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| Hiking | 5.43 Miles |
955 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.43 Miles | 2 Hrs 45 Mns | | 1.97 mph |
| 955 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I decided to take a jaunt in the cold, thick fog that's enveloped the area for the last few days. I'm sure the views on this hike are spectacular when visibility isn't limited to no more than a few hundred yards.
Started out going up the Old Briones Road trail, and took it all the way to Maricich Lagoons where I saw my first California newt. Unfortunately it was dead. Headed back up Old Briones Road then took the Briones Crest trail over to Sindicich Lagoons. The larger, lower lagoon had a lot of birds hanging around. A few dozen ducks on the water, and small flocks of red-winged blackbirds (the same species in the widely-reported mass die-off in Arkansas last week) that took off en masse from the reeds when they were disturbed. They fly around for a few seconds in a tightly-knit formation before settling back into the reeds.
Took the Mott Peak trail down to the Black Oak trail then back to the Old Briones Road. There was a section of Black Oak that was so steep and slippery that I had to do some off-trail switchbacking to make it down.
Saw a lot of raptors as usual, but, unusually, no vultures. A few red tails and a probable osprey. 3 owls graced me with their presence right near the end of the hike. Heard a lot of owl hooting pretty much the entire hike. |
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