LowBat
Flashlight Enthusiast
This is the signup thread for the hike at Fall Creek in Felton, CA (near Santa Cruz). For those of us coming from the bay area side of the mountain, we will meet for carpooling at the Almaden Light Rail Station (Coleman Road and Winfield Blvd) in San Jose at 5:30 pm. Those coming from Santa Cruz can meet us at the park entrance on Felton Empire Road (at intersection with Ley Road) at about 6:15 pm. As the parking lot closes at sunset I'll show you were to legally park nearby after we all arrive.
We will be walking an easy 5 mile trail through a very scenic forest with creeks and occasional fallen trees. There is also the remains of a lime kiln that was in operation a century ago. At the halfway point of our hike (at Barrel Mill) we will stop for a light meal. I recommend packing such items as a sandwich, chips, soda, snack bar, etc. By the time we reach Barrel Mill it will be dark and a good opportunity to try out your compact camping lantern if you have one. Don't forget to pack a jacket too! If you have a day pack, or better yet a hydration pack, I'd suggest taking it to pack your stuff. Another item I'd highly recommend if you have one is an FRS radio. Hikers do tend to get spread out on the trail and the radios have really helped us out on past hikes; especially when it gets dark you're not the one holding a trail map or a GPS.
Speaking of getting dark and GPS:
Sunset will be at 7:41 pm with an end to civil twilight at 8:07 pm (when it really gets dark). The moon phase will be at first quarter. There is a heavy tree canopy and GPS receivers will have some difficulty getting a fix unless they are SiRF Star III or an equivalent chipset. I know I need not remind anyone about bringing a flashlight.
Please post if you will be meeting up at the carpool location or at the park entrance.
Meeting at carpool location:
- LowBat
- weedle256
- Weylan
- TigerhawkT3 +1
- drew2001
- vacuum3D +1
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