Winston Fong
On August 27, a group went on the 7.5 mile Alum Rock hike lead by Dave Schultz. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were lucky that we hiked on the North Woodland and South Rim Trails, which were shaded. This was a fairly steep trail. If you fell, you would roll a couple hundred feet downhill. If you survived, you would surely have a bad case of poison oak. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining because we got some pretty good views of Silicon Valley. We saw some turkey vultures and Rick talked of hang gliding with them.
We saw a sign that said “Trail closed. Do not go beyond this point”. Dave said that he didn’t see anything when he hiked up here a couple of weeks ago. So, he told us to keep going and to ignore the sign! It turned out that the hillside had eroded and the trail was washed out with dirt. Okay, it wasn’t that big of a deal. We had to walk carefully 30 or 40 feet. This was our big adventure for the day. I guess that’s why we signed the NSC waiver.
I found out that Alum Rock Park was the place for the health nuts back in the late 1800s through the 1930s. It was famous for the health benefits of its mineral springs. I understand that there were 27 mineral springs and as many as 10,000 visitors on a Sunday afternoon. I didn’t see 27 minerals springs but I did see a few decomposing baths. Some baths were hidden by vegetation and you could still smell the sulfur.
At the end of the hike, we visited the Youth Science Institute (“YSI”). We saw live owls. The owls live at the YSI because they’re injured or handicapped. One was blind and another had an injured wing. We also saw stuffed animals like a mountain lion, bobcat, gray fox, badger, hawks, shorebirds, and ducks to name a few.
At the end of our hike, we enjoyed snacks at Dave’s house. Thanks for a fun time, Dave!
 Our hike leader – Dave Schultz |
 |
 |
 Panoramic view of Silicon Valley |
 Remnant of mineral bath |
 The whiteness of the water is from sulphur |
 Injured barn owl |
 Stuffed mountain lion |
