Day 6: 2015-04-27 San Mateo - Menlo Park

Warm start to Day 6

The temperatures had jumped dramatically by more than 10 degrees overnight making this a warm day right at the start from San Mateo. Without a breeze, the hike this morning proved very different from last evening. The first four miles of the bay trail in Foster City is right along the bay. 

San Mateo Bridge

In about two miles, I passed the San Mateo bridge with the views very similar to what I'd experienced yesterday and the day before. 

Dirt trail segment

The bay trail meanders around Belmont slough for the next two miles before crossing over into Redwood Shores area. It was a Monday morning and there were plenty of cars streaming into the offices here, including Oracle. For two more miles, the trail hugs the Belmont slough on one side and Oracle & Bridge Pkwy on the other. There is a nice dirt trail segment for about 1/2 a mile in this section that's worth checking out.

Great Blue Heron

It was turning out to be too warm and I decided to save some time by cutting across Redwood Shores using Shell Pkwy. I was glad I did as I chanced upon a beautiful Great Blue Heron in the waterfront of the residential area. I did another two miles in the trail by Redwood Shores Pkwy before crossing over to Skyway Rd in San Carlos. 

After little more than a mile in Skyway Rd that runs parallel to San Carlos airport, I was once again walking the bay trail, this time right next to Hwy 101. With the temp around 82 degrees, no shade, no breeze, the remaining hike for the day wasn't the most enjoyable. 

Skyway Rd - Whipple Ave

The bay trail runs parallel to Hwy 101 from Skyway Rd until Whipple Ave. A newly constructed segment continues from there until Bair Island Rd. Bair Island had lot of construction going on. I used Bair Island Rd, passed by Redwood City floating community that has house boats in Redwood creek, Maple Ave, Blomquist St to reach Seaport Blvd. This, and the next three miles in E Bayshore Rd and Haven Ave were dry (and hot) segments of my walk.

1 Hacker Way

I had intended to do the perimeter trail in Bedwell Bayfront park in Menlo Park, but given how hot it was, I decided to skip that 2 mile loop and continued straight on to #1 Hacker Way, my destination for day 6. 

I have just one ~18 mile hike from Sunnyvale - Alviso left to complete my 7 day walkabout. I intend to do the day trip once the temperatures cool off just a little in another day or so.

Key Stats from Day 6

• Distance covered: 20.5 miles
• Elapsed time: 8 hours (including breaks)
• Breaks: About 45 minutes
• Cities: Foster City, Redwood City, San Carlos, Menlo Park
• Dog friendly segments: Bay trail in Foster City, Redwood Shores, Bedwell Bayfront Park - essentially everything I did today.
• Birds observed: Black-necked Stilt, Clark's Grebe, Black-crowned Night-Heron, American Avocet, Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron (as well as some black-tailed jackrabbits)

Pictures (60+) from the hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Day 5: 2015-04-26 Brisbane - San Mateo

I started the walk today bright and early, before 7:30 am from Brisbane. Heading south, the trail first goes around Oyster Point where there are several companies. This being Sunday, I didn't run into the office crowd, but just a handful of local folks walking and jogging the trail.

Point San Bruno Park

The bay trail is well paved and in excellent condition as it goes around Oyster point. About 2 1/2 miles into the walk you will come upon the fancy looking South San Francisco Ferry terminal. In general, the views from this section of the trail is beautiful, but it gets especially nice around Point San Bruno park. You will also get to see take offs from SFO airport, both eastward and westward.  

A friendly couple took a photograph of me with the makers of Tamiflu (Genentech) offices in the background. As you near the airport area, the scenery starts changing to become more dry. Soon, you will be in Airport Blvd. On the left is the SamTrans peninsula, a 2 mile detour by the bay. The peninsula also houses a homeless shelter. I did go around this section before joining the bay trail at Airport Blvd & N Access Rd. 

