Upcoming Group Hike: Starr King Open Space in San Francisco

I recently published a small article about Starr King Open Space in Bay Nature magazine, and was pleased to hear from the editor, Dan, that a well-known lepidopterist in the city was thrilled by it. He'd never been there before and ended up seeing plenty of flowers, including rarities, and even some wildlife.

For the group hike of April 2013, I'd like to bring folks to Starr King Open Space on Sunday April 7th from 11 to 12:30.

Starr King Open Space is on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. It's relatively close to General Hospital, the 101 and 280, 23rd Street, and it was my backyard as I grew up here in the 80s and early 90s. I used to spend hours here, sliding down the hills on pieces of cardboard with other neighborhood kids, walking my dog, or watching the fog drape over Twin Peaks. I'm glad to know the place is protected now, and furthermore that with age you can even notice a lot more than when you were a kid---like seeing all the wildflowers and understanding how rare they are, like the mariposa lily.

We'll ramble around the 3.5 acres that make up this open space, visit a stone spiral in one of the meadows, see rock outcroppings that create a special habitat called serpentine grassland, and have a picnic with an amazing view of the city spread out before us.

Special Guests
Webb Green, Vice President of the Starr King Open Space (http://starrkingopenspace.org), will point out different kinds of wildflowers, many of which are rare and native. He's been on the board for a decade, and active with the land for twenty years. I'm hoping Julie Shumate, the President of SKOS, will attend with her kid, as they're good friends of mine.

Getting There

We will meet under the eucalyptus trees across the street from Starr King Elementary School (1215 Carolina Street, 94107--cross street is Coral Road) on Potrero Hill.

Bus: You can catch the 48 Quintara from 24th Street BART, or the 19 Polk from Civic Center BART---either will take you a few blocks from our meeting spot.

Car: Exit 101 to Cesar Chavez, go north on Potrero Avenue, turn right on 23rd, turn right on Carolina Street, proceed two blocks to Starr King Elementary School, and park.

Relevant Links
http://starrkingopenspace.org
http://www.potreroview.net/news10051.html
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/Enjoy-Starr-King-Open-Space-atop-Potrero-Hill-3518667.php

Map of the Area

View Larger Map

Crystal Springs Trail: dirt, bunnies, and the sound of water

In the past whenever I've visited Crystal Springs Reservoir, I'd only ever walked on the paved trail, Sawyer Camp Trail, the one full of joggers and walkers galore, whizzing bikes, and a flotilla strollers. Sawyer Camp Trail is just north of 92--but I've always wondered about the possibility of trails south of Highway 92? 

I'm not a lover of concrete, especially when I'm want to be outdoors, so it's with great pleasure I tell you about Crystal Springs Trail, a dirt trail just south of Highway 92

Crystal Springs Reservoir
Crystal Springs Reservoir, for those who aren't familiar with it, is right off I-280 to the west of San Mateo, just 20-something miles south of San Francisco. It's a beautiful place for a man-made lake, and its clean, blue waters come from local creeks and from as far away as Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite. The  the forests and mountainous ridge to the west are pristine without houses or roads.

"Spring Fog" by Christina Puckett. Cordair.com

This is a great place to see advection fog at work too--that incredible natural wonder where the fog slides over the hills in a thick white blanket. Come late in the afternoon or the morning for the best chances of seeing this.

Perhaps the biggest drawbacks to walking along Crystal Springs Reservoir is the continuous fence (but you start to forget about it here and there), and the droning of single-engine prop planes en route to the tiny airport in Half Moon Bay / Princeton Harbor, but these distractions are intermittent. Mostly, you see the flowers and the fields, the cottontails and the raptors, and hear the songbirds and the water hitting the shore. 

Such a pretty trail compared to concrete ones

The Trail
Crystal Springs Trail gets you much closer to the water than the popular and paved Sawyer Camp Trail. Because Crystal Springs Trails is dirt, it somehow seems to repel people---on a busy Sunday there was just our family and a few joggers.

This one, then, is the gem.

You can actually hear water lapping on the shore, see beaches, and get close to wildlife. During one snack break, cottontails foraged under the coyote brush while overhead hawks and vultures flew.

Lupine

We only walked about a mile, past a large oak tree and a crude bench, though our map showed that 1.8 miles from where we parked was the Pulgas Water Temple, a stone structure with Greek architectural elements that was built to celebrate the fact that folks could get water all the way from Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite to here. (It's good to note that there are bathrooms at the Pulgas Water Temple.)

At this time of year, late March, there were wildflowers galore: purple colored lupine, buttercups, California golden poppies, and many more. The serpentine rocks along part of the way nurture native plants because of the chemicals they impart to the soil, and I think I saw goldfields there. We passed tons of coyote brush throughout. There was also coffee berry, oak trees, and plenty of poison oak and blackberry along the fence edges.

Teasel

The trail was flat with a little undulation. An outdoors type stroller could easily traverse this, and our 3.5 year old managed to go about two miles roundtrip before self-combusting.


Directions
Drive south of San Francisco on 280 for about 22 miles. Exit at 92 heading west. Park on Canada Road, which crosses 92. You will be on the east side of the reservoir.

Park at the southwestern corner of the intersection between Canada Road and Highway 92; there are plenty of parking spaces. A narrow dirt trail swings down at either end of the parking area to the main walking trail alongside the fence.

No facilities, except at the Pulgas Water Temple.

Of particular interest to bicyclists, check out Canada Road on Sunday when it closes to motorized traffic between H-92 and Filoli (approximately 2.5 miles). It's called Bicycle Sunday, and the open road is all yours.

