GUALALA REGIONAL PARK NORTH SEA RANCH LOOP

ALL PHOTOS by Bob Rutemoeller
Carpool at the pullout for Gualala business directory at 9:50 and meet at George and Kathie Anderson's house. Non Sea Ranchers should park in the driveway.  The hike begins at 10:00. Take the Ballast entrance to the Bluff Trail and walk north through the regional park to the hedgerow.  Take the hedgerow trail across the park, past the Visitors Center and hike under the bridge to the campground.  Leave the campground on the road and pick up the new section of the Badger Trail.  Take the Badger Trail and hike the Pomo Hillside Trail to Deer Trail, turning left and staying on the road or picking up the Saloon Trail. At post #137, turn south to 138A taking Tallgrass to Leeward Road and turning right. Follow the road back to Ballast about 12:00 PM. Join together for a soup/salad/dessert luncheon at Anderson's house. Beverages provided, also.
Leaders: Kathie and George Anderson
I was in NC this week....but here's the report from Bob:
"We had 18 hikers for the 5.5 mile hike. Nice sunny weather, but a bit cool at first.
Kathie and George prepared three kinds of soup for our excellent lunch in their Christmas House setting."

HEARN GULCH - IVERSEN LOOP

Dried persimmons brought by Karen.  Aren't the lovely?!

Meet at 9:50 at pullout for Gualala business directory and at Anchor Bay at 10:00 am. Carpool on the west side of the highway. We will drive to Hearn Gulch to park.  From there we will hike the roads and eventually make our way back to Hearn Gulch for lunch. Weather permitting we’ll hike down to the small beach, but we could also have lunch out of the wind in a protected spot or skip lunch depending on the weather. This hike will be a short one mainly on roads but there is some elevation gain.
Leader:  Harmony Susalla

BOBCAT TO BLUFF AND BACK UP ANNAPOLIS RD.

Turkey sighting the week before Thanksgiving

Meet at 9:45 at pullout for Gualala business directory north of bridge and at 10:00 at Rhonda Mark's house at 35830 Sea Ridge Road. From Hwy 1, turn onto Annapolis Road.  Sea Ridge is the 2nd left; Rhonda’a house is the 1st house on the left. The hike begins by crossing Annapolis Road and walking on Timber Ridge Road going south uphill to Crows Nest drive. Turn right and continue to Trail marker 204, then right at TM#202 downhill toward Hwy 1, exiting at TM201 on Moonraker Rd.  Cross Hwy 1, continue down Moonraker to Brigantine’s Reach heading toward the bluff. Turn right at TM#3 going north along the bluff until TM#7, and head back east to Sea Meadow, then right on Sea Gate, connecting at Galleon’s Reach.  Walk up to Hwy 1, cross.  There is a trail post, but no number posted as this is a new trail.  GO LEFT following the trail up the hill paralleling Annapolis Rd.  Cross Fly Cloud, continuing up the hill to Timber Ridge, cross Annapolis back to start at Rhonda’s house. Rhonda will be providing chili and cornbread for our lunch and others are invited to bring food that will go with this and leave it at Rhonda's while we hike. A lot of this hike is steep (down and up) so boots and walking sticks are advised. If the trails are muddy, Rhonda may substitute roads for trails.
Leader: Rhonda Mark

PLANTATION TRAIL MUSHROOM HIKE

Meet at 9:15 at pullout for Gualala business directory north of bridge to carpool and at The Sea Ranch Lodge parking lot at 9:30. Drive to the eastern entrance to Salt Point Park on Sea View Road. We will be joining our guest leader, Nhu Nguyen, mushroom expert from Berkeley. Nhu recommends that people who have it bring along Dave Arora's pocket mushroom guide, All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms. Enter the park on the trail, turning right on the Plantation Trail when you come to it. This will be an unusual hike as we'll be stopping to look at mushrooms along the way so we will not cover as much ground as usual. Depending on the condition of the trail we will either retrace our steps or walk to Kruse Ranch Road, turn right and walk back to cars along Sea View Road. We will drive to Kruse Ranch Road and descend to Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve for lunch. This trail can be a bit muddy if we have a lot of rain beforehand. Boots and hiking sticks are recommended.
Leaders: Mary Sue Ittner and Nhu Nguyen

A Tribute to Glen at Stillwater Cove

Carpool at the pullout for Gualala business directory just north of bridge at 9:25 and at The Sea Ranch Lodge parking lot at 9:40. Hikers with County Regional Park passes should drive. We will be remembering Glen Forbes today as we gather round a bench in his memory that has been added overlooking Stillwater Cove. Those people who want to can say a few words. Afterwards we'll hike the interesting bluff section of Stillwater Cove and then return back to our cars. We will drive then to the day use area and park.  We will hike through the beautiful forested canyon, cross a small stream, then up along the ridge until we reach the old Fort Ross schoolhouse and then through the Canyon and down to the Cove for lunch. After lunch we'll return to our cars.  Dogs allowed on leash and hiking sticks helpful for a few steep spots and river crossing. Parking in the first section could be a challenge as there are only room for about three cars so we may have to drop people off and do a shuttle.
Leaders: Mary Sue Ittner and Bob Rutemoeller

It was a fitting tribute to a beautiful man in a beautiful place.  Mary Sue's words were especially touching.  It was a lovely hike which started with drizzle and ended with sunshine.  Glen, you are missed.

FLUMEVILLE TO STORNETTA PUBLIC LANDS

Surprise!  A small blow hole blowing wind out

Our lunch spot

Our view from the lunch spot - watching whales spout

Halloween Tree

Meet at 10:20 at pullout for Gualala business directory and at 10:30 at Anchor Bay (West side of Hwy 1) to carpool and start at Rollerville Junction 2 miles north of Point Arena at 11:00. The leader will decide our route from there, but we will be treated to gorgeous views of the ocean as we walk south and to views of the spectacular bluff on this hike. We will travel to the old Coast Guard Loran site (now owned by Mendocino Community College) and find a suitable place for lunch before returning to our cars.
Leader: Bill Clement
It was an exceptionally large group (24!) and a short hike (2.1 miles) but the weather was perfect for a ramble along this beautiful stretch of ocean bluff.

GUALALA POINT PARK BLUFF AND LOOP

Photo Credit: Bob & Mary Sue

Start at Hidden Parking Lot at 10:00  (on westside entrance just left after pulling past fee post.)   There is a fee per car. (Or park across the street and cross Highway One if you do not have a pass.) Hike to the bluff,  turn south and walk along the Bluff Trail past Salal Cove. Between post 64 and 63 turn left walking through the hedge row and on Fish Rock Road to Leeward. Turn left on Leeward and walk until you intersect the Salal Trail. Turn right following it back to the highway and the Hidden Parking Lot.  Lunch at the picnic tables at the end.
Leader: Jim Suhr

I wasn't on the hike... I was on my way to Denver... but Mary Sue reported: "The weather was perfect today with the fog bank just off shore and the wind not picking up until after we were finished walking. Jim extended the Gualala Point Park section of the hike, but we still finished in record time."