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. 

 

Last Trip's Birding Hike on the Las Vegas Wash Wetlands Trail

Las Vegas Wash

 

 

 

Date: January 1, 2021

Place: Las Vegas Wash, Las Vegas, Nevada

Coordinates: 36.124706, -114.902346

Length: 1.1 miles

Level: easy

 

Our family 2020 winter trip was an intense one. We got to explore a lot of the nature around Las Vegas, hiking two-three hikes a day. We were in the area for just one week but by the last day of our trip we felt like we were there much longer. On the day of our return, which was also the first day of 2021 we did a second birding walk at the Clark County Birding Center, a walk that turned out very prolific, bird-rich time. When I wrote about that hike I didn't remember that we went anywhere else after that, but apparently we did, and after looking through the photos my memories came back in full force. We had one more hike that day. A short one, but nonetheless a hike I wanted to write about, so I won't forget it again. 

This final hike of our 2020 winter family trip was Pappa Quail's idea - he saw this spot on the map of the local chapter of the Audubon Society. It was the Wetland Trail near the las Vegas Wash, and it was labeled as a good birding spot. 

Desert View at the Trailhead

The trailhead was east of the Las Vegas Lake, which is a human-made reservoir. Downstream of the Las Vegas Lake was a stretch of the las Vegas Wash, kept flowing with water let out of the reservoir. Further downstream the wash merges with the Colorado River at the larger human-made reservoir of Lake Mead. The parking area by the trailhead was a large gravel flats. A few other cars were parked there and seeing some of the people near the cars we figured that this was a water access spot and that people come here to enjoy the water. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

The trail was wide and flat, and easy to walk on. We didn't see any birds yet though. We expected to see them near the water. There were plenty of creosote bushes all around but they, as were the other shrubs that we saw, looked pretty dry. 

Wetland Trail

The wash was very close but it wasn't visible: we were on the high plateau where the trail was, and the wash was running in a narrow crevice it cut in the ground. All that was seen from above was the line that marked where it was. 

A narrower path branched off from the main trail and we followed it to the edge of the wash. Below us, nt very deep really, was a lovely blue strip of running water flanked on both sides by thick riparian vegetation. 

Right below us was a concrete step that stretched across the water and from which the water dropped down in a wide and low waterfall. It looked like at some point there was a low dam there. 

I followed the Las Vegas wash with my eyes and my camera until it curved and the water flowed out of my view. On the horizon rose a few short mountain chains that looked low and very arid. Lake Mead was somewhere there, but we had not direct view of it. 

We returned to the main trail and resumed walking to the wash. When we reached the edge of the wash once more we chose to descend on a narrow foot path that took us directly down.  

As soon as we started descending down the wall of the wash we started seeing greener vegetation. One of the first green shrubs that I noticed was the pygmy cedar. 

The pygmy cedar isn't a cedar at all. It isn't even a relative of cedar. It is a shrub of the aster family and to my utter surprise, it had a bit of a bloom. 

We reached the water and although we came down there looking for birds, the first beings we saw were other human beings. The people that were down there weren't birders - they were there play in the water. 

Maybe it was because of the people's presence, but all of the waterfowl that we saw were on the other side of the wash. 

Pappa Quail and the elder chika trained their cameras on the birds and identified a few species of ducks there, none new to what we've already seen earlier that morning at the birding center.

American Wigeon (center pair), Gadwal (top left), American Coot (bottom left, blurry)

The other bird that Pappa Quail noticed there was an American Pippit. Although familiar to us, it was the first time we've seen it on this trip. 

American Pippit

We continued east along the wash, distancing ourselves from the other people in the hope of seeing more birds, and closer. 

I let my family birders search for the birds while I admired the local geology.  Although not as spectacular as what we've seen in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and in the Valley of Fire State Park, it was still pretty nice to look at and try to figure out the layer system there. 

And I did find another blooming plant too - the flatcrown buckwheat. I saw no leaves on the ground but the flowering stems where full of the little red flowers, giving the little plant the appearance of and ornamented tree skeleton. 

Flatcrown Buckwheat, Eriogonum deflexum

We neared the end of the convenient path. Moving any further east would require us to balance on broken rocks and large pebbles and to bushwhack through the vegetation. We chose to not do that, but we did stay there for some time, looking around and enjoying the view. 

Pappa Quail and the elder chika soon found something else to look at a sole rock wren that eyed us from a nearby rock. Pappa Quail commented that this wren probably didn't read the memo about waiting for us in the parking lot as did all the other rock wrens we've seen on this trip. 

Rock Wren

I gazed at the quickly flowing water, a line of life running through the arid desert. In this particular area a large city was built that is fed water from this wash and from the Colorado River, and electricity from the turbines of Hoover Dam. The wash water comes from the entire basin of Las Vegas, including the snow-capped Spring Mountains where we hiked on the previous day. 

Las Vegas Wash

An American kestrel perched on a bare branch higher on the bank cliffs and we all turned our attention to the beautiful little raptor. 

American Kestrel

I also admired the riparian vegetation that was growing at the wash banks. A thick belt of low reeds was right at the water, and taller reeds made another thick belt further up the shore. Between them were other plants, most of which I didn't identify. I did recognize however, the invasive tamarisk among them.  

The tall reeds too are not native to this part of the world. By now though, they have become completely naturalized and provide shelter and food to little bush birds. 

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

On our way back up the wash bank some cormorants flew by and the elder chika captured one of them in fight. 

Double-crested Cormorant

On our way out of the wash and back to the high plateau we chose to ascend the dirt road slope, which was faster and more comfortable to walk on. 

While ascending the dirt road I had the opportunity to look closely at some of the finer geological layers, laid down by ancient flood times in the area. 

By the time we were coming up from the wash it was already afternoon and the sun was getting lower. The dirt road was completely shaded by then but the upper plateau was lit still. I loved the illumination effect it had n the creosote bushes higher up. 

Creosote, Larrea tridentata

We didn't linger any more in the area. On the quick walk back to the parking lot I paused only briefly because I saw a wildflower that I missed on the way down - a desert trumpet that still had a few flowers open on it. 

Desert Trumpet, Eriogonum inflatum 

This was the last hike of our 2020 winter family trip to Las Vegas. After that we pointed ur car to the northwest and drove straight home, with only short breaks to fuel the car and our bodies. A trip that begun with great disappointment of not being able to go camping in Death Valley, turned out to be a lovely desert exploration and finding the natural treasures in a place known better for gambling and other types of recreation that are farther from our family style as Pluto is from the Sun. We didn't insert a single quarter into any slot machine, but we left Las Vegas with a true jackpot in our hearts.

This post also concludes catching up with writing about my hikes in 2020. We hiked a lot in 2021 as well and in that year I wrote even less, so there's more catching up to do still. That is however, still in the future.