Sunol RW: Blue Skies and Oaks

Sunol Regional Wilderness: Blue Skies and Oaks
11 February 2002

Location
Sunol Regional Wilderness, East Bay Regional Parks District in Alameda County in California. Map in PDF format.

Sunol RW is a roughly triangular park with peaks over 2000' or 667 m. Because of the shape there are a lot of ways of combining trails to create roundtrip hikes. I've been here maybe ten times so far but there are still a lot of areas that I haven't explored. The landscape is oak-savannah. While the oaks are native, the grasses are annuals brought in by European settlers to feed their cattle. Originally there would have been more woods and the meadows would have been covered by perennial bunching grasses. The park is grazed even today by cattle raised for meat production.

After I had paid my 4 bucks, I parked near the closed ranger station and strolled along the tarmac path. I crossed Alameda Creek before I headed up on McCorkle Trail until I came upon Cerro Este Trail. There I turned north and turned left every time there was a turning, following first Cave Rocks Road and then Indian Joe Creek Trail back to the creek and the ranger station.

Two screensavers with photos from this page are available.

Weather

Bright sunshine most of the time. It was unseasonably warm for February. I even got a sunburn.

Click on the images to see larger versions.

This is Alameda Creek. The water level is high but it will probably be even higher when the snow in the Sierras melts. There's been a lot of snow in the Sierras this winter.

Looking back at the bridge that I took the previous picture from.

Ah! Blue skies. This is what I came to California for. Blue skies and oaks.

As I was huffing and puffing up McCorkle, some turkey vultures were soaring above me. You usually can't see it from below but their heads are featherless and red.

They are a familiar sight in northern California but no matter how often you see them, they are still majestic. They have very weak beaks and so can't kill anything on their own. Instead they live off animals killed by other predators, including cars.

Having come to the first plateau, I took a panoramic view northwards. The heel on the right is Flag Hill. It's 1360' or 453 m high.

Both deciduous and evergreen oaks are native in California and thrive in the oak-savannah landscape of the East Bay. The leafclad trees on the left in the background are evergreen live oaks.

A single deciduous oak shows the milky white light of this February morning. I find the branch patterns fascinating.

There are many different types of rock in Sunol, most found in low, scattered groups. Some have interesting lichen, like this bloodred one.

Here moss has found a toehold in the cracks.

Lichen all but obscures the river of white quartz in this blue rock.

Yet another kind of rock. Here the surface looks as if it used to be semiliquid. The shadow is cast by a branch.

This is the oak that cast the shadow across the rock in the previous picture. I've spent a lot of time sitting on the rocks in the shade of this valley oak. It's one of my favourite places in Sunol.

Another photo showing off the sinuous trunks.

Looking down between the trunks, we see a pond below.

Looking up and north-east from under her boughs. In a landscape that is so easily interpreted as a woman's body, is it any wonder that there are many Goddess worshippers?

Flag Hill again. I've gained some height since the last picture. It's not actually the highest point in Sunol.

Looking towards a single oak, I was struck by the shadow it cast.

Here the shadow shows up even better. But some of the spaciousness of the previous picture is lost.

After the first trail marker at 0.94 miles, McCorkle falls down into a chaparral-covered valley. What the photo doesn't show is the smell. Chaparral is very fragrant with aromatic plants such as various sages and artemisias. It's a slightly tart smell that is not completely pleasant.

There aren't many rock faces in Sunol but here are two. I wouldn't recommend trying to climb them. The rock is very crumbly.

At the eastern end, the valley narrows to a wooded canyon. That's where I found this live oak. Note the spiny leaves. I think it's a coast live oak rather than an interior live oak because the leaves appear cupped.

Looking up towards the end of the canyon, there's a sycamore up ahead. You can tell that it is a sycamore from the unfurrowed, patchy grey bark.

And here we are at the junction with Cerro Este.

Looking beyond the marker we see some lovely hills dotted with oaks. Sadly we also see one of the greatest problems in this part of the world - erosion.

A much happier view is this one. I've spent a lot of time rehydrating in the shade of this lovely live oak. The rocks beneath it afford a view of the chaparral valley we just crossed.

Some of the highest points in Sunol are along Cerro Este Road. The summit is at 2201' or 734 m.

Looking south we get a nice view of the way the hills slot into each other.

A bend in the road and an oak. It's a valley oak. They sometimes have this weeping habit.

You don't meet many people up here on a Monday in February. The thing on the right is the marker for the junction of Cerro Este and McCorkle. I like this photo because it illustrates the solitude you can find up here. The landscape is so uncluttered and the views so wide.

There are ponds here and there. This one is unusually blue, probably because it is so high up. They are never large, the ponds, but both the cattle that grazes in the park and the wildlife use them.

My walk is nearing its end but I still found a few more oaks to photograph.

When seen from afar the hills look like carelessly bunched velvet. Other people don't seem to share my passion for the oak-savannah. When they want to see something spectacular they go for the redwoods down by the coast. But conifers have never done anything for me.

What could be more perfect than a valley oak at the top of a hill, seen against yet more hills all steeped in California sunshine?

The California bay was just coming into flower on Indian Joe Creek Trail. This is not the bay used in cooking but it's still fragrant. I'd compare the scent to shoe shine.

Down by the creek, I got this last shot of Flag Hill as the sun was going down.

