March 22nd, 2014
The day dawned bright and clear. According to the Morgan Hill Times, there was a nature hike to view the wild flowers in Pacheco State Park. Accordingly we planned to spend a good part of the day hiking in the Pacheco State Park.
The weather was bright a sunny. Spring was in the air. But it was still very very cold and breezy. We left home around 8 AM and after a drive of about an hour on Highway 152 we were there. Could not believe this is so close to home.
The land was owned by the Pacheco family and Paula Fatjo, a 5th generation descendent of the original Pacheco family, donated the ranch to the state in 1992. The state park is right on top of the Pacheco pass and has wonderful vistas in rolling hills.
We saw wild flowers in plenty. Most of them, including the wild California Poppy pictured here grew is crags and on the hill sides. We must have hiked up and down about 5 miles that day.
The Spikes Peak Trail bends west and leads to a little pond called Pig Pond. The path climbs grassy hills, with views of the Pacheco Pass where you can see a dozen windmills turning lazily in the breeze. We went around Pig Pond, so names because of the feral porkers that supposedly inhabit this space. We did not meet any of the porkers. We did try to emulate James Belford (Pig-Hoooo-ey from P.G.Wodehouse) and issued the pig call but to no avail.
After about 3 hours of walking up and down in the biting cold and windy terrain, we had enough and it was time to say goodbye. We stopped for a late breakfast or an early lunch at the Casa de Fruta restaurant in Hollister for a well deserved feast of pancakes with fresh strawberries.
More details on this little known state park is available here: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25154.
All in all a very enjoyable day.
The day dawned bright and clear. According to the Morgan Hill Times, there was a nature hike to view the wild flowers in Pacheco State Park. Accordingly we planned to spend a good part of the day hiking in the Pacheco State Park.
The weather was bright a sunny. Spring was in the air. But it was still very very cold and breezy. We left home around 8 AM and after a drive of about an hour on Highway 152 we were there. Could not believe this is so close to home.The land was owned by the Pacheco family and Paula Fatjo, a 5th generation descendent of the original Pacheco family, donated the ranch to the state in 1992. The state park is right on top of the Pacheco pass and has wonderful vistas in rolling hills.
We saw wild flowers in plenty. Most of them, including the wild California Poppy pictured here grew is crags and on the hill sides. We must have hiked up and down about 5 miles that day. The Spikes Peak Trail bends west and leads to a little pond called Pig Pond. The path climbs grassy hills, with views of the Pacheco Pass where you can see a dozen windmills turning lazily in the breeze. We went around Pig Pond, so names because of the feral porkers that supposedly inhabit this space. We did not meet any of the porkers. We did try to emulate James Belford (Pig-Hoooo-ey from P.G.Wodehouse) and issued the pig call but to no avail.
After about 3 hours of walking up and down in the biting cold and windy terrain, we had enough and it was time to say goodbye. We stopped for a late breakfast or an early lunch at the Casa de Fruta restaurant in Hollister for a well deserved feast of pancakes with fresh strawberries.
More details on this little known state park is available here: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25154.
All in all a very enjoyable day.
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