Directions to Skyline trailhead

Our first hiking trip of 2016 is Tuesday, and this is a reminder that we are meeting at Skyline Blvd. trailhead around 8:30. I will be wearings an Oakland A's "striped socks" backpack, in case you are looking for me. I may be a little late because Jennie Bertone and are leaving my car at McDonald staging area for our stopping point.

To get to the Skyline Gate Staging Area, take 13 South to Park Blvd. Go left at the exit ramp and then left again onto Mountain Blvd. Go right at Snake Road, and when it splits, stay to the right for Shepherd Canyon Road. Google maps will give you different directions which you are free to follow, but I usually take Shepherd Canyon Road all the way up to Skyline Boulevard. It's VERY curvy. When you get to the top, go right, and follow for a mile or two and you will come to the Skyline Gate Staging Area. It will be on the left.

East Bay Skyline Trail: Hike 1

Hi friends.  I am resurrecting this very old blog (only lasted through my pregnancy with Quinn, I think) to communicate about group hikes I am putting together for friends with the flexibility to hike during the week. We are going to complete the East Bay Skyline National Recreation Trail in 2015. This is a 31 mile trail that extends through the East Bay Regional Park District. Instead of hiking it end to end, we are going to do the easier segments first, and work our way up. This will help us figure out our pace and work out the logistics of getting to the trailheads, etc.

Here are the details of our first hike:

We will hike the five miles from Skyline Gate to MacDonald Gate on Tuesday, February 2. The hike should start at 8:45 a.m. Dogs are welcome if they can hike 5 miles or you can carry a dog that far. If it is pouring rain, we can postpone the hike until February 4.

Logistics: We can meet at St. Paul's after drop-off and take an Uber from there to Skyline Gate (on Skyline Blvd), and get another Uber back from MacDonald gate to St. Paul's. However, given that we will probably only need four hours to do this, it might be easier to all meet at Skyline Gate, and have one person drive with me to MacDonald to leave my car and drive me to Skyline. I can bring everyone back to Skyline after the hike.

Please bring water, hiking boots/shoes and food/snack for yourself.

Leave an RSVP in the comments. I need one driver to assist with car set-up. Can't wait!

Andrea

7 Week Old Baby - Joaquin Miller Park

On Sunday, our little family hiked the Sunset Trail up to the Sequoia Bayview Trail in Oakland's Joaquin Miller Park. The Park itself has a nice playground and the Woodminster Ampitheater, which is anemically underused, much like the rest of Oakland's venues.

For the hike, we parked at the Ranger station and walked to the trailheads, which are at the base of Sanborn Drive. Here's the park map. I won't walk you through the hike step by step, but here are a few pointers:

1. The Sunset Trail is a little steep, so those with bellies or babies in a pack should be cautious. It's also a little rocky, but the rocks are loose, so watch the ankles.

2. The Bayview Trail is very flat, wide and easy. I think there may be a way to access it that does not entail such a steep* climb up to it. It also has a beautiful view of the whole bay. The downside of its perfection is that its a busy trail, with dogs, horses and bikes sharing the walk. Probably best for early morning and weekday hikes.

3. The Meadows near the trailhead are broad, mowed and have picnic tables, so bring food, water and frisbee (if that's your bag).

4. This trail gets a lot of fog, which is great for a couple of reasons. The forest is still green even in mid-September, and the mist can be lovely to hike in, if its not too cold. During the winter, it can be really wet, so bring a raincoat. Also, when it's raining the Sunset Trail can be complete muck, so study the map for an alternative route, if necessary. They don't have maps at the park, so print a copy from the link above.

* By "steep", I mean steep for a pregnant person. I don't think someone with some hiking experience would find it too difficult.

Losing the Pooch

The most annoying remnant of pregnancy (after labor aches disappear) is the Pooch. It's particularly pronounced after Baby 2 (I have learned the hard way). I found this article recommending walking as the best way to lose the pooch. My doctor also recommended crunches and Kegels.

The article recommends maintaining good posture, and I have noticed that my posture is terrible now, probably the result of curling over to nurse and to carry the baby. I feel a little silly correcting this by practicing good posture, but, duh, that seems like the only remedy.

More Hiking Advice

BabyFit just republished this article on Pregnancy and Outdoor Adventures. No new information from this earlier post, but I was surprised to see that you can burn up to 500 calories in an hour hiking. What a way to lose the post-baby fat. Must...motivate....

Helpful Exercise Tool

Since the birth of my lovely child on July 31, I haven't been able to take any actual hikes. However, I found this tool, Gmap Pedometer, that calculates your distance and calories on hikes around your neighborhood (or wherever else) based on Google maps. Very helpful for making you feel like you are "hiking" to the library or the drugstore.

Week 33 - Not-a-Hike to the Best Bay Area Beach

Yesterday, a friend and I took my 2.5 year old to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near Moss Beach. (Also, see here and here) I think this currently tops my list of the best Bay Area beaches. In fact, I was inclined to not blog about this place because it was so nice and quiet. I realized, of course, that I don't really have enough readers to worry that the beach will be swamped with people who read about it on my blog. And if I met my readers there, I would probably like them, or have invited them myself.

We did not hike any of the trails on the bluff, but they looked nice. At the Moss Beach entrance, a short trail takes you to an overlook between two beaches. To the South/left, you climb down a short stair, cross a freshwater stream and can walk down to the tidal pools. Although we got there about 4 hours after low tide, we were able to see crabs, hermit crabs, anemone, and periwinkle. It was great. Flocks of pelicans flew overhead, and the weather was perfect.

We walked back to the car, and got our picnic gear, which we took to the northern beach. We were virtually alone there, except for one other family. The bluff curves around the beach, so we were buffeted from the wind, and the temperature was around 70. My son ran around and around on the soft sand, practicing his slides into home plate. A harbor seal spied on us from the waves.

We hung out for about 4 hours and then headed back to Oakland. The traffic on 92 heading west made us feel pretty superior for having gotten on the road at 8:45 a.m. It took less than an hour to get out there from Oakland. A guy on the beach passed along this great tip: Caltrans has a live video camera at the intersection of Highways 1 and 92. You can see the traffic and the weather at the same time, and decide whether its worth heading out. One possible reason that the beach was so quiet is that Highway 1 is washed out at Devil's Slide, just north of Moss Beach, preventing San Franciscans from hopping down quickly.

A few comments for the pregnant mamas: It's probably not a great idea to walk on the tidal pool rocks too much unless you feel surefooted and have a companion to hold your hand, or at least your child. I walked on the area closest to shore but did not venture further out onto the breakers. They looked wet and sharp, and I am FAT (these days) and off-balance. And the access to the North beach required that I scoot down the rock on my bottom, which I was not ashamed to do, although my non-pregnant friend could climb it in a step or two.

This outing did not qualify as a hike for me, but it was great to be outside, be warm, hear the ocean and let the kiddo run down his battery.