First hike as part of the Sonoma County Trails Challenge

Creek Crossing
Bridges make light work of a couple of creek crossings we encountered.
User: Austin Explorer - 6/8/2019

Location: West County Regional Trail

Rating: 2stars
Difficulty: 1star  Solitude: 1star
Miles Hiked: 5.01 Miles  Elapsed Time: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Comments:

Coppertone and I logged our first hike as part of the 2019 Sonoma County Trails Challenge.  Since she was still coming off of an illness and not quite up to 100% recovery we decided to chose an easy one to start off with.

We'd already done the southern half of this trail earlier this year, so it was a relief that the challenge recommended the northern half so we would not have to redo a trail we had visited not that long ago.

We started off in the parking lot on Front Street (Highway 116) and headed south.  Technically, this is not part of the regional trail, but it meets up with it in about a quarter mile and there is much more parking here.  At the official start of the trail off of Pajaro Lane there is only street parking and not much of it.

Being a rail trail, the West County Trail is mostly flat and easy going.  From the start the path is mostly paved.  About 2 miles down the road the path changed into something like gravel.  It was still easy to traverse.  Right near Green Valley Road before we turned around the path turns into a raised wooden walkway over a boggy area near the Gratan water treatment plant.

Bicyclists outnumbered walkers on this day due in part to a fund raising century ride (100 miles).  The cyclists were sporadic and well spread out throughout our walk, so the trail must have been closer to the end of their route.

The days are getting hotter and the ample tree cover in here and there was a welcome relief from the Sun.  Where the trees did not dominate the terrain it seemed blackberries did.  Large mounds of blackberry bushes dotted the landscape, in some cases just starting to reach out into the path of the trail.  Later this year there should be ample berries for picking up a mid-hike snack.

Vineyards dot the landscape throughout the hike.  We spotted a couple of California Quail scurrying in through the high grass just on the edge of a one of them.  A cute farmhouse right off the trail was selling fresh eggs on the honor system.  Small producer Ektimo Wines has a small sign pointing to their tasting room a very short distance off the trail near the trail crossing of Ross Lane.



Log Photos
Trail Start
End of the line
Cyclists
No More Pavement
Boardwalk
Creek Crossing
Sonoma County Eggs
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