The trail goes underneath the various freeways and ramps feeding the SFO airport for about a mile. Bay trail is not yet complete around SFO airport, so between San Bruno in the north and Millbrae in the south, I had to take to city roads. To make this somewhat boring section interesting, I'd recommend charting a route that includes San Bruno downtown (San Mateo Avenue) and Broadway Ave in Millbrae. I also chose to visit Third Eye Restaurant, a Nepalese restaurant in Millbrae and was glad to note that everyone's family back in Nepal is safe after the recent earthquake.  

Crossing over Hwy 101 on Millbrae Ave, I caught up with the trail again at Bayfront park. This park and the next couple of miles or so provides excellent views of air planes landing in SFO and is highly popular with folks who want to enjoy this sight. 

Bluff Trail, Coyote Point

Leaving Burlingame behind, the trail enters San Mateo and the beautiful Coyote Point Recreation Area. With the wind and surf, this is a popular spot with wind surfers and parasail surfers. I would recommend taking the bluff trail into the Coyote Recreation Park, for the views from within this area is simply amazing. I was also lucky to observe sting rays swimming in the lagoon here, as well as some great pictures of birds.

Parasail Surfing

The stretch from Bayfront Park to Coyote Recreation Area is also popular with anglers. All in all, lot of recreation enthusiasts were out there enjoying the nice afternoon with a gentle breeze. Another mile south is Seal point with interesting wind walks and structures in San Mateo. The bay was filled with several people parasail surfing near San Mateo bridge. And that had brought me to my destination for the day - Mariners Point Golf Center.

Key Stats from Day 5

• Distance covered: 20.5 miles
• Elapsed time: 9 hours 10 minutes (including breaks)
• Breaks: About 90 minutes
• Overnight stay: Howards Johnson Express Inn, San Mateo
• Cities: Brisbane, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, San Mateo
• Dog friendly segments: All portions except Coyote Point Recreation Area. It is possible to stick to the trail and walk your dog here.
• Birds observed: Greater Scaup, Whimbrel, American Coot, Double Crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, Willet, Mallard [as well as some sting ray and a gopher snake]

  Pictures (80+) from hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Day 4: 2015-04-25 San Francisco - Brisbane

I was back on my feet this cool, crisp, Saturday morning near Fort Point in San Francisco along with Jaya who wanted to walk with me until Embarcadero. A nice April showers had passed over bay area late Friday night and the ground was still wet from the rains. The damp ground didn't dampen the spirits of the San Franciscans... so many of them were out on that morning, jogging, walking, running, dog walking, exercising... in general, enjoying life!

The first seven miles of the bay trail goes through several beautiful San Francisco tourist spots. About a mile from our start, we were at Crissy fields, a delightful place to take dogs to. We were treated to a rare sight of a brown pelican grooming itself in the Crissy field marsh. So were some double crested cormorants. 

Aquatic Pk Pier, Alcatraz

In another mile or so, we were at the end of Marina Dr and treated ourselves to a cup of Philz Coffee. Fort Mason Center quickly followed providing some breathtaking views of the Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz and the curved aquatic park pier. After crossing Ghiradelli square, we were at Jefferson street. A hot pepper aficionado, I was only happy to spend some time at Pepper Palace. They had every type of hot sauce and chili powders, including Carolina Reaper powder, now the king of peppers after upending Naga Jolokia and Habanero! 

Bay Bridge

Continuing on Embarcadero, the bay trail goes past Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, Exploratorium before coming upon the Ferry building and marketplace. I said bye to Jaya and continued on. About 7 miles into the walk, I was at AT&T park, home of the SF Giants. The trail continues around AT&T park and goes by McCovey cove, past China basin. 

McCovey Cove

For the next 2 1/2 miles, the trail goes by an industrial zone in San Francisco. The walk by Illinois St. and Cargo way is nothing to write home about, but at the end of this stretch, the trail comes to Heron's Head Park. There is an amazing Ecocenter at this location. There is always something new to learn about our environment and this place, completely off grid with their own solar energy system, rainwater harvesting, living roof, native landscaping with permeable pavement built with sustainable building materials is simply amazing.

From Heron's Head, the trail moves to India Basin shoreline and Hunters point. The trail is not yet developed in this area. I walked through Innes Ave, Kiska Rd, Ingalls St and Gilman Ave to reach Candlestick Point Recreation Park. Hunters point may be just miles away from the vibrant San Francisco Embarcadero area, but the economic disparity was so stark. 

