Pacheco State Park
April 8, 2006: Wally and I, along with Flora and Bob Watson, went for a hike at Pacheco State Park, off Hwy 152, between Los Banos and Gilroy. This was a bit of a leap of faith for all of us, since none of us had been there, and we didn't know what to expect in terms of trail difficulty, scenery, and our own abilities. Fortunately, CA State parks are pretty reliable when it comes to having trail maps and other info at the trail heads. We parked in the first parking lot off Dinosaur Point Road, used the port-a-potties (yuck) and shouldered our packs. We picked what looked like a doable route- although it included the "Up and Over" Trail, which promised hills. But "hills" is all there is at Pacheco; beautiful grass and oak studded hills. Once we left the parking lot, we were enveloped by hill and sky. It was a gorgeous day, sunny, but cool and breezy. On the hill tops and ridges, we needed our windbreakers, otherwise we were quite comfortable. We passed through several gates, careful to close them to keep the young beef cattle in. The cows are not only amusing, but necessary to keep the grasslands healthy. The wildflowers were plentiful and pretty- mostly shooting stars, violets, gold fields, fiddle-neck, popcorn flower, with some checker bloom and just a few poppies getting started. We were rewarded on Spike Ridge Road with a view of the San Luis Reservoir in the distance. Almost as amazing as the scenery was the fact that in a state of over 35 million people, we saw not one other person on the hike once we left the parking lot 5 minutes behind us. What a great day. This is definitely a wonderful place to go to refresh your body, mind, and soul.
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| Massive oak near entrance | oaks just leafing out | heading down to a stream | Wally, Flora and Bob |
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| a huge expanse | lunch time | me (TLC) and Wally | reservoir view |
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| shooting stars and viola | Dodecatheon close up |