This hike is in the north portion of the 1,580-acre Russian Ridge Preserve, part of the Midpeninsula Open Space District and 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 that operated on the property for a short time. During earlier history, James Rolph Jr., who served as mayor of San Francisco before becoming governor of California in 1930, owned the property. He died in office in 1934. The highest part of this preserve is 2,572--foot Borel Hill, located a couple miles south of our destination. This hill was named for Antoine Borel, a former owner of the property and a San Francisco banker.

Our hike starts at the Skyline Boulevard/Rapley Ranch intersection, 16.8 miles south of Highway 92, or 4.4 miles south of Highway 84--La Honda Road. This intersection is also marked by a sign to the Yerba Buena Nursery, specializing in native California plants and ferns, and a sign to the Langley Hill Quarry. The Thomas Fogarty Winery is on the east side of Skyline a short distance north.

Proceed down Rapley Ranch Road a short distance to the first intersecting road on your left. The gate marked RR07 is usually closed, but you can walk around the gatepost, and then you will see the small metal Russian Ridge Preserve sign listing the rules of use. On your right is an old barn in an advanced state of decay and posted "Keep Out." Adjacent to the barn is a newly built storage area for equipment and old farm implements, presumably used on the property many years ago.

Continue past the barn a few hundred feet, and watch for a wooden sign marked "Ridge Trail" on your right. Take this trail, which quickly drops below road level and into a cool and refreshing grove of bay and oak trees. Passing through this shady ravine, the trail contours along the face of a grassy hill toward a line of electric transmission towers. In the near distance you will see a geodesic shaped house with a windmill beyond. Two homes on private property are at the top of the hill along the ridgeline.

The grass along this stretch is shoulder high, but it will soon dry out, turn brown, and flatten out. On the uphill side of the trail are clumps of bracken fern, one fern type that grows on open, dry slopes.

Watch for the trail to switchback. As you make the turn, notice a large rock off the trail: Near by is a monument to "Ted Norton's Rock." The rock was placed by Sam Richardson, artist, in memory of Edward Polka Norton, 1959-1984, with the inscription, "For me there is only traveling on paths that have heart." My wife commented that the rock has a heart-like shape when viewed from various angles. We don't know the story behind the rock. Who was Ted Norton? Perhaps one of our readers can share the story.

A short distance farther is another art form: four platforms with alternating dark and light tile fronts with four vertical poles lined up to some distant point. It looks like an unfinished structure, but I have a hunch that this is the final product.

In just a few minutes you will see the wooden platform on your right--our destination for an early supper. The views from the platform to the west and north are great. Views to the east into Silicon Valley are filtered through the oak forest. On the late afternoon we arrived, the fog was starting to roll in, but the air was warm, the sky above was blue, and the breeze was mild. The bench seating is perfect, and a built-in corner table was just right for our small feast--a nice chardonnay, two bagels with a choice of lox or veggie schmeers, and fresh blackberries.

It was a memorable feast--somewhat like a Thanksgiving meal we shared a Berry Creek Falls a few years ago--but after an hour, serious fog from the coast along with brisk winds signaled that it was time to head back. It was great while it lasted. Do give it a try, and don't forget the blackberries.