45. Pacific Pea (08/08/26)

Hikers (11): Arlene, Chris P, Christina, Hong, Jarda, Milon, Nohemi, Peter M, Qi, Steve, Vicki
Distance: 13 miles
Rating: 3 difficulty, 8 beauty
Park info: Sibley/Huckleberry Regional Preserves near Orinda

Write-up by Steve -- Pictures by Jarda, Qi and Steve

I planned this route to minimize the heat at the end of the hike. As it turned out, it was cold at the start, breezy midway, and by the time we reached the shade, it was not particularly "hot". My hot weather gear kept me reasonably cool all day, which was great for the uphill sections.

The was so much "fog drip" that Christina put on rain gear

Big trees in the fog

Ringing the bell before going up to a dead end just to take a new trail

Contemplating the colorful labyrinth on Round Top

Steep trail down from Volcanic Peak

Qi conquers unnamed mossy peak

Interesting protection on the barbed wire on the return from prior peak

One interesting piece of planning for this hike is that I paid no attention to property ownership. So after we bagged some peaks in Sibley, we headed down property owned by the Wildlife Heritage Foundation (called Montanera Wilder, as I discovered after the fact). It was clearly well-used and unsigned. We also ended up in this property a bit later to re-enter the SE segment of Sibley.

An apparent characterization of the pets and their owners in Orinda

Orinda neighborhood trail

Along the way, we reached an area where a homeowner on the edge of the planned route had built a retaining wall that blocked the pre-existing trail listed on open-source maps. The first (well-led) group adjusted by going farther into the subdivision and taking a different trail. The latter group, only having the GPS route and seeing us on the other side, walked downhill and beat a path to another existing (despite the discouraging signage). It worked out fine for both groups.

The latter group at that impasse

The rest of the route, based on the open-source maps and satellite views, was spot-on. Any deviations were easy to correct when high grasses added ambiguity. The last "named" peak--Laguna Tower Benchmark--had an EBMUD benchmark. We waited here for the second group to start reaching the summit, after which we continued downhill and then up to the final major ridge of the trip. From this point onward we had large gaps among everyone, including the front-runners. It wasn't until I did a second out-of-the-way cache that I saw Jarda and Nohemi. I eventually caught Nohemi again right before the end. It would be quite a while until the last hikers appeared, no worse for wear.

Nohemi looking at the benchmark on Laguna Tower Hill

Tower Hill from the next ridge

Tiny hikers making their way up and over the new Sibley section (previously called the Wilcox area)

Apparently this is a squeeze gate for cattle--the concrete conduit was probably not part of it

The namesake trail!

1938 Plymouth Coupe just sitting along the trail in Huckleberry Regional Preserve

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