All the Land

I'd hiked this loop for the first time not long ago, before learning that a familiar docent has a decades-long tradition of leading a hike here on Memorial Day. [Which is today.]

Having the day off, some of my former colleagues were keen for a hike; I proposed that they join me for this one. Since the docent-led hike would be short, I offered to follow it with a second hike nearby.

From this vantage point we could see the fog glowing atop Monterey Bay in the distance, and soon after immerse ourselves in a woodland.

How fortunate we are to have great expanses of wild, open land preserved around us! Still, a relatively small fraction of the local population has any awareness of these spaces. How many have no concept of the land that lies on the other side of the hills they pass on the freeway?

Every outing is an opportunity to discover some wonderful new thing, like the northern checkerspots I found descending on golden yarrow in bloom.

After completing our loop at the top of Montebello, we returned to Picchetti Ranch to stretch our legs with a four-mile hike along the Zinfandel Trail. Mindful that the day was warming up, I was glad to notice a water station near the trailhead and encouraged everyone to fill up.

Much of that trail is shaded, but an exposed section affords a birds-eye view of the Stevens Creek Reservoir.

All the land you cannot see ...