On a Winter Discovery Hike at Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park

 

Date: January 22, 2025

Place: Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, Oakland, California

Coordinates: 37.806910, -122.148377

Length: 4 miles

Level: moderate

 

Last month I planned to take my family hiking group to Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, east of Oakland. It has been a while since the last time I hiked there so a prep hike was in order, and I went on my own. I parked in the innermost parking lot and started without delay up the Canyon Trail, due east.

My hike as captured by my GPS

Canyon Trail is a fairly steep dirt road. Like its name suggests, it follows a narrow and deeply shaded canyon. It was a cold morning and I hurried uphill, ready to meet the sunshine again up on the East Ridge Trail.  

Canyon Trail

January 2025 was a dry month and the creek was not flowing. The trail however did have quite a few muddy spots, in places where water retained in the heavy clayish soil was seeping out to the surface. 

Although most of the park's area is forested, there are also significant chaparral coverage of the hill slopes. Up near the trail junction I had a nice view of the chaparral slope outside of the creek's gulch. 

Chaparral

I turned left (northwest) on the East Ridge Trail. The uphill ascension continued but at a much milder slope. For the god part, the trail was open to direct sunshine, which I enjoyed greatly. 

East Ridge Trail

I walked fast, pausing only briefly ear and there to look at some interesting sights such as a tall madrone tree with its shining smooth red bark. 

Pacific Madrone, Arbutus menziesii

Soon I came upon another trail junction, one that was gated. This wasn't a cattle gate but one barring humans, allowing entry only to those hikers who have a permit - the area east of the trail I was walking on was managed by the local water company, EBMUD. I promised myself that one day I'll get myself a permit and go hike there.

On the left was a huge pine tree, standing out in a forest f live oak and laurel. Try as I did, I could not fit the entire pine into my photo frame. Although there are native pine species in the Bay Area, I don't think this pine was a native species, but one that established itself from a population brought hither by people. Still, it was pretty and impressive.

Pine, Pinus sp.

Still on January, but some plants begin their spring bloom. The laurel tree which I've seen blooming already in Las Trampas just a few days earlier, was booming here as well. 

California Laurel, Umbellularia californica

Despite the dry spell, there were plenty of mushrooms on the forest floor, some of them evidently have popped out fairly recently. I love seeing mushrooms so I paused for a bit next to those I've seen there. 

At the high point of the trail there was a memorial bench. The bench was inviting so i sat down for a few minutes, drinking my tea from my thermal mug and enjoying the view ahead. Through the haze on the horizon I was able to identify the long ridge of the Ohlone Wilderness and Rose Peak, as well as the bump of Mission Peak which from this angle didn't have its signature pyramid shape. 

Off to the other side on the east, Mount Diablo was in the view, framed between the trees and the ridge of Las Trampas. 

For a good stretch now, the trees remained east of the trail and I had view to the west and to the south over the chaparral. Then I did see a single tree on the west. The tree was small. I didn't recognize the species, but it was a deciduous one, and it was just beginning to bud out. The tree itself wasn't what attracted my attention - it was the little hummingbird that was perched on the tree top, singing loudly its squeaky spring song. 

Anna's Hummingbird

Then the trees closed in on both sides of the trail, creating a beautiful canopied tunnel over the path. The forest there was the usual mix of oak, laurel and madrone, and I was already seeing a few thin redwoods too among them. 

East Ridge Trail

On the forest floor I saw a few more mushrooms, including a couple of shiny purple ones that seemed to have poked through the soil fairly recently. 

I didn't expect to see any herbaceous wildflowers this early in the season, so I was quite surprised to see some wild strawberry flowers. 

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca

Just before the trail junction where I had planned to turn downhill to the Creek Trail where the redwoods were I saw a fallen, dead oak. What got my attention to this oak was the eerily beautiful mosaic pattern of the dry brown moss that filled the cracks in the dead tree's bark. 

The next trail unction was with the Prince Trail, a short and steep trail connecting the East Ridge Trail with the Stream Trail below. It is a short bit of trail but I did see some interesting sights on my way down to the creek, like the budding soap plants. 

Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum

From the mid point of the Prince Trail I could see already some of the redwood fairy rings. All the redwoods in this park are young, new growth that sprung from the side shoots of the old growth trees that were looked in the 19th century. They grow in rings around where the old tree used to be. 

Coast Redwood, Sequoia sempervirens

There were more mushrooms along the trail. These were small and delicate, poking out through the green moss. These tiny mushrooms are but the small fruiting bodies exposed to the air. Most of the fungus is a much larger being, hidden out of sight in the earth or in the rotting vegetation. that they decompose 

I sat for a few minutes on the bench at the junction with the Stream Trail and munched on my snack, letting my excitement build up. The creek side nearby was a known place for ladybugs to aggregate in the winter, but not every year they accumulate in large numbers. I've already seen photos online of this year's aggregation of the ladybugs but I also knew that nothing was tying them in place and on warm weather they would disperse. When I eventually came  over to that spot and looked for the cute little bugs I was immediately gratified - there were lots and lots of them. 

All the vegetation in that area was covered with ladybugs, with all numbers of dots on their wings. Most of them were red but some were orangish. A warning sign nearby said that the ladybugs were to be seen only, not touched, and definitely not collected. 

The wooden fence posts and beams were also covered in ladybugs. The little insects seemed quite active, moving around and walking on the plants and all over each other. 

An information sign nearby explained about the lifecycle of the ladybugs. These insects, it said, aggregate during winter to be ready for mating when spring comes along. They tend to aggregate in the places where they'd hatched, where their larvae would be sure to find plenty of mites to eat when they hatch from the eggs. The only other place where I've seen ladybugs aggregate like that (there were even more of them there), was in Snow Mountain, almost three years ago. 

After the ladybug spot I resumed walking southeast along the Redwood Creek. Now I was walking right under the tall redwoods, and the trail was very shaded and cool. 

The Stream Trail

I've never seen Redwood Creek dry - there was always some water running through. Although January was a dry month I was expecting to see a higher flow, after all, December was rainy. The water level however was pretty low and the flow barely noticeable. 

Redwood Creek

In many ways, Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park looks and feels like a northern extension of Anthony Chabot Regional Park. The forest there however, has better preserved community of the native East Bay tree species such as the live oaks, madrones, laurels, and of course - the redwoods. "Preserved" might by a bit of an overstretched word because none of the trees there are the original, old growth trees. Those were all logged out a couple hundred years ago. Still, in places the forest in this park has a nice "wild" feel to it.

The Stream Trail

Despite the low flow of the creek the area beneath the redwood trees was plenty damp. The ferns looked very lush and happy and the rich smell of a healthy forest permeated my nostrils. The forest scene was completed with some lovely looking mushrooms rising through the thick layer of humus and decomposing leaves. 

The only flower that I saw blooming along the well shaded Stream Trail was the invasive periwinkle, which I did not photograph. I did see the fruit of the snowberry here and there - they also looked lovely. 

Common Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus

There are many picnic areas along the Stream Trail and on the last curve before reaching the parking lot there was also a large, open lawn and a little playground. I was glad to find a restroom structure there and on my way to use it I was impressed by the raw of tall manzanita that were in full bloom, and the swarm of angry-sounding bees that fussed over the cloud-like blossoms. 

Brittleleaf Manzanita, Arctostaphylos crustacea

Redwood Regional Park is very pretty year round, but winter time has its special charm there, and it is my favorite season to hike in the redwood forest. A week later I took my family hiking group on that same loop trail, and they agreed with me. 

 

Wilderness Quality Time with My Daughter at Las Trampas Regional Preserve

Date: January 15, 2025

Place: Las Trampas Regional Wilderness, San Ramon, California

Coordinates: 37.816703, -122.049741

Length: 3.5 miles

Level: mildly strenuous

This year's January was a dry and sunny month. Despite my thoughts about drought I was happy to take every opportunity I had to be out and about and of course, to go hiking. My younger chika was home on her school break and I invited her to join me on this hike. I chose to go to Las Trampas wilderness Regional Preserve where I've hiked several times in Las Trampas before, but only the short, easy loop around Bollinger Creek. This time I wanted to go on a loop trail on the ridge east of Bollinger Canyon Creek.  

