hiking &pictures ranjeet on 09 Aug 2009 12:21 pm
Russian Ridge Open Space, June 2009
Another weekend (June 14th), time for another hike. This time, I wanted to do something closer to home, so I picked Russian Ridge, part of a large amount of Open Space Preserve that exists just southwest of south bay. Part of the “Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District“, (which thankfully has a concise web page URL), which covers over 50,000 acres of land, Russian Ridge exists alongside Coal Creek, Long Ridge, Los Trancos, Monte Bello, Rancho San Antonio, Saratoga Gap, and Skyline Ridge. Admittedly, this is a poor time to visit Russian Ridge. It’s known for it’s views of the South Bay and wildflowers, both of which are better in the spring and late winter, when its less hazy and more flower-filled. All in all, I wandered around for about 7 miles, and I give the hike a C+, with a notice that it should be redone in another season.
Flickr Set here. Slideshow below, pictures after the jump.
I hope that someday I’ll have a rock put in my memory. As far as durability goes, you would think that a rock would have some serious longevity. Anyways, saw this on my hike. I’m a sucker for dedicated objects.
The whole point of Russian Ridge (aside from wildflowers) is the view. It’s kinda amazing, when you’re looking at it, how "South Bay" is such a narrow strip of land along the shore of the San Francisco Bay
Another view from the top of the ridge.
The last view looking north from the Ridge.
Turning 180 degrees from the Bay, the view south looks over rolling hills all the way to the ocean.
Russian Ridge is known for its wildflowers…but only in the late winter and spring. By the time we get to late spring/early summer, there’s not really much to look at.
I’m not sure what makes this a hill rather than a mountain; there are certainly other "mountains" around that have lower elevation than this. But still, whenever you hike to a point that is "important" enough to get a marker, you feel a sense of accomplishment.
This view isn’t really any different than the other pictures, but I thought I’d take this picture just on principle.