~ by Hoyt Nelson ~

Hike Date : Suday, August 17, 2014

We will meet at 10:00 AM in the parking lot just uphill from the Cliff House (at the Visitor Center next to the Merrie Way parking lot).  We will explore the old Sutro mansion site and bath ruins before following the trail east along the headlands towards the Golden Gate Bridge.  Trails are mainly flat with some stairs and 5.5 to 7 miles round trip – depending on where we elect to turn around.  Time is 3.5 – 4.5 hours depending on our preferences.  Bring layered clothing, camera, strong hiking shoes, water and snacks.  Bathroom facilities are at Visitor Center, but very limited elsewhere.  There are several restaurants I can suggest after the hike for lunch.  If you are game, I will also lead an optional short walk up Strawberry Hill in the middle of Stow Lake (in GG Park) for some surprises many have never seen.

To sign up or request carpool help, contact Hoyt Nelson at landsend@niseiskiclub.org.  Some can carpool at my place.

~ President Armand Gutierrez ~

Jake the Ski Fool says “follow me to Jackson Hole for our 2015 ski week trip.” NSC has not been to Jackson Hole since 2001 and it’s time to make a return trip. There’s a new big “Red Tram” to whisk us to the top, Corbet’s Couloir for the insane skiers, the Vertical Foot Club, and perhaps a moose or two on the slopes.

Dates:    January 24 – 31, 2015
Price:     $1475 (Senior – $1400)

Trip price includes:

• Roundtrip airfare from San Francisco to Salt Lake City to Jackson on Delta Airlines
• Roundtrip charter bus from Jackson to Teton Village Accommodations
• 7 nights stay at the Nez Perce, Sleeping Indian, Rendezvous, and Teewinot condominiums (free shuttle bus to Teton Village, plus pool/hot tub)
• 5 of 6 day lift ticket (6-day optional, senior (65+) also available)
• Farewell Dinner
• NSC Souvenir
• Mid-week activities at no additional cost:
  • Skiing
  • More Skiing
• Price does not include Baggage Fees
  (see http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/baggage.html for current baggage fees)
  • Baggage fees as of May, 2014:  $25/first, $35/second. Boot and ski bag are consideed a single bag.

Price and availability guaranteed for 50 seats only. Sign up now.
Link to the sign up form :  Jackson Hole Flyer -SignUp

Sign-up deadline: September 15, 2014

Rooming: Condos are 2BD or 3BD. Accommodations will be assigned based on roommate preference and room availability.

Cancellation Policy:  It is your responsibility to find a replacement if you cancel. Cancellation fees will depend on what NSC is charged and what is refunded from Delta Airlines or Jackson Hole Resort.

You must be at least 21 years of age and a member of the Nisei Ski Club to sign up for this trip.

Questions? Contact: Armand Gutierrez at jacksonhole@niseiskiclub.org

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Save the date!  Save the time! Save your energy for catching up with friends!

Who: NSC members and their invited guests. Look for your Evite invitation.

What: Our annual meeting combined with a picnic. NSC will provide hamburgers, hot dogs, soda, beer, water,etc.  Attendees are asked to bring side dishes and dessert to share.

When: Saturday, August 9, 2014 12:00pm – 5:00pm

Where: Picnic area #1 in Las Palmas Park, 850 Russet Drive, Sunnyvale.
                See the link at the bottom for exact location and parking information.

Why:  To update our membership on the club and its future plans and to enjoy a pleasant day together.

Cost: No $$, Just Bring (3) – $1.00 bills for our game of luck and chance

For more information please email Karen Soo  tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org

http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Portals/0/Sunnyvale/DCS/Parks/Las%20Palmas-r02.pdf

  by Hoyt Nelson

Date: Sunday, June 22, 2014

The hike at the Fall Creek section of Cowell Redwoods is only about 5 miles round trip and is fairly flat and shaded.  It follows the beautiful Fall Creek for most of the way and has a stop  after 1.5 miles at an area with 12 foot high abandoned lime kilns.  We will lunch a mile later amid the scattered machinery of an old barrel factory.  It’s a bit far to drive for some, but believe me, it’s worth it.