Candlestick  Park demolition

I got to see Candlestick Park, the former home of 49ers being torn down. The trail through Candlestick Point Recreation Park has some fantastic views of the bay, the bay bridge and SF. Again, the bay trail is not well developed here. I had to improvise, crossing over Hwy 101 and reaching Tunnel Ave. 

The two mile walk in Tunnel Ave seemed a scene from Mad Max movie to me. There wasn't any traffic, an oil tanker in the distance, the breeze bringing up some dust and couple of unusual motorized bicycle conversions zipping by me. I was glad to reach Laguna Rd and make my way to Sierra Point Pkwy where the Brisbane Lagoon provided a nice change of scenery from Tunnel Ave. 

Brisbane marina

Crossing over Hwy 101 again, I was at my destination for the day, Brisbane. While Doubletree was right there, I walked around the Brisbane marina before calling it a day.

Key Stats from Day 4

• Distance covered: 22 miles
• Elapsed time: 8 hours 5 minutes (including breaks)
• Breaks: About 45 minutes
• Overnight stay: Doubletree by Hilton, Brisbane
• Cities: San Francisco, Brisbane
• Dog friendly segments: the entire walk :)
• Birds observed: Brown Pelicans, Double Crested Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants, Western Gull, Surf Scoter

Pictures (70+) from the hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Day 3: 2015-04-20 San Leandro - Oakland

Started the day from San Leandro Marina, heading north. The Neptune Dr walk was short leading to the entrance of Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline. A fairly small park, this provides great views of air planes landing at Oakland airport. Little more than 2 miles into the walk, I crossed over Bill Lockyer bridge to Oakland. 

This portion of the bay trail runs right by the new BART route to Oakland airport. For the next mile or so, the Metropolitan Golf Links is on the right, BART tracks on the left and OAK airport behind. After a short walk on Doolittle Dr, I was at the Martin Luther King Jr Regional Shoreline. 

I took the Arrowhead marsh trail into the park and after walking another mile or so, crossed San Leandro creek and entered Garretson Point trail. This trail hugs the San Leandro Bay and provides great views of Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island where Oakland airport is located. 

I crossed East Creek slough some 7 miles into the walk and was in a portion that was very industrial. The sad part was that the bay looked very dirty here and there was also lots of trash on the trail. Shortly, the trail ended at Tidewater Boating Center. There is an East Bay Regional Park District office here - I had a great conversation with the very friendly employees in the center.

Originally, I had planned to cover both Alameda and Bay Farm Islands in my walk. I decided to save the Bay Farm loop for another day. From this point, there were several times I had to switch back and forth between the trail & city roads. Sometimes, the bay trail itself was on the roads. A very urban setting marked rest of the walk for the day.

I crossed over into Alameda from the High St bridge and continued on Fernside Blvd to the south eastern tip of the island. The walk through the residential area was quite nice. Alameda is quaint little town - I even found a "Little Free Library" in one of the side streets... it had books in it!

I enjoyed a 2 mile walk by the shoreline - a portion of it was undeveloped and I chanced upon a sculpture that was brilliant - depicting friendship between a dog and boy! The developed portion of Shoreline Dr also had Alameda touches to it - with very nicely marked bike and pedestrian ways.

I turned right on Grand St, walked through some more residential portion of the town, then turned right on Central Ave. The tree lining on this street was uniform and beautiful. I did a little research and was further impressed by the planning Alameda has done to plant uniform trees (London Planetrees in Central Ave) in multiple streets. Kudos, Alameda!

I was back in Oakland, this time crossing over at Tilden Way bridge. My goal was to stay as close to the bay front as possible, if necessary, going over to Embarcadero Rd until Jack London Square. The 3.5 mile walk was marked by several areas of construction, abandoned ferry terminal building, new construction zones as well as some nice segments by the bay. The area crossing over into the Coast Guard island was especially nice with that interesting "Sigame/Follow me" sculpture in Union Point Park.

