Going High and Dry: Hiking at the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve

Date: May 19, 2022

Place: Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve, San Jose, California

Coordinates: 37.394067, -121.813692

Length: 7.4

Level: strenuous

After recovering from my foot injury last winter I was looking to get back into a routine of weekly hikes in the Bay Area. I invited my friend to join me on as hike to Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve and she invited one of her friends, so on the planned day the three of us met at the west parking lot of Alum Rock Park and started walking uphill.  

Our hike as captured by my GPS

After merely 300 yards I realized I forgot my camera so I left my friends waiting for me under a tree and went down to retrieve it from the car.  I then made my way uphill again back to where my friends were sitting and chatting. 

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is a wild area above and around Alum Rock Park, and the watershed of Penitensia creek. We were hiking there in mid May but since the winter of 2021-2022 had no rains past December all the hills were already dry and yellow. By sight only, I could have thought we were hiking in July. The day was mild however, warm, but not too hot. 

Almost the entire area of the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is oak savanna plant community, meaning open grassland with oak trees that either stand alone or in small stands. The lone oaks each have a different shape or, 'personality'. I love looking at them, the look so majestic. 

Live Oak, Quercus agrifolia

On the way up we kept turning on trail switchbacks. Looking west I saw a stand of fan palms that were clearly planted there. A bit higher behind the palms was a large estate that looked like it's been there forever, perhaps from the earlier days of San Jose. 

Farther below to the west we had a grand view of downtown San Jose. San Jose is a huge city (and even been California's capital briefly in the past). Too bad the air was too murky to get a clear view. 

Downtown San Jose

Last spring wasn't a very good bloom year for most of California, the Bay Area included. Even so, I expected to see more flowers than we actually found on this hike. Everything was already very dry. Some flowers, the hardier species, did bloom here and there. 

Western Morning Glory, Calystegia occidentalis 

I also expected to see more wildlife than we actually saw on that hike.  I settled for evidence of wildlife, even of the smaller kinds. 

Spider Burrow 

The oak savanna of the East Bay hills is also lined with the dark lines of thicker creek tree growth. Not exactly a riparian vegetation - it's too dry for that, but the gulches do provide more moisture preservation that supports thicker growth. 

Past the switchback part of the ascent, we moved to walking directly uphill on the ridge overlooking the valley of Penitensia Creek. My friends took the lead, chatting between them, while I brought up the rear, enjoying the quiet air where the city noise didn't reach. 

Trail

We were now high enough to clear the ridge line and see the peaks of Mount Diablo to the northeast after turning the curve. This was the only point during this hike where we had sight of Mount Hamilton. 

Mount Hamilton Pick-A-Boo

There was one plant species that didn't show diminished bloom and that was the California Buckeye tree, one of the signature trees of the Bay Area. When there magnificent trees bloom they look like chandeliers bearing countless of white, candle-like inflorescences. They are quite a sight to see. 

California Buckeye, Aesculus californica 

Perhaps perennial species have better time dealing with the drought. The sticky monkeyflower, another common East Bay bush, was also blooming nicely. 

Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus 

Other plants of species that would normally make carpets this time of year were disappointingly few. The California poppy, our state flower, had very little representation on our hike. 

California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica

We kept ascending up to the ridge. The hills are all covered with soil and grasses but here and there there were exposed rocks. In one places an exposed rock by the trail (it may have been cut in the making of the trail (showed the lovely layers of sedimentation from eons ago. 

Layers

The day was growing hotter and after a good long uphill walk we were ready to have our break. In good timing we had reached a place where the trail leveled off into the creek's creese where there was thick growth of oaks and laurels. We sat down in the shade to rest, drink, and snack. 

As in many other open spaces in the East Bay, the Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve land is also leased for grazing. While we were sitting by the trail side a cow walked up the trail with here calf trailing behind her. I got a bit edgy because cows can become aggressive, especially when they have calves, but these two merely passed us and moved on up the trail without regarding us whatsoever. 

We stayed put until the bovines disappeared around the curve. After the good break we had it was time to move on, and I hoped that we won't find the cow and calf blocking our trail. They didn't and soon we emerged from the trees and were once again walking out in open grassland. A small dark bump in an otherwise smooth golden slope caught my attention - it was a ground squirrel standing guard where was his family's burrow. I don't recall that it emitted any warning calls as we passed by. Perhaps we were far enough to not be considered a threat. I presume these little creatures are familiar with human hiking habit and know that we don't usually stray of trail. 

California Ground Squirrel 

The slope was tapering off as we neared the summit of the nearest hill. Every now and then we passed an oak tree of a small stand of oaks. One of the tree stands we passed however, was of buckeye trees in full bloom. 

California Buckeye, Aesculus californica 

At the top of the hill there was a view point and we took the little detour to get there. On the way we came across a solo hiker who seemed a bit sour about encountering us there. It was a bit odd, most hikers I meet on the trail are friendly, or at least neutral. Very rarely I see a hiker that's obviously grumpy. Perhaps he wanted to be alone at the view point and we ruined his anticipated solitude. 

Vista Point

From the view point we had nice view down to the Santa Clara Valley, which today known as the Silicon Valley. Tp the south we also had a nice view of Mount Hamilton, the tallest mountain in the Bay Area. 

Mount Hamilton

We sat on the bench at the Vista Point for a nice long break, eating and chatting away. We also discussed where to go next and eventually came to the conclusion that we didn't have enough time to make a much longer loop. We also didn't want to simply go down and finish the hike too soon, so I suggested going down along the North Rim Trail of Alum Rock Park and visit the mineral springs of Penitensia Creek.  

Hills of Gold

We started downhill looping around the hill we were just at the top of. Once again we were going on a switchback trail, looking at Santa Clara Valley with each turn to the west and up at the basin of Penitensia Creek with each turn to the east. There were very few other hikers out that day and for the most part we had the trail all to ourselves. 

Descending, west view

We also didn't see any wildlife except for a few little birds that didn't pause long enough for a photo shoot. There weren't many flowers either, but I did see one blooming datura shrub. 

Jimsonweed, Datura wrightii

We completed the big hill loop and went down the connecting trail to Penitensia Creek. On the way I spotted a few interesting looking birds. They were songbirds, mostly black but their wings flashed white when they flew. They looked unfamiliar to me and although I tried my best to photograph them, they were top far away and in the trees and I didn't get any decent photo of these birds. I did memorize their appearance though, and when I got home and described them to Pappa Quail he surprised me with his ID - the birds I saw were apparently male phainopepla. Now, I've seen phainopepla many times before, but usually perched atop a bush, and I didn't remember the white flash of their wings in flight. Phainopepla are desert birds of the south areas and this was the first (and so far only) time I've ever seen them in the Bay Area. 

Alum Rock Park, North Rim Trail

When we reached the North Rim Trail we took it east and went down to see the mineral springs area. I've already posted on this blog about that part of Alum Rock Park, and I didn't see much that prompted me to take more photos. it is a very nice park and a lovely trail at any time of the year, though.  

Mama mallard with three ducklings in Penitensia Creek

After exploring a bit the mineral springs area it was time to finish the hike. My friend was pressed to get back on time to pick up her kids, so our walk down the South Rim Trail was at a fast pace. It was nice that we were under the shade for a change.

Penitensia Creek Trail

Despite our needed haste I had to stop and look at a blooming rosebush on the way. I even smelled the flowers. 

California Rose, Rosa californica

Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve is an excellent getaway place that's close to town and doesn't require much driving. The ridge trail offers sweeping views and a chance for relative solitude. I would like to go back there earlier in spring in the hope of seeing more wildflowers and possibly see the phainopepla that ventured north once more.