San Pablo Ridge to Wildcat Peak

Wildcat Canyon Regional Park

Tilden Nature Area

Click for map.

There's been some shuffling going on and then other shuffling and driving a truck halfway across the north end of the country and then being more than done with that and I really need to get a hike going. What is near at the moment and big enough for an all day extravaganza is Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, one of the East Bay Regional Park District's parks. They have a site for each of their many parks and supply PDF maps, so it is easy to plan something. I planned to go up Wildcat Peak with plenty of ridge journey on the way and canyon journey on the way back starting from a handy end of a random street that has access and, as it turns out, pretty easy parking even around 10 AM, which is a little late for starting an all day extravaganza.

fire road and locked gate at the top — Getting started on the fire road. The web site lists complicated hours by month, but the sign here just wants us out between 10 PM and 5 AM.

The road has a locked gate, of course, with a latching hiker gate to the side. The area is rolling hills of dried grass dotted with tufts of trees and stands of chaparral. The San Francisco Bay becomes part of the view quickly. Oh, and there are cows. They are supposed to be here. Just a part of the park.

looking back to the bay — Islands in the faintly foggy San Francisco Bay from the gate.

sign for the trail — Handy signage to help me get in a longer hike than just to the "dead end". Up ahead, a few trees.

cow rump and hawk eye — Up above, the rump of one of the cows and a hawk looking out for just the right bit of motion.

While it is not yet particularly hot, it is nice as the trail wanders into a shady wooded area. The woods are a mixture of conifers and eucalyptus and stand quite tall. The trail rolls around to the edge of the trees then along that edge before climbing away, just a little bit more with each roll.

tracks below and something like a canyon — Tracks below as the hills slide down to the canyon.

ridge line hills — The hills climb ever upward along the ridge line.

The trail splits and I fail to interpret the sign at the junction as meaning that the main trail goes off around the hill to the left while something of no note goes off to the right to an end. It does not matter, because I decide to take the thin, unmaintained rut of trail up and over the top instead. It feels like the lots-of-extra-climb route at first, but turns out to be the shortcut on the short way down to the main fire road. Once back on the road, there is no more need for such choices because it starts hitting near the tops of all the bumps on its own.

northeast gets a bit of bay, too, almost — Down the side of the hill looking northeast where a bit more bay is almost visible.

water behind the San Pablo Dam — A first look at the San Pablo Reservoir.

The sign posts along the way seem to be gaining trail crests. At first, it is the Juan Bautista de Anza crest that pops up all over the place along the coast. I have run into it in Thousand Oaks and San Diego and Simi Valley, I think. Always in near-urban locations. Then there is the East Bay Skyline Trail, which sounds like it could be interesting. Now there is the Bay Area Ridge Trail, which seems to illustrate a full hiking trail around the bay. That could be interesting , but the reality is a little different from the illustration.

crests and information on a post — Signage along the trail to sort out which trail goes where including the larger trails noted by crests.

handy dandy bench overlooking the reservoir — One of many benches around that can be nice for resting and a bit of lunch.

My path takes a turn to avoid a hill and becomes paved suddenly. I am not too keen on the paving, so follow a path up the hill again. There is more paving up there as well as massive cement blocks. It is an old Nike missile site, another sort of thing that one can bump into from time to time along the coast. This one seems to have been quite large.

rock cats on the silo platform — Cement cats square off on part of the old Nike missile site. Mount Diablo rises in the background.

Trails go down the south side and the east side to reconnect with the paved road the fire road has become. I head down a track that shows its cow based origins as it finishes up under some low branches of trees near the road. I stay on the road a little while as it crosses cattle guards, then stay to a dirt path that slowly drifts away from the road. Halfway along, I can see the top of elaborate signage for an entry into the lands around the reservoir. The online map mentions required permits for hiking in that area, so that probably explains some of the elaboration. I have plenty for today just hiking the length of the park and then the mountain. The mountain is getting quite close as my path closes back on the pavement just short of another cattle guard and a junction.

concrete thing to support a manhole — Notes of old infrastructure in the area as I wander along the dirt path below the paved ridge top road.