Map of Crystal Springs Trail, courtesy http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us

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PHOTO ALBUM

Recap of March 2013 Group Hike: Pescadero Marsh

This past Sunday about thirty folks met up on the coastal stretch along Pescadero Beach. Some knew each other, and many were meeting each other for the first time. We walked a couple miles along protected marshland, binoculars in some hands, not knowing what we'd find. Soon kids were stopping to check out little things like bugs and flowers along the trail, adults were seeing blue herons and belted king-fishers in the trees, and though the sky changed from blue to cloud-covered in a couple hours, nobody minded--it was a great day to be outside. 

We passed out maps at the parking lot, showing the trail we were taking (in orange), plus a couple others if people were interested in other possibilities. 

Over the bridge, then under the bridge we went, following the sand to the creek. 

Once we reached the Sequoia Audubon trail, the kids were noticing things at their feet...

...and the adults were seeing things in the distance.

Someone identified this caterpillar---one of many of its kind---as a Wooly Bear that develops into a Tiger Moth. Don't touch it, we told the kids, it could cause a rash. The kids were thrilled by each and every one they found. This one is hanging out on a lupine. 

"We need the tonic of wildness, to wade sometimes in marshes..." 

--Henry David Thoreau

Hill Babies group hike regulars---yay!

Dad and daughter. 

A happy kid. 

Mom and daughter--so glad they came!

We took a snack break at Turtle Pond in the sunshine.  

The youngest hiker in the group was a month. 

A handful of docents made our walk that much more fun. 

These naturalist volunteers seemed to truly love coming out here on a regular basis to take folks on informal hikes, and I've got to thank them for their dedication, knowledge, and good cheer. 

Grandparents!

We had a picnic by Pescadero Creek, a perfect place with calm water, amazing amounts of driftwood, flocks of birds, and smooth sand. 

Two naturalists who happened to be childhood acquaintances that hadn't seen each other in over thirty years! Proof that going outdoors can be far more satisfying than staying inside. You never know who you'll run into when you join up with some group for a hike. 

Bird aficionados and good friends of mine. 

Dad and son. 

Black-tailed deer. 

Egrets in the rookery, a big snag. 

The end of the hike was at an elevated look-out at the top of a small rise, giving an expansive view of the marsh to the west and south. 

A belted king-fisher

"To stand at the edge of the sea, to sense the ebb and flow of the tides, to feel the breath of a mist moving over a great salt marsh, to watch the flight of shore birds ....  is to have knowledge of things that are as nearly eternal as any earthly life can be." 

--Rachel Carson

Western Gull

Note the lack of socks. Note the happy expressions. These kids were having a ball. That branch was a natural see-saw with someone on the other end (out of sight in the photo), so though you can't see em in action, they were on a ride that would rival any playground contraption.  

Recap of February's Group Hike: San Bruno Mountain's Saddle Loop Trail

A view from Saddle Loop Trail

 About fifty people gathered on Sunday, February 17th for the first Hill Babies group walk in 2013. Besides the parents, caregivers, and grandparents present, the kids ranged from one month of age to early teen. We were lucky to have some special guests to point out native flora and fauna: Paul Bouscal, a member San Bruno Mountain Watch, local author Ginny Anderson, and Deirdre Martin, a member of Nature in the City.

Another view from the trail

I distributed hand-drawn maps and then we set off at our own pace. Saddle Loop Trail is 2.7 miles, but there is a shortcut back to the parking lot where you'd only have walked 1.3 miles.

As ever, these walks are free and for all ages and occur about once a month. To receive postings about the next one, just sign up on this blog. 

Paul Bouscal from San Bruno Mountain Watch is the animated one above, telling folks about the restoration efforts that've happened here, including the removal of tons of non-native prickly gorse that covered the slopes. 

Dads taking their kids into the field to see things up close. There were quite a few dads and kids on their own, marching along, spending some quality time with their kids on a Sunday morning. 

Paul Bouscal explained the geology of the mountain. 

These little flowers are Yellow Hog Fennel, or Lomatium, a member of the carrot and parsnip family. There seems to be medicinal use for it, but too much to write about here. 

Little girls having a hoot on the gravel. 

This pretty flower is a native viola called Johnny Jump Up, and it happens to be very important as it's the host plant (food plant) for the Callippe Silverspot butterfly caterpillar. It's also been very difficult to re-introduce to the area in terms of habitat restoration, according to Paul Bouscal. 

It was a perfect day for everyone, and the little kids often led the way. Amazingly there was barely a tear shed or a tantrum thrown by any of the children---being outside has a calming and restorative effect for children, and parents too. 

On the north side of Saddle Loop Trail the city of San Francisco is unfolded like a crenellated grey blanket with green outcroppings of hills. In the distance you can see McLaren Park, to the left, and Bayview Hill, to the right, both areas with significant native plants and fantastic trails to bring children on. 

That tiny trooper was doing very well, plugging along uphill on the gentle grade of part of the northern trail. 

A native Hill Baby en route to the apex from which she will be able to see the blue slash of the Pacific Ocean to her left, and the grey landscape of San Francisco to her right. Only two and a half and already a veteran of Hill Babies' hikes, this little girl never asks to be carried even on the steepest hills. 

Hummingbirds all over...

Here Paul Bouscal, from San Bruno Mountain Watch, tells folks about the uses of red elderberry, a coastal type of tree with a fine example growing on the northern trail of Saddle Loop. 

At the end of the hike, some picnicked here, while others picnicked at another site closer to bathrooms. Either way it was a chance to meet people, have the kids engage in open-ended play, and rest for a while. 

On the final leg back to the parking lot, father and daughter walk together. My husband works full time during the week, so sometimes a walk like this one is his best chance to bond, because as any parent knows dinner and bedtime are not always the most harmonious times of the day. 

This little nature girl might prefer the sun, grass, and independent exploration to all the Playstations in the world.