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Copyright Mjausson 2001

Location	Sunol Regional Wilderness, East Bay Regional Parks District in Alameda County in California. Map in PDF format. Sunol RW is a roughly triangular park with peaks over 2000' or 667 m. Because of the shape there are a lot of ways of combining trails to create roundtrip hikes. I've been here maybe ten times so far but there are still a lot of areas that I haven't explored. The landscape is oak-savannah. While the oaks are native, the grasses are annuals brought in by European settlers to feed their cattle. Originally there would have been more woods and the meadows would have been covered by perennial bunching grasses. The park is grazed even today by cattle raised for meat production. After I had paid my 4 bucks, I parked near the closed ranger station and strolled along the tarmac path. I crossed Alameda Creek before I headed up on McCorkle Trail until I came upon Cerro Este Trail. There I turned north and turned left every time there was a turning, following first Cave Rocks Road and then Indian Joe Creek Trail back to the creek and the ranger station. Two screensavers with photos from this page are available.

Weather	Bright sunshine most of the time. It was unseasonably warm for February. I even got a sunburn.

Click on the images to see larger versions.

	This is Alameda Creek. The water level is high but it will probably be even higher when the snow in the Sierras melts. There's been a lot of snow in the Sierras this winter.

Looking back at the bridge that I took the previous picture from.

	Ah! Blue skies. This is what I came to California for. Blue skies and oaks.

As I was huffing and puffing up McCorkle, some turkey vultures were soaring above me. You usually can't see it from below but their heads are featherless and red.

	They are a familiar sight in northern California but no matter how often you see them, they are still majestic. They have very weak beaks and so can't kill anything on their own. Instead they live off animals killed by other predators, including cars.

Having come to the first plateau, I took a panoramic view northwards. The heel on the right is Flag Hill. It's 1360' or 453 m high.

	Both deciduous and evergreen oaks are native in California and thrive in the oak-savannah landscape of the East Bay. The leafclad trees on the left in the background are evergreen live oaks.

A single deciduous oak shows the milky white light of this February morning. I find the branch patterns fascinating.

	There are many different types of rock in Sunol, most found in low, scattered groups. Some have interesting lichen, like this bloodred one.

Here moss has found a toehold in the cracks.

	Lichen all but obscures the river of white quartz in this blue rock.

Yet another kind of rock. Here the surface looks as if it used to be semiliquid. The shadow is cast by a branch.

	This is the oak that cast the shadow across the rock in the previous picture. I've spent a lot of time sitting on the rocks in the shade of this valley oak. It's one of my favourite places in Sunol.

Another photo showing off the sinuous trunks.

	Looking down between the trunks, we see a pond below.

Looking up and north-east from under her boughs. In a landscape that is so easily interpreted as a woman's body, is it any wonder that there are many Goddess worshippers?

	Flag Hill again. I've gained some height since the last picture. It's not actually the highest point in Sunol.

Looking towards a single oak, I was struck by the shadow it cast.

	Here the shadow shows up even better. But some of the spaciousness of the previous picture is lost.

After the first trail marker at 0.94 miles, McCorkle falls down into a chaparral-covered valley. What the photo doesn't show is the smell. Chaparral is very fragrant with aromatic plants such as various sages and artemisias. It's a slightly tart smell that is not completely pleasant.

	There aren't many rock faces in Sunol but here are two. I wouldn't recommend trying to climb them. The rock is very crumbly.

At the eastern end, the valley narrows to a wooded canyon. That's where I found this live oak. Note the spiny leaves. I think it's a coast live oak rather than an interior live oak because the leaves appear cupped.

	Looking up towards the end of the canyon, there's a sycamore up ahead. You can tell that it is a sycamore from the unfurrowed, patchy grey bark.

And here we are at the junction with Cerro Este.

	Looking beyond the marker we see some lovely hills dotted with oaks. Sadly we also see one of the greatest problems in this part of the world - erosion.

A much happier view is this one. I've spent a lot of time rehydrating in the shade of this lovely live oak. The rocks beneath it afford a view of the chaparral valley we just crossed.

	Some of the highest points in Sunol are along Cerro Este Road. The summit is at 2201' or 734 m.

Looking south we get a nice view of the way the hills slot into each other.

	A bend in the road and an oak. It's a valley oak. They sometimes have this weeping habit.

You don't meet many people up here on a Monday in February. The thing on the right is the marker for the junction of Cerro Este and McCorkle. I like this photo because it illustrates the solitude you can find up here. The landscape is so uncluttered and the views so wide.

	There are ponds here and there. This one is unusually blue, probably because it is so high up. They are never large, the ponds, but both the cattle that grazes in the park and the wildlife use them.

My walk is nearing its end but I still found a few more oaks to photograph.

	When seen from afar the hills look like carelessly bunched velvet. Other people don't seem to share my passion for the oak-savannah. When they want to see something spectacular they go for the redwoods down by the coast. But conifers have never done anything for me.

What could be more perfect than a valley oak at the top of a hill, seen against yet more hills all steeped in California sunshine?

	The California bay was just coming into flower on Indian Joe Creek Trail. This is not the bay used in cooking but it's still fragrant. I'd compare the scent to shoe shine.

Down by the creek, I got this last shot of Flag Hill as the sun was going down.