Weekly
Walker
By Tom Davids
The Ancient Oaks Trail
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve
"There is great peace in this natural
beauty; we must all help to preserve it."
Directions: Take Highway 92 west to Skyline
Boulevard, then go 19.7 miles south to intersection with Page Mill and Alpine
roads. Turn right (west) on Alpine Road a short block, then right into the
parking lot.
Grade: Moderate, from 2,400 feet to 2,000
feet and back again.
Distance: 4.2 miles.
Time: Two hours.
Special Conditions: Toilet facilities at trail head.
Parking for 40+ cars. Additional parking at CalTrans Vista Point, Skyline
Boulevard, at Gate RR01. No dogs. Horses and bicycles allowed on most trails.
No poison oak if you stay on trail. The trail is well drained. No drinking
water. Dress for wind. Preserve is managed by Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District.
If there is a hiker’s Paradise on the
Peninsula--a place where you can stretch your legs for an hour or all day, a
place to romp through wildflowers or probe along oak-studded canyons, a place
of lakes and creeks and earthquake faults--it must be the "Four
Corners" area at the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and Page Mill
Road/Alpine Road. On the Midpeninsula Open Space District map, this is known as
the South Skyline Region–a region encompassing eight open space preserves
totaling 12,650 acres plus two state parks (Castle Rock and Portola) and the
Upper Stevens Creek County Park operated by Santa Clara County. In this
five-mile radius are hundreds of miles of trails for the hiker, runner,
bicyclist, and equestrian, and all of the preserves are connected via the Bay
Area Ridge Trail.
During
the next few months we will be exploring this hiker’s Paradise. We will visit
all eight open space preserves managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District (MROSD) including Coal Creek, Long Ridge, Los Trancos, Monte Bello,
Rancho San Antonio, Saratoga Gap, Skyline Ridge, and Russian Ridge. Your map guide
for this series will be the "South Skyline Region" map prepared by
the MROSD, which is typically available at the trail head. Or you may call the
District at (650) 691-1200, or e-mail mrosd@openspace.org to request a copy.
This
week we will visit the Russian Ridge Preserve, an area named for a Russian
immigrant who lived on the east side of the ridge from the early 1920s to about
1950. Another link with Russian culture and tradition was a Russian Orthodox
Convent, which operated on the property for a short time. Farther back in
history, the property was owned by James Rolph Jr., who served as mayor of San
Francisco before becoming governor of California in 1930. He died in office in
1934.
The
hike begins at the large parking lot just west of the intersection of Skyline
Boulevard and Alpine Road. The Ridge Trail (part of the 450-mile Bay area Ridge
Trail System) heads north and up along the east side of the ridge. As you hike
to the ridge, notice the grassland turning green and the old cattle feeder and
water trough on your right. You will probably see hawks circling overhead as
they search for their next meal. Crossing under high-tension wires, the trail
doubles back, gains more altitude, and then tops out on the ridge line heading
north. Look around, and you will begin to appreciate the vast open spaces on
all sides. The Pacific Ocean to the west, Skyline Ridge to the south, and Los
Trancos and Monte Bello to the east.
After
crossing a saddle on the ridgeline, you come to a junction. Turn left and wind
down through scattered oaks to the next junction. Along the way, you will walk
by a bench ideally placed to view the Skyline Ridge preserve to the south. The
bench was placed in memory of Janet Chamber Crews and bears an inscription of
our quote of the week. Continuing on, you will soon come to a junction. A left
turn will bring you to a small parking area on Alpine Road (Gate RR02), but
turn right onto the Ancient Oaks Trail. The trail traverses the hillside with
specimen oaks on the down slope. Russian Ridge is known for its large specimens
of Canyon Oak. When Veralyn and I took this hike last week, we also saw many
Coast Live Oak and were reminded of Robert Louis Stevenson, who described the
dense oak forests around Monterey as "woods for murderers to crawl
among."
Passing
through the dense oak forest, you will see a junction with a trail on your
right that offers a shorter loop by turning back to the Ridge Trail, but this
walk continues straight and downward to the next junction, where you turn right
on the Mindego Ridge Trail. The hike continues on an old ranch road for .3
miles to the Alder Springs Trail. A right turn takes you back to Skyline
Boulevard, but continue straight ahead for .3 miles to Hawk Trail. Turn right,
and ascend the west sloping hillside. You will soon reach a saddle on the ridge
and join the Ridge Trail. It is three miles round trip if you take the ridge
trail north (more about that at a later date), but for now, turn right for the
1.7-mile hike back to the trailhead. After walking along the ridge for one-half
mile, you will come to a junction at the Skyline Gate (RR01). Go straight ahead
onto the hillside and another junction. Continue either straight and over the
ridge top or to the right and around the flank of the hill. We prefer the
latter, but the former will bring you by Borel Hill, which at 2,572 feet is the
highest point around with spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Soon
you will be back at the trailhead with an inner determination to revisit this
preserve —maybe to check out the Mindego Ridge Trail or the Alder Springs
Trail. But whatever your plans, schedule a return visit in May to view one of
the area’s best shows of native wildflowers.
Your
comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. Fax to the Independent at
(650) 692-7587, or e-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.