Near the junction is a sign explaining the cows. They are part of a demonstration project. The sign asserts that while uncontrolled grazing was the cause of quite a lot of invasive species flourishing on these hills, controlled grazing at the right times will actually make it easier for native plants to compete. They are also meant to reduce fire danger. They certainly have given a lot of the hills a rough mowed look. The junction requires a little navigation. I turn to climb the mountain rather than traverse the north side of it. There seems to be some clouds moving in, so I better hurry.

peak and another bench — Not too much further for the peak, but if I don't watch out there won't be much view.

water stretching out — The bay stretches out. Across, the high point is Mount Tamalpais.

The route to the top of the mountain is easy enough to find by simply moving upward. The top has a platform built of rocks ostensibly for viewing the Peace Grove below. The clouds obscure that side a bit, but the rest of the view is murky but there. A fellow up shortly after me helps me out with identifying the distinctive bump across the bay as indeed being Mount Tamalpais (or rather "Mount Tam"), the high point of Marin County.

The viewing platform at the top of Wildcat Peak. A benchmark is set into it.

water tucked into the hills below — Another angle on the San Pablo Reservoir.

For heading back, I plan to make my way down the peak trail, maybe stop by the educational center, then head up the canyon back to the car. Excellent thought to put the canyon second as it would already close off my views and it doesn't matter what the clouds, which seem indecisive, actually do to also close off my views. I start down that more traditional route, pausing for a loop around the trees. They decided to honor Angela Merkel this year, although she is way at the back.

stubby redwoods and a sign showing dedications — The entry to the Peace Grove. The specific trees also bear dedications, but the entry has a summary.

rags and flags — Someone thinks the tree dedicated to "His Holiness the Dalai Lama" needs to be dressed and adorned with prayer flags.

The route down is heavily forested. It is variously thick with eucalyptus or bay laurel. I eventually leave the Peak Trail for Laurel Canyon, which comes in road and trail form. The trail can be quite steep and leaf covered and seems to be going in quite the wrong direction according to my tree addled sense of direction.

steps along the trail to a thin stream — Steps help out on the steepest areas. Not much water here today and the other dips had none at all.

bridge on thin crossing — A little bridge for another tiny fold in the land.

tree break to the thick hillside — A look up through a rare break to get a bit of view up the canyon side.

The trail is not going to wrong way. It puts me out right by the educational center for the area. They have a barnyard and all sorts of other educational things for the city kids who are probably subjected to at least a few field trips here over their elementary years.

No signs point me toward Wildcat Canyon, but it should be past Jewel Lake and there are signs for that, so I go to see the lake. It is a small reservoir built quite some time ago and has signs telling about it. Currently, it is utilized by a few birds.

No signs point the way to Wildcat from Jewel Lake either. It should be along the road, so along the road I go. It does not quite seem to be in the canyon, but is certainly not out of it. When I can investigate it, the bottom of the canyon is surprisingly close. It really is just a little way to my left. The road keeps noting that there is storm damage, but there is not much to see. Eventually there is a sign for entering Wildcat Canyon as I exit the Tilden Nature Area (which has the education center and a few other things).

a little higher and there are buildings — One spot a little higher up out of the canyon, but still surprisingly close to the bottom.

Trails head upward often, each through a latched gate. The cows are not allowed down into the creek area of the canyon. Many of them are signed with the name. I am looking for Bonita, but end up just having to guess at it in the growing darkness. It comes after a picnic area and my guess is correct. The canyon is not all that deep and soon enough I am back at the car before the curfew on the sign.

fog settling over the hills in the gathering gloom of sunset — The tiniest bit of sunset colors as clouds gather onto the hills. The canyon road had been visible from above.

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