With about 65 miles of walking done in three days, I have decided to take couple of days break to rest my feet and heal those blisters. After a brief rest at Jack London Square, I headed, by foot (!) to 12th Street BART station. 

Key Stats from Day 3

• Distance covered: 20 miles
• Elapsed time: 8 hours 20 minutes
• Breaks: About 60 minutes
• Cities: San Leandro, Alameda, Oakland
• Dog friendly segments: Oyster Bay Regional Shoreline, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Shoreline Dr (Alameda)
• Birds observed: Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, California Gull, Domestic Geese

Pictures (70+) from the hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Day 2: 2015-04-19: Newark - San Leandro

Starting the day a bit earlier than yesterday, I retraced my steps for little more than a mile to reach the quarry trail crossover to Coyote Hills Regional Park. I had passed by La Rivera marsh, right opposite Newark slough yesterday, barely noticing it as I was intent on reaching the hotel and rest my legs. I took the slight detour into the marsh this morning and enjoyed it. Wetland restoration and saving the bay is a great project that has been going on for the past five decades or so and La Rivera marsh is an example of what can be accomplished over time reversing the abuse of years.

My original plan was to retrace my steps all the way back to Dumbarton bridge, cross under to a trail that runs closer to bay. I rerouted my path via Coyote Hills Regional Park and and I am so glad that I did it. This was a delightful segment of the hike - the rugged dirt trail had gentle rolling hills on one side and vast expanse of water on the other. It was slightly cloudy and cooler and the views were wonderful views over the next 3+ miles. Coyote Hills is dog friendly and I made a note to come back here soon with Apollo.

Midway through this section, you will come across a trail named "No Name Trail". It isn't that the trail doesn't have a name; it is named "no name trail"! Go figure!

The Bay View trail connects to Alameda Creek trail that runs east -west. Alameda Creek trail is a paved blacktop trail 11 miles long that is more popular with bikers than hikers. My walk kept me in this trail for little more than a mile before I headed into Union City Blvd. The next 3.5 mile segment is through city roads. Bulk of it is in Union City Blvd through a pleasant residential neighborhood before it turns somewhat commercial entering Hayward. A special shout out to Union City Sports Center that allowed me to use their facilities to freshen up! Thank you!

I took advantage of the fact that I was in the business district and found an Indian restaurant right on my path exactly at lunch time. Kabila Indian Cuisine served me tasty hot lunch and refreshed my bottle with chilled water. 

I continued up north on Union City Blvd & Hesperian Blvd before turning left on Eden Shores Blvd and making my way to Dune Cir where bay trail continues. The next 3 miles was through Eden Landing Ecological Preserve. As with all sensitive preserves, dogs are not allowed here. It is only rational - the preserve cannot risk a dog chasing a bird or animal even for fun. And for every conscientious dog owner who never fails to pick up after their dog, there are as many who do not! 

I came upon another family of geese in this stretch. There were four adult geese and few geeselings walking together.  As I approached them closer to pass, two birds flew over the fence while the other two stood their ground  making a threatening hissing noise protecting the new born until I was safely at a distance. 

Crossing over Hwy 92 in an overpass, the bay trail enters Hayward Regional Shoreline. After spending few minutes in the Hayward Interpretive Center, I continued up north by the trail that is closer to the bay. I came upon a fishing camp run by the interpretive center where they had just caught two leopard sharks. After studying them, the sharks were left back in the bay.

The next 4+ miles were an absolute delight with the trail literally hugging the bay. The trail also becomes dog friendly north of Winton Ave. There is a marked difference between hiking by marshlands and by the bay. The sound of waves, gentle sea breeze and an occasional dog walking with its master made it much easier to get past the 20th mile marker around Roberts landing.

After crossing San Lorenzo creek, the trail starts turning more urban. The dirt trail gives way to paved blacktop trails bordering urban housing in Roberts landing. The trail continues on to San Leandro Marina park, my destination for day 2.

