Hiking the EBMUD Trails in the Oakland Hills, California

Tall trees at the canyon trail head

Recently, we spent a warm Saturday afternoon hiking on one of the many beautiful trails in the Oakland Hills. The expedition had two purposes: one, to make use of our son Matt’s recently acquired permit for hiking on East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) land; and two, to try out our new, or newly adapted, cameras.

Infrared, left; Infrared colorswap, right

We had three cameras to play with. I had a new pocket camera, Art had upgraded his SLR camera with a new model, and Matt had refitted one of his cameras to take infrared pictures. For our hike we chose the King Canyon Loop and Riche Trail, which offered ample opportunity for photos.  We started in tall trees at the bottom of the canyon, hiked up through oak woodland, before reaching the part of the trail that opened up to broad vistas.

Blackberry leaves

A surprising variety of fungi, moss, ferns, leaves and other plants provided the chance for close-ups along the way.

Looking East toward Mount Diablo

We had packed a picnic lunch and ate it at the staging area where there were picnic tables and portapotties. As we ate, we heard a tap, tap in the tree just above our heads. When we looked up we saw a  woodpecker drilling a hole in search of sap and insects. After I got home and looked it up in my bird guide, I discovered that it was a red-breasted sapsucker, a kind of woodpecker native to the western U.S.

"Red-breasted" sapsucker

The EBMUD manages 27,000 acres of open space and 80 miles of horseback and hiking trails just a short distance from downtown Oakland. I am always amazed how quickly one can be surrounded by nature and still be close to the city. We passed only a few people along the trail. It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air enjoying nature just a few miles from home.

Using focus effect to blur edges of picture