Our hike as captured by my GPS

From the trailhead at the end of the access road was a lovely view up Bollinger Canyon. The shorter version of the Bollinger Creek Loop Trail would begin on that dirt road, going north. 

We weren't going on the shorter loop however, so we went a few steps up the hill to the not very obvious gate in the cattle fence and took the trail, a narrow footpath here, due south. A bit ahead we saw the serpentine curves of the Chamise Trail snaking up the hill. I pointed it out to my chika . She eyed it warily but said it didn't look too high. I agreed and we moved on. 

The earth was very dry, which at the time I was thankful for, having hiked at Las Trampas in the past when it was muddy. It has been muddy fairly recently though, and animals had left their impressions in the dried earth. 

Deer tracks

Just before our first trail intersection we came upon a dismembered bovine skeleton. The skeleton wasn't bone dry, but it had been picked clean, possibly by vultures and helpers. The lower area of Las Trampas near Bollinger Creek is leased for grazing, but other than that carcass we've seen no cattle that day.

Turning left on the Chamise Trail we started ascending Las Trampas Ridge. It wasn't a long climb and soon we were up in the chaparral which covered the higher part of the ridge. 

We also had a great view to the north, of the upper Bollinger Canyon area. It was hard to believe we were in middle of January - the sky was completely clear and blue and the air felt like spring. There was no mistaking the absence of wildflowers, however. It was way too soon to see any bloom yet. 

We reached the next trail intersection and paused there for a couple of minutes to admire the large and crooked-looking live oaks and to consult the trail map. 

My original plan was to continue on the Chamise Trail directly on the Las Trampas Ridge Trail due north but seeing that the narrow Mahogany Trail offered a detour down the creek east of the ridge I suggested to go down that way. I promised my chika that the detour won't extend our hike by much and she agreed to the change in the plan. 

Mahogany Trail

So we went down the Mahogany Trail and immediately were losing all the altitude we had gained coming up the Chamise Trail. From a gap in the trees we had a nice view of the next ridge to the east - steep sloped and covered in chaparral. The trail we were on extended all the way up that ridge as well but we wouldn't be going that far from our original plan for today. 

The chaparral that covered the higher area of the ridge was pretty heterogeneous - not one or two dominant species but many types of bushes, intermixed. The toyon bush was probably the most visible one because of its load of bright red berries. 

Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia

The lower we descended into the gulch the taller the vegetation got. The trail was shaded well and ferns appeared as a regular part of the forest floor vegetation. The coffee fern though, is a hardy fern with a thick cuticle on its leaflets, rendering it pretty drought-resistant relative to other fern species.

Coffee Fern, Pellaea andromedifolia 

We continued descending deeper into the gulch. My chika wasn't amused when I guaranteed her that we will regain all of that altitude soon enough. 

Mahogany Trail

We reached the bottom of the gulch which was well shaded by thick canopies of oak and laurel trees. The creek at the bottom of the gulch had some water flowing, but only a trickle.

At the bottom of the gulch where the creek forked the trail forked as well. The path we came down on forked east, becoming the Trapline Trail. It extended all the way up and over the eastern ridge of the wilderness, exiting in San Ramon. I archived that trail in my brain to pull out on another day.

My chika and I turned left to continue on the Mahogany Trail. We crossed the little creek flow, and started ascending back toward Chamise Trail. The trail was steep and ascended fast from the deeply shaded gulch into the higher, open chaparral. 

Poking through the chaparral was a large stone slab that looked like the dorsal fin of a huge sea monster. I am not very knowledgeable in geology but the angle of the slab told the tale of some really powerful tectonics were in play in this area.

A raptor glided across the sky. At first I thought it might be a vulture but as it came closer I saw that it was smaller and more colorful - a red-tailed hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk

A fallen tree blocked our trail. My chika was limber enough to climb on and over the broken boughs but I decided to walk around it. As I circumvented the hole left behind by the dead tree's root crown I saw a few clumps of large brown mushrooms. I figured that this fungus was already decomposing the dead tree's roots that were left in the ground when it fell. 

At the high point of the trail I turned and looked behind at the chaparral-covered eastern ridge. I heard people's voices carrying over from there - other hikers were on the trail that we didn't take.