Directions:

• Take a Right onto Mt. Hermon Rd off Hwy 17 just a couple of miles North of Santa Cruz
• Drive about 5 miles through Felton,
• Continuing across Hwy 9 up the hill for less than a mile
• to a signed dirt parking lot on the Right.

There is also a winery across the road just before the lot for free tasting afterward.  If anybody still has energy, we can stop at one of the best Japanese gardens in the state, Hakone Gardens (free parking if we take the short trail up the hill, but $7 entrance), on the way back in Saratoga.  There are several great restaurants nearby to round the day off.

There is neither water nor bathrooms along the hike, but there are at the winery.  Bring layered clothes for changeable weather, a lunch with drinks at the old barrel mill, and possibly something to share.  Due to the distance, carpooling is highly recommended.  At the least, we should meet at my house in Campbell and consolidate vehicles there.  I plan to leave my place in Campbell at 9:30 AM and I can take 5 more people.

For more info. or to sign up, contact me, Hoyt, at  fallcreek@niseiskiclub.org.

~ by Hoyt Nelson ~

Great views of Lexington Reservoir to the West at the start and a sweeping view of the Santa Clara Valley to the East at the top.  There will still be monkey flowers, Scotch broom and remnants from the vineyards that supplied sacramental wine for the Novitiate in Los Gatos many years ago.

Take Hwy 17 South  just past Los Gatos and go R at Bear Creek Road  so you can double back on the other side of 17 on Alma Bridge Road across the spillway.  If no room there, you may need  to pay for  a parking lot on the R where boaters put in.   We meet there at 10 AM where the hike begins just a few feet further on the left up the hill. 

I have done this hike 3 or 4 times, but can’t find any my pix, so I attached a few from bahiker.com.   This is a good source of hiking information in the Bay Area for your future reference.  It’s a little over 3 miles round trip on a semi-loop dirt trail  with about 650 ft. of elevation change.   We should be done by noon.  Not much shade, so bring a hat, drinks,  and layer your clothing.  Also bring camera, sturdy footwear and snacks.   There is no water , but bathroom facilities are in the parking lot.  There’s lots of spots for lunch nearby after the hike, or you can bring your own. 

Contact stjosephshill@ niseiskiclub.org to sign up and get more information.

~Karen Soo, Trip Director ~

From a galaxy far, far away comes Star WARS – WHERE SCIENCE MEETS IMAGINATION

Join Nisei Ski Club at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose

Cost – $21.00 per person for the Jedi Package.

The Jedi Package is the ultimate experience for true STAR WARS fans. Purchasing the Jedi Package will grant you access to STAR WARS: Where Science Meets Imagination and guarantees your voyage on The Millennium Falcon Experience. The IMAX theatre is not included.

Date – Sunday, November 24, 2013

Time– Meet at 9:30am at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose  located at 201 S Market St, San Jose, CA 95113

If interested, please email Karen Soo at tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org by November 10, 2013

201 S Market St, San Jose, CA 
Tel: (408) 294-8324

Sports Basement has agreed to host another shopping party for us at their Sunnyvale store from  6 to 8 PM on Friday, Dec. 6.  They will supply complimentary beer, soft drinks and munchies while you browse through their extensive stock of the latest  sports gear, socialize with other NSC members and enjoy our NSC standard 10% discount on any purchase.  

Feel free to bring any friends and they can probably get the discount as well, but please include their names when you reply to the E-vite which you will receive in a few weeks.  The store will remain open for business until 9 PM.   If there are enough of us, they promise to give us a short talk about the latest ski equipment trends.