Key Stats from Day 2

• Distance covered: 22 miles
• Elapsed time: 9 hours 45 minutes (including breaks)
• Breaks: About 90 minutes
• Overnight Stay: Marina Inn, San Leandro
• Cities: Newark, Fremont, Union City, Hayward, San Leandro
• Dog friendly segments: Coyote Hills Regional Park, Hayward Shoreline (north of Winton Ave)
• Birds observed: Red-winged Blackbird, Great Egret, Double-crested Cormorant, Snowy Egret, American Avocet

Pictures (70+) from the hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Day 1: 2015-04-18: Mountain View - Newark

Started the ambitious project on a cool Saturday morning from Stevens Creek Trail in Mountain View. This 4 mile trail connects to the Bay Trail at Shoreline park. Jaya walked the first 15 minutes alongside, I am glad she did. Within that time, I realized that lugging a laptop was the wrong decision. Having lightened the load in my backpack, I continued north towards the bay.

Stevens Creek trail is a multi-use, paved, dog friendly trail. It was a weekend morning, so the trail was busy. This is a nice trail that runs by Hwy 85 for 3 miles, with plenty of impressive bridges to provide uninterrupted walking/biking path. Most of these bridges were in a bright aquamarine blue color giving them a cool, cheerful look. The one over Evelyn & Central Expwy was especially impressive - it was long, probably a hanging bridge judging by the bounce I felt when walking. 

Some 4+ miles into the hike, right after Crittenden Ln, I entered Shoreline park. I made my first mistake in hike, walking right towards Sunnyvale rather than left towards Mountain View / Palo Alto. Well, this mistake probably cost me couple of miles and 30~40 minutes of additional walking. Good to learn this lesson early on as it prepared me to not make anymore in a journey that involves 20~25 miles a day! The mistake provided me the opportunity to see a family of Geese with newly hatched geeselings still in their yellow coat.

Back on track, the bay trail meanders through with Shoreline slough on the right, Shoreline park & lake on the left for the next 3 miles before reaching Palo Alto Baylands.  Another 3+ miles of walking found me at the Lucy Evans Nature Center. I found few artists painting the scenery around this beautiful preserve. There is a nice duck pond and park like setting overlooking the Palo Alto airport where I had my lunch. Lunch was methi thepla (a flat-bread made with fenugreek leaves, whole wheat flour and spices). I am calling it Lembas bread! 

After the lunch break, I continued on San Francisquito Creek trail that runs right by the Palo Alto airport. A hobby airport, it was very busy when I walked by it, sometimes having more two flights landing and another taking off all in the space of a minute! A squirrel made my day helping me capture the definition of sitting on a fence! 

Three more miles further, I decided to turn left into the streets of East Palo Alto. The baytrail ends at Ravenswood park in the north without an outlet. This is one of the several planned segments that is yet to be completed.

Walking by Weeks St, Clark Ave, Bay Rd and University Ave, I connected back to the bay trail at Hwy 84. East Palo Alto has come a long way from mid 90s when it was considered a high crime place. There were lots of new housing and nicer buildings even though the economic disparity continues to be visible. By this time, the sun was up and I was in a stretch that had no shade whatsoever. Shoving the light jacket into the backpack, I continued on to Dumbarton bridge. The bridge span is about 2 miles. It was great walking on the bridge, a gentle breeze countering the heat from the sun. The walk on the bridge provided some great views of the bay, but the constant road noise was an earful. 

Coming down from the bridge, the trail continues on Marshlands Rd for more than 3.5 miles before reaching Newark slough. This is a dry portion of the walk, the monotony broken by the occasional birds and the Great Blue Heron in flight that I got to see. There is a 5 mile loop around Newark slough that I saved for another day and continued on to Thornton Ave from where I could see Aloft, my shelter for the night.

Key Stats from Day 1

• Distance covered: 22.5 miles
• Elapsed time: 8 hours 15 minutes (including breaks)
• Breaks: About 45 minutes
• Overnight stay: Aloft, Newark
• Cities: Mountain View, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Fremont, Newark
• Dog friendly segments: Stevens Creek trail, Palo Alto Baylands
• Birds observed: Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, Anna's Hummingbird, Canada Geese

Pictures (70+) from the hike today. Complete map of the 7 day walkabout.

