen Putnam Regional Park - 1/18/2025  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 2.32 Miles Duration: 55 minutes

Coppertone and I were running errands around Petaluma so we decided to stop by Helen Putnam to get a few miles in.  We mostly kept to the Ridge Trail (paved path) to avoid mud.  The trails seemed dry though so we also walked along the Ridge Trail's non-paved route on the way back.

We parked on the street near the Oxford Court trailhead and hiked over the ridge to the main trailhead on Chileno Valley Road.

At one point we spotted a bird hovering in mid air looking for a snack in the field below.  It came to a rest in a tree nearby.  Looked like a Kestrel based on size and behavior, but we didn't have binoculars to try and confirm this.

Prairie Ridge Trail Loop
Newell Open Space Preserve - 9/2/2024  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 5.97 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 46 minutes

Coppertone and I returned to one of our favorite hikes in the area.  We did the loop that included the Prairie Ridge Trail since it offers so many nice views in 360 degrees.

We're late enough in the year such that all of the grasses are brown and brittle.  Much, although not all, of the trail was the beneficiary of recent mowing.  We did not have to brush past brush for most of our hike.

Strangely, we found a dead rabbit and a dead mouse on the trail.  We were surprised some scavenger had not yet dragged them off for consumption.  A swarm of yellow jackets were busy working on the rabbit.

Several powerlines crest the ridge within the park and descend towards American Canyon.  Since our last visit one of the lines appears to have had its metal towers replaced with new wooden poles.  The bases of the old metal towers were all that remained of the old supports.

We stopped at a couple of blackberry brambles along the trail.  Although most of the berries were not yet ripe, we found a few morsels to enjoy.

A few years ago, a local Scout had installed a set of Orienteering markers along the trail.  An online guide provides background on how to find the markers.  Unfortunately, many of the markers appear to be missing now, though some remain.

In the end we logged almost 6 miles and only saw a few other people on the trails.

Orchard hike and talk
Jack London State Historic Park - 8/17/2024  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.32 Miles Duration: 3 hours, 37 minutes

Coppertone and I joined others on an guided hike organized by Jack London State Park Partners.  The topic was orchard adjacent to Camp Via on what used to be Sonoma Developmental Center property.  We'd hike out to the orchard and learn more about its history and the plans to restore a portion of it.

We started our hike at the ranch near the park entrance.  Taking the Lake, Mountain and the Old Fallen Bridge trails we ended up at the orchard.  The orchard is over 100 years old.  Originally built and maintained by residents of what would become the Sonoma Developmental Center.  Apples, apricots, cherries, grapes, pears, peaches, prunes and plums were just a few of the fruits grown here.  With shifting public sentiment about the use of labor from such facilities the orchard was eventually abandoned and overrun by shrubs.

The state park and then Jack London State Park Partners hatched a plan to restore the orchard as an historic resource.  Trees that had survived would be nurished and new plantings would conform to early 1900's practices to maintain its original character.  In addition, the fruit generated is harvested and distributed to families in need by Farm to Pantry.  In 2023, over 7,000 pounds of fruit from the orchard were donated!  We learned a lot during the trip.

We returned to the trailhead via a different route, using the Vineyard Trail.  This allowed us to stop by the Grandmother Tree, the largest and oldest Redwood Tree in the park.

To Lake Ilsanjo and back
Trione-Annadel State Park - 7/28/2024  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 5.90 Miles Duration: 2 hours, 28 minutes

Coppertone and I parked in the adjacent Sonoma County Park in order to get closer to a few trail segments in Annadel that we had not yet mapped out.  We start off heading south on Canyon Trail along Spring Creek for about a mile before we cross a bridge over the creek and into Annadel.  From there we continue on Canyon Trail until it runs into Lake Ilsanjo.  This part of our hike is somewhat dusty and mostly exposed to the Sun.  Hikers are also out numbered by the cyclists buzzing by. 

At Lake Ilsanjo we turn left onto Lake Trail for a short distance.  The view of the lake is alternately visible or hidden depending upon the dense foliage along its banks.

We turn left again onto Spring Creek Trail and it's almost like a different world.  First, the trail path gets much more rocky.  The extra difficulty does seem to filter out the less motivated cyclists.  On this trail hikers will outnumber cyclists.  The path also gets more shaded, a welcome relief from the exposure earlier in our hike.

Our path leads us back to a junction with Canyon Trail and then we doubled back to our starting point.

Mapping trail segments
Jack London State Historic Park - 6/23/2024  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 8.28 Miles Duration: 4 hours, 12 minutes

Coppertone and I elected to go back to Jack London to map out the few remaining trail segments in the park that we had not previously visited.  Also, given our recent trip to Europe, which involved a lot of walking, we figured we were in better shape as of late.

We took the Mountain Trail to get as to the top of the park as quickly as possible.  After mapping the end of Mountain Trail we also looped around to finish off Hayfields Trail and Cowan Meadow Trail.  Despite our false bravado having walked a lot in Europe we still managed to tire ourselves out quite a bit.  But it was nice to complete our personal map of the park.

The Hayfields Trail has a logical turnaround point near a power pole, though the trail continues on with an overgrown singletrack.  I don't recommend continuing to the actual park boundary line.  It's overgrown and there's no view at the end that makes it worth the effort to get there.