Sports Basement – 1177 Kern Ave.,Sunnyvale

Sports Basement is  located at 1177 Kern Ave. in Sunnyvale.  From the E bay  take a R off 880 South in Milpitas onto Hwy 237 towards Mt. View.  After about 5 miles, go S (left) on Lawrence Expressway for another 2 or 3 miles and go R onto Maude at the traffic light.  (If coming from San Jose, take Lawrence Expressway N and turn Left onto Maude.)  Take the first R onto Santa Trinita and then the first R onto Kern.  Sports Basement is at the end of the block on the left.  (Note that you can only turn R off Santa Trinita to Lawrence as you exit.)

by Hoyt Nelson

This hike, like many others in my popular series, was adapted from the book “Stairway Walks in San Francisco” by Adah Bakalinsky, now in its 7^th edition.  As usual, it has lots of stairs, interesting neighborhoods, fine views and flower gardens.  It will take about 3.5 hours with stops for views,  snacks and/or lunch.

DIRECTIONS: From north or south on Hwy 101 in San Francisco, exit at Cesar Chavez (Army) and take it going W.  After about 0.5 mi. W on Chavez, go L (south) onto Folsom, which turns into  Bernal Heights Blvd. somewhere after it veers left.  Stay straight at the next junction after that (at a small parking lot on the right) and follow Bernal Heights, staying right at the next 3 junctions (the last being Ellsworth – see map).  About 0.5 mi. past the small parking lot (a bit past Ellsworth and Anderson) Bernal Heights takes a hairpin turn R at a dry open staging area on the L with a drinking fountain and 2 stone benches. We will meet there at 10:00.  Select the link and Ctrl-click it to see the map.  If you have trouble, just go to Googlemaps, enter “Bernal Heights San Francisco” and zoom in.  The staging area is a “bump” on the lower left side of the wide, brown area that is Bernal Heights.  http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bernal+Heights,+San+Francisco,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.74498,-122.410698&spn=0.006863,0.016479&sll=37.768086,-122.405441&sspn=0.006446,0.013175&oq=Bernal+Heights&t=h&hnear=Bernal+Heights,+San+Francisco,+California&z=17

Bring liquids, snacks/lunch, layered clothing, sturdy walking shoes, sun protection and camera.  Also bring a piece of cardboard or carpet “sled”  for a slide along the hike.   Later, we can lunch in one of the many interesting places on/near Valencia St. (or elsewhere).   To sign up or for questions, contact Hoyt at Bernal@niseiskiclub.org.

Jake the Ski Fool says “follow me to Sun Peaks BC for our 2014 ski week trip.” NSC has never been to Sun Peaks and the snow conditions are outstanding. Remember the “snow ghosts” at Big White? Well, Sun Peaks prefers to call them “snow angels”. Experience the thrill of skiing through trees, light powder, and meet up with a few snow angels!

Dates:              February 8 – 15, 2014
Price:              $1475 (Senior – $1400)

Trip price includes:

• Roundtrip airfare from San Francisco to Seattle to Kelowna on Alaska Airlines
• Roundtrip charter bus from Kelowna to Sun Peaks
• 7 nights stay at the Crystal Forest condominiums (5-minute walk to lifts and village, plus private hot tubs)
• 5 of 6 day lift ticket (6-day optional, senior (65+) also available)
• Farewell Dinner
• NSC Souvenir
• Mid-week activities at additional cost:
  • Dog Sled Tours
  • Fondue Dinner and Evening Descent
  • Ice Skating
• Price does not include Baggage Fees (see Alaska Airlinesfor current baggage fees)
  • Baggage fees as of June, 2013:  $20/first, $20/second. Boot and ski bag are consideed a single bag.

Price and availability guaranteed for 32 seats only. Sign up now. (See Sign-up form).

Sign-up deadline: September 15, 2013

Rooming: Condos are 2BD or 3BD. Accommodations will be assigned based on roommate preference and room availability.

Cancellation Policy:  It is your responsibility to find a replacement if you cancel. Cancellation fees will depend on what NSC is charged and what is refunded from Alaska Airlines or Sun Peaks Resort.

You must be at least 21 years of age and a member of the Nisei Ski Club to sign up for this trip.

Questions?      Contact: Armand Gutierrez at sunpeaks@niseiskiclub.org