Updates 2015-04-18, 19, 20, 24

2015-04-18: I started the hike today (Saturday, Apr 18th). Jaya dropped me off at the beginning of Stevens Creek Trail in Mountain View. She also walked with me for the first 15 minutes... and it was evident in that time that lugging my computer was a mistake. I ditched the computer and reduced the weight in my backpack. Without my laptop, it is going to be tough to write a decent blog complete with pictures as promised.

This is just a brief update to let my friends know that all is well, I am in one piece after today's session. My feet is killing me... I may yet have to improvise on this plan but for now, I am continuing tomorrow as planned. I probably will tweak the route to not backtrack nearly 5 miles to Dumbarton.

A proper blog of Day 1 will come forth in the future.

22+ miles today, in about 8 1/4 hours that included a 45 minute break.

Thanks to Aloft for this computer in their business center as well as the pricey but perfectly chilled Sam Adams!

2015-04-19: Day 2 accomplished! 45 miles in 2 days!! In San Leandro now. 23+ miles, in 9 3/4 hours that included about 90 minutes break. Yes, my feet is killing me; but I weirdly feel better in certain aspects, worse in other. Day 3 to Oakland should go on as planned, but I have decided to take a break after that.

2015-04-20: Day 3 completed as planned, ending the day at Jack London Square in Oakland. 19 miles in 8 1/4 hours with about an hours break. I am home now, a day or two of resting the feet and healing the blisters. But tomorrow, the blog will be up with details of the first three days and plenty of pictures!

2015-04-24: I will be resuming the walkabout in San Francisco tomorrow morning. Rain or shine. And am intending to do 3 days again, with stops at Brisbane, San Mateo and finishing by FB on Monday. I will do brief updates in this post like before and follow it up with detailed blogs later.

Walk around San Francisco bay: cool idea?

San Francisco bay is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in the world. I'm fortunate to have flown from SFO airport several times. On a clear day, the scenery that unfolds as the plane takes off or lands is breathtaking. If aerial views of the bay from the window seat seen through the dirty windows can be so beautiful, you can only imagine how cool it'd be see it without any obstruction, from above and even on ground.

When I hiked the trails in Baylands Park, Palo Alto, I got a glimpse of the view from ground level. Sure, not as breathtaking as it is from the air; still, the air was crisp, the breeze cool and the walk refreshing. This walk got me researching more about SF Bay Trail. 

We are lucky to have more than 330 miles of completed trail by the San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. And when it is fully completed, this will be a contiguous 500 miles walking/biking trail around the bay. The more I researched bay trail, the more I was convinced that I should pursue this and not pass on this opportunity.

The timing couldn't be more perfect. It is spring. The weather pleasant and nice. I just quit my job with Informatica a 3rd time. The previous time I did that, I took to the roads and did a 48 state road trip with Apollo. This time, it will be a walkabout SF bay - some 200 miles in about 8 days!

A full map of the intended 8 day hike is here. You can zoom in for details on each day (color coded). Since the bay trail is not fully done and contiguous, portions of the walk will have to be city streets. Walking across Oakland-SF Bay bridge is not an option, I will be taking BART/ferry across to Sausalito and continue the walk from there. In the east bay, from Newark - Milpitas, the trail is not done; I'll probably hitch a ride to Milpitas to complete the walk. I do intend to blog daily, so all these details and plenty of photos should be available for those interested in following the hike.

Feel free to join this blog site, post comments and thoughts. It was great to hear from my friends when I was on my road trip; this time should be no different!

I should be hitting the road in the next couple of days.... for my 8x8x8 adventure... 8 marathons in about 8 hours each in 8 consecutive days!

Update 2015-04-23:
I had to take a break after reaching Oakland. The blisters were painful - I realized couple of days rest and few more aids will make this easier. So, this is not a walk in 8 consecutive days. I also revised the route to eliminate repeating segments as much as possible. With those revisions, I've been able to get this down to a 7 day hike. With 3 days completed, I intend to get the remaining done this month. I've updated the map to reflect this. 

#SFBayTrail #BayTrail