Ohlone Wilderness Backpacking (1 of 3)

DAY 1 - Dec 31, 2012

I wanted to start the New Year with a challenge. 2012 certainly had many challenges (including transfering to UC Davis), but I felt the need to refocus my goals and plans for 2013, and backpacking seemed perfect for this task. 

One of the reasons why I love backpacking, besides the epic scenery and wildlife, is it reminds me that even the most daunting task can be accomplished by taking it one foot at a time, and there is no turning back once I've accepted the challenge. No matter how difficult it gets, I must keep going. However, with a little patience and perseverance (and a few buckets of sweat), I'll get to where I wanted to go. 

For now, the destination is Maggie's Half Acre; approx. 10.0 miles from Sunol.

Check out video of this trip: https://vimeo.com/56801802

11:19 am - Start! Sunol looked gorgeous on the last day of 2012. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, and Alameda Creek was flowing strongly again after a summer drought. 

Winter rains bought Alameda Creek back to life

After working here over the summer with an East Bay Regional Park District biologist surveying all the ponds in the park for protected amphibians, I felt sentimental as I walked down the trail. Everything seemed so familiar (except greener). It reminded me of the good times we spent in this park. But at the same time, everything also felt so far away. Hiking seemed so slow in comparison to riding in a Jeep. I'm not complaining though because everything passed by in a blur when I sat in the truck and it was great to see the details of this place up close.
 
One thing I didn't miss was the opening and closing of cattle gates on the trail. A few of them are old and rusty - finger jammers as I called them - brings back vivid memories. Ouch!

Perfect winter day at Sunol

12:45 pm - arrived at the gate of Sunol Backpacking Camp. It took me a bit longer than anticipated to get here because I spent too much time taking photos and videos, but the hike up the hill wasn't as bad as I thought. Now that I'm here, I decided to explore Cathedral and Oak View camp before heading up to my campsite; Sky Camp.

First up was Cathedral. As I approached the campsite, I started to wonder why it was given such a name. It lacked all the grandeur of a cathedral. It was dark, cold, uninviting, and the restroom was literally in the campsite. The only positive point was that it must be really shady and cool in summer, but I still wouldn't camp there unless I really have to. (I'll spare you with the photos)

Oak View, on the other hand, was much nicer. It had great views of the valley below, a nice open grassy field behind, and actually lived up to its name by having a few stands of oak right on the campsite. A nice place to stay if it wasn't so far from water. 

Blue oak at Oak View Camp

I have satisfied my eyes from campsite curiosity, it's time to satisfy my stomach. Up the steep hill I went to my campsite. 

1:27 pm - arrived at Hawk's Nest. I just can't wait to go another quarter mile without eating something, so I took out my food bag and had some pastrami and pepper jack cheese sandwiches. I enjoyed the view at Hawk's Nest while I ate my lunch.

2:00 pm - finally at Sky Camp. Now I have to decide which Sky Camp to take. There seemed to be an "upper camp" and a "lower camp" (the actual site is the lower one). Both offered epic views and a picnic bench, but the real camp is so far away from water and restroom and required a heart-pumping hike up a steep hill. After half an hour of campsite shopping, I decided to stayed at the upper camp instead. Good choice!

Real Sky Camp - located on the dramatic cliff (just to the left of the green tree)

"Upper" Sky Camp - also has epic views (my orange food bag hanging on the tree)

 
3:00 pm - finished setting up camp. I had always thought it was necessary to hang my food bag to prevent hungry raccoons from devouring my already light food selection. At least that's true at popular campgrounds like Mount Diablo. However, from past experience I've never had raccoon problems here. I guess the "food supply" is too scarce for a raccoon to stay around; especially during winter.

Looking across the valley, I noticed a shaft of light illuminating a row of trees:

Perfect lighting

4:27 pm - outside temperature: 44 degrees F.

4:42 pm - dinner time. Not too exciting, just cup noodles. This time, instead of boil water then pour it into the cup noodle, I cooked the noodle with the water, hoping to save some time. The result? Probably saved some time. Since the wind blew the flame all over the place, EXCEPT at my pot, it took ages for the water to boil. I don't understand why the stove manufacturer forbids the use of a windscreen for my stove. I imaging it would be very unlikely to heat up the fuel canister (on a windy day) so much that it explodes. Would it?

Great place to have dinner, but it was getting really cold

The last sunset of 2012

7:00 pm - time for dreamland. I was thinking about staying up till midnight, after all it was New Year's eve, but what was there to do? Not much. I needed to rest for next day's longer hike anyway.

In the past, I've always tried to sleep as far into the night as possible without putting on the mylar blanket until I got uncomfortably cold. This time, I've decided to wrap in mylar before I go to sleep so I don't have to wake up unwillingly at 3 am trying to fit it into my sleeping bag (a horrible experience).

Temperature in tent: Nice and cozy, 48 degrees F.

My overnight accommodation

 
12:00 am - (sleepy) Happy New Year! I woke up on the dot at midnight; surprisingly. Probably woken by the distant fireworks, which sounded like popping bubble wraps. Lame, I thought. All of a sudden, the idea of an explosive fuel canister sounded rather exciting. I went back to to sleep without trying out that idea.