 

Back on the ridge, on the wider Chamise Trail, we resumed walking northwest. My chika was a bit dismayed that we were going uphill still. She asked for a break but I convinced her to continue some more distance and have our lunch at the top of Vail Peak, up ahead.

Chamise Trail Trail

From the ridge we had a very nice side view of the large rock "fins". From this angle they looked more like the scales of the kraken.

On the west, on the other side of Bollinger Canyon, loomed Rocky Ridge, which was much smoother and was almost free of high vegetation, except for a few oak patches here and there. There were hiking trails there as well, but most of them where outside of the park's boundaries and required a permit from the EBMUD water company which manage this area.

Another raptor glided high above us. This time it was a turkey vulture. I followed it with my eyes until it vanished behind some trees.

Turkey Vulture

We reached the Las Trampas Ridge Trail and continued northwest to Vail Peak. As we ascended higher the view opened up to the northeast and the majestic Mount Diablo came into view.

Mount Diablo

The last bit of uphill climb was short and a bit steeper than the rest of the ridge trail. By the time we were going there I too was ready for a lunch break.

Before being swallowed by the knoll vegetation I turned around and looked southeast where I could see the big drop into the Tri-City Valley and the faint outline of the Ohlone Wilderness ridge in the horizon.

It was in the vegetation on top of the Vail Peak knoll that I saw the first wildflowers on this hike - a gooseberry bush in bloom!

Chaparral Currant, Ribes malvaceum

The Las Trampas Ridge Trail didn't go up to the summit but rather, circumvented it. There was now comfortable place to sit near the trail and when I saw a narrow foot trail going up I motioned my chika to follow me to the summit. We did find a good place to sit there and eat our lunch, but we were surrounded by the vegetation and didn't have a good view point. The nice sight at the summit was the colorful lichen growth on the old, twisted oaks that thrived on that knoll.

After our lunch break we descended back to Las Trampas Ridge Trail and resumed our hike. We were going northwest still, but now we were descending.

Las Trampas Ridge Trail

The view we had before us now was of the Bollinger Canyon below us. It looked a long way down from were we were.

The Las Trampas Ridge Trail merged into the Bollinger Creek Trail. We continued our descent on the trail that was now wider and also steeper.

Lower down the trail the chaparral changed into an oak savanna with bright green new winter grass and patches of dark live oaks.

Bollinger Creek Trail

Between the oaks I spotted the next bloom of the day - the California laurel trees. They were in full bloom and looked very festive.

California Laurel, Umbellularia californica

Just before we reached the valley floor I noticed the third and last wildflower of that hike - a small silver bush lupine with a single inflorescence head.

Silver Bush Lupine, Lupinus albifrons

We reached the Bollinger Creek Loop Trail and I stopped and looked south down the valley. It looked green and inviting. It would be a faster walk back down the dirt road that extended outside of the creek (the one pictured  in the first photo below the map).

Eventually I decided to go down to the creek and follow the narrow and deeply shaded path that stretched along the water. I was hoping to see newts.

Bollinger Creek Loop Trail

The trail was very dry even close to the creek. There was some water in the creek but there too, it was only a trickle.

 

We didn't see any newts that day, but we did see plenty of mushrooms. The heavy smell of rotting wood was in the air, but he mushrooms were pretty.

It was also damp enough beneath the trees to have some nice lush patches of liverwort and other mosses.

There was quite a lot of storm damage along the trail - many fallen trees that were not cleared from the path. I also noticed much damage done by wild pigs - their diggings were everywhere.

We didn't pause on this stretch of trail. Away from the vast vistas of the ridge and seeing that the very creek had little action in terms of wildlife I felt ready to finish the hike.

Somewhere along the way we crossed a large black pipe that extended from the creek all the way up the Rocky Ridge on our right. If that pipe was moving water from Bollinger Creek, no wonder that the creek flow was so low.

My chika spotted a squirrel and I photographed the healthy-looking rodent as it climbed a nearby tree. It was an eastern gray squirrel - a species brought to the west coast by some fellow who thought that the western gray squirrels were not pretty enough! 

Eastern Gray Squirrek

The last bit of trail followed a cattle fence, but we did not see any cows. We stood for a moment at the end of the trail and appreciated the beautiful day and the good time that we had together on this hike. It was however, time to return back home.