Ohlone Wilderness Backpacking (3 of 3)

DAY 3 - Jan 2, 2013

Video of this trip.

7:07 am - 0 degree C inside the tent. Woke up at Maggie's Half "Freezer".

I was glad to hear the sound of my alarm clock going off at 7:00 am. After spending 12 hours in my sleeping bag, I was ready to get out of this damp cocoon. No, I didn't metamorphose into a new creature, but I've learned another lesson. Mylar blanket is miserable in below freezing temperatures.

Still, I slept reasonably well. I was reasonably warm, reasonably comfortable (thanks to a flat ground), and reasonably rested despite the significant amount of condensation inside the mylar cocoon. It was quite clammy. I should do better next time though. With a light fleece blanket I would have slept even better, even if it weighed at nearly 2 pounds.  

I wanted sunlight, but got moonlight instead

It took me a bit longer to fall asleep last night. The air was definitely colder, but it was the busy air traffic that really kept me awake. Again and again, the peaceful silence was broken by jets roaring overhead as they made their final approach to Oakland International. Also without any other light source around, I was surprised to see the aircraft's strobe lights illuminating my tent (dimly though) as they flew by. For a second I thought my retina was detaching... 

Breakfast time! I didn't feel like opening the tent fly (for obvious reasons), so breakfast was cooked and served inside the tent. For ventilation, so I won't die of carbon monoxide poisoning, I unzipped the tent fly a bit and propped it open with my hiking poles.

It was lovely to have a stove inside the tent! Yes, I could smell some fuel vapor, but I felt warm and quite comfortable. Breakfast was again granola cereal and some dried fruits left over from the previous days. It was awesome gulping down that hot granola!

7:44 am - done with breakfast, now it was time to "embrace" the cold world outside.

Oak leaves decorated by frost

Shivers! The cold air was stimulating in a less favorable way. Think of it as walking through a field of thistles wearing shorts. Not the kind of stimulating experience one would volunteer for. Strangely, I decided to linger in the cold and explored the area near camp. I took a few photos and checked out some oaks with galls before heading back to camp. 

Mt. Diablo viewed from my campsite

I remember camping at Mt. Diablo a few summers ago. At night the wind blew so hard that I feared my tent would collapse (20-30 mph winds). That was exciting! 

Oak with gall on its branch

Galls are caused by insects (usually) laying their eggs in plant tissue. As a reaction to the "invasion", plants will form swellings (or galls) to surround the egg. As the developing eggs turn into larvae, the plant tissue swells even more, creating a protective barrier to the outside world and feeds the larvae by directing nutrients into the larval chamber. A great insect nursery. When the insect matures, it chews its way out (hence the holes on the gall). The gall pictured above is on the branch of an oak, but galls can grow on many locations on a plant and come in many shapes, sizes, and colors like these I found (below) last summer on top of Goat Rock.

Saucer-shaped gall on Blue Oak - Summer 2012

Different galls on the same tree - Summer 2012

Back at Maggie's things weren't as exciting. I spent the next hour or so packing up my gears, then went to get some water before heading out.

Maggie's Half "Freezer" strikes again! The water faucet was frozen solid! Yesterday the faucet worked fine, apart from the initial muddy water. I pumped the handle again. Still nothing. The good thing was I still had a full liter of clean water, so I thought I'll just take off without getting extra.

It would have been interesting if I had to collect water from the frozen water trough since I didn't have a filter to get rid off the floating "particles". I'm sure my SteriPEN would have made the water safe to drink, but the thought of drinking out of an algae filled trough WITHOUT filtering didn't score high on my list of favorite things to do.

9:23 am - the journey back. Next stop, Sunol Visitor Center. 

At this point, the batteries in my camera were nearly empty. It would only power-on for about 10-15 seconds before shutting itself off again; just enough time for me to take a photo. It was like driving a car that would go for 100 feet and then stalls. Restart, go for another 100 feet and stalls again. 

As I climbed onto the ridge just below Rose Peak, I was rewarded with a view of the Bay Area. A bit hazy, but I could still see beyond San Francisco. Best of all, there was sunlight!

San Francisco and Bay Bridge - top right of picture

Another bobcat dashed out of my sight as I hiked down Buckboard Trail. This time, it had a fluffy animal in its mouth!

10:30 am - at OT 24. I wasn't in a hurry, so the 2.2 mph pace was just fine.

Reflections in the pond

All these ponds, over 300 of them in the entire park district, are home to many protected and threatened species such as the California Red-legged Frog and California Tiger Salamander. The above pond has both Red-legged Frog and Tiger Salamander. It is critical to protect these species for their survival and for maintaining a balanced ecosystem. A responsible way to enjoy these wild creatures is to view them from a distance using binoculars.

Apart from the species list above, other native amphibians include Pacific Tree Frog, Western Toad, and California Newt are commonly found in these ponds as well. Watch out for tree frogs and toads in summer as they can metamorphose out of the water in great numbers. Giant water bug (or toe-biters) is another cool creature. Some of them can reach 3 inches in length with dangerous looking front legs. They would try to prey on anything they can get a hold of, including 5 inch long Red-legged frog tadpoles. If two of them get too close, they will fight each other like gladiators in an arena. From what I've heard, their bites are extremely painful!

More wildlife! Another Red-tailed hawk perched on a tree. This is going to be my day.

Red-tailed hawk

Or not...

They look so confused...

I could imagine though bubbles of (????) and (moo?!) above their heads as they stared at me. They probably thought "What's this guy walking out here for? Did he loose his truck?" 

Goat Rock came into view again

11:11 am - hunger knocked on my stomach again. I found a picturesque grove of California Buckeye (poisonous, apparently) and settled down for lunch. 

Tree with legs

I just noticed that this tree has limbs that look like a person's "legs" stretched out on the ground. Interesting... The left branch looked like a knee slightly rotated toward the right (there is a technical term for that which I can't remember).

Oblivious to these strange details (until now), I sat on this tree and made a pastrami and cheese sandwich. It tasted great thanks to the freezing temperatures at night keeping the food fresh. A benefit of winter backpacking. 

11:35 am - on the trail again. Going downhill does put a bit more strain on my knees and feet, but I hardly drank any water. 

Ponds filled to the brim, ready to wet the inside of another intern's wader...

11:49 am - at OT 22. This time I took the correct route.

Not much drama after this. About an hour later I arrived at the gate to Sunol Backpack Camp. From the top of the hill I can see why the actual Sky Camp is so far away, down the ridge. 

Overlooking Sunol Backpack Camp

I took a slightly shorter (and scenic) route by going down Backpack Road. Soon, families with kids started to show up on the trail. Some people were climbing the boulders at Little Yosemite.

Junction of Backpack Rd. and Camp Ohlone Rd.

Little Yosemite

2:27 pm - finished! I made it back a bit sore and tired, but I felt great for completing this hike. 

I remembered to sign out this time

I can't count how many steps I've walked during this trip (thousands, tens of thousands?), but I'm certain that it was done one foot at a time. This is true for everything else in this adventure called life. I could probably hop over small tasks but the challenging ones, the ones that require patience, take a bit longer to get.

I'm ready to take on more challenges!