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.