Election Section

A Day of Discoveries at Sunol Regional Wilderness By MARTA YAMAMOTO

Special to the Planet
Friday February 11, 2005

It’s a tantalizingly warm winter day. I’m walking toward the sound of power—water tumbling down, around and across a series of rocks. Is this a canyon at 6,000 feet in the Sierras? No, I’m just one hour from home, approaching Little Yosemite, one of many natural wonders to discover at Sunol Regional Wilderness. 

Somehow, after a lifetime enjoying the outdoors, this is my first trip to this remote hidden wilderness in Alameda County, and now is the season to visit. Plan to come on a dry day following some serious rain and enjoy all the benefits—velvet-green carpeted grasslands and hillsides, water-kissed foliage, swollen creeks, fresh-smelling air—signs of renewed life will surround you. 

East of Highway 680, the 6,580 acres of the Sunol Wilderness landscape were formed by the action of erosion and the Calaveras fault system creating high-rising escarpments and deep-cut canyons and valleys. From Rose Peak, at 3,800 feet, sandstone and basalt outcrops and huge boulders of greenstone, schist and metachart provide evidence of massive land movement. 

Sunol’s cultural history reads like a story often heard in Northern California: Taucan Indian villages along Alameda Creek, Spanish missionaries and Mexican rancheros grazing cattle and post Gold Rush homesteaders farming the land. Though lifestyle and the environment have changed over time, much of the landscape, flora and fauna remain the same, preserved as wilderness. 

To put these new sites in context I begin at the Old Green Barn Visitor Center, quaint and unassuming, nestled below graceful oaks. Inside, well prepared illustrated exhibits and some hands-on activities give me an overview. Subjects range from the requisite size of wilderness, as large as the San Francisco Bay to a mere drop of water; the natural communities of grassland, chaparral, oak woodland and streamside within the park; resident species like the acorn woodpecker, fence lizard and long-horned beetle, and introduced species such as feral pigs and the wild turkeys who greeted me at the gate. 

The Old Green Barn is a valuable resource center providing lists for birders anxious to add the 20 to 40 species visible throughout the year, a Wildflower ID Kit for budding botanists and a booklet for the Indian Joe Creek Self-Guided Nature Trail. 

Like most kids or those young at heart, I’m a sucker for numbered posts. “You’re never too old to learn” holds true here. The one-mile nature loop along Alameda Creek to Indian Joe Creek winds through grassland and wooded canyon. Twelve numbered posts corresponding to booklet narratives are a perfect introduction to Sunol’s history and landscape. 

The amazing western sycamore, a stately tree with patchy white bark standing out like a beacon in the low creek-side light, can lose up to 50 gallons of water on a warm day, explaining why its habitat must be near water, neighbor to white alder and willow. Home to red-breasted sapsucker, acorn woodpecker, bluebird, kestrel, starling and yellow-billed magpies, the sycamore would be sorely missed. 

Along the trail I pass only a few walkers though two cows graze happily on the hillside. Sounds of modern life are far away, only the water moving through the creek and the rustling leaves overhead. Thickets of blue oak and coast live oak cluster in carved canyons, dressed in soft-hued lichens, while the fuzzy leaves of chaparral hold on to all available moisture. At Flag Hill, formed from a slab of ancient seafloor, the south and north canyon walls are a study in contrast. On the dryer south slope, only grass and chaparral can survive, while trees thrive on the moisture-rich north.  

The nature trail is ideal for a short hike through a beautiful, tranquil landscape, easily accessible and moderate in difficulty, with few inclines. Just the place to introduce visitors, children or yourself to a new wilderness experience. 

From the close at hand, I switch my focus to unmatched views of open country, as far as the eye can see. Canyon View Trail, 1.4 miles to Little Yosemite, stretches my focal length as I follow the trail up and along the canyon rim, feasting on rolling green contours, cliffs of weathered serpentine, massive oaks with exposed branches harboring huge balls of mistletoe and water rushing along creeks and their tributaries. Contrasting colors shimmer in bright sunlight: vivid orange lichen crusting dark gray stones jutting from the ground, mustard liverworts slimy against a downed log, the season’s first sunny yellow buttercups against emerald moss and the stark-white sycamore bark against cerulean sky. 

Reaching Little Yosemite through an ancient tree-cloaked hill, I marvel at the gorge before me where huge boulders appear to have been tossed down by a giant. 

What violent force created their arrangement? Sound echoes off the walls as the waterfall courses through a series of pools and shoots. You can access the creek in several places but most require a steep scramble. Following Camp Ohlone fire road back to the trailhead offers much visual and audible access and creates a loop hike rather than backtracking. 

Little Yosemite is the park’s main draw and Camp Ohlone Road the most populous trail. Wide, gravel and level, this option appeals to a broad range of visitors. Many smaller trails lead off toward the creek offering more of a wilderness experience but may not lead all the way to the trailhead. 

Following the road back to the Old Green Barn, you pass a lovely spot, the Alameda Grove Picnic Area. Extensive in size with widely spaced picnic tables and grills, many creek-side and almost all shaded by broad sweeping trees, you’ll find it hard to not linger. Make sure to allow time for a picnic, a cookout or a short rest to enjoy the scenery. 

With a park of this size, one day just isn’t enough. On my visit, touring the Old Green Barn and nature trail and the loop hike to Little Yosemite with a stop for lunch was just right for a moderate hiking day. I look forward to other hikes in the future. Indian Joe Creek Nature Trail climbs to the impressive Cave Rocks, natural formations in basalt outcroppings. Eagles’ View Trail, as the name implies, climbs through the Valley of the Giants to an eagle’s view of the park. 

What can be better than a day of discovery? Discovering wilderness in an unexpected place—all 6,580 acres of it. Discovering Yosemite so much closer to home. Discovering saturated color—orange lichen, yellow buttercups and liverworts, green moss and miner’s lettuce, blue water and sky. The time for this discovery is now when water is plentiful and the sun is kind. Don’t put it off—and don’t forget those hot dogs! 

 

Getting There: Drive east on I-580 to the junction with I-680 in Pleasanton. At the junction, go south on I-680 and exit at Calaveras Road/Hwy 84 just south of the town of Pleasanton. Turn left onto Calaveras Road and proceed to Geary Road, which leads directly into the park. 

 

Sunol Regional Wilderness: $4. Day use, dog fee $1. 

Sunol Wilderness : 

(925) 862-2244  

Sunol Interpretive Center: 

(925) 862-2601  

Camping also available: (510) 636-1684; $12/night. 

Hours: 7 a.m. to dusk 

www.ebparks.org/parks/sunol.htm 

For free brochure/map, phone East Bay Parks District at 562-7275 ext. 2 X