When I was lucky enough to have a good hunk of free time one day last week, I poked around my site for a hike to update. It was hot and I had to be home in mid-afternoon, so I wanted something mostly shaded and not too far from home. I settled on Los Trancos Open Space Preserve, where according to my notes, I last hiked in 2001. Yow! Although I have hiked at Los Trancos at least half a dozen times, it had been so long (or perhaps my brain just doesn't retain as much these days) that I had to print out the description from BAHiker and follow the suggested hike. I found only one small update was needed; the trails remain in fantastic shape, there are no new trails, and nothing has been renamed. Since my last visit a trail connection from Los Trancos to Foothills Park opened, allowing folks hiking the Bay Area Ridge Trail to trek through Foothills, which is otherwise open only to Palo Alto residents. I'll get there one of these days...
Los Trancos is quite small compared to neighboring preserves Monte Bello, Skyline Ridge, and Russian Ridge, but LT packs a great trail system into 274 acres. The most popular trail is the San Andreas Fault Trail, which seems popular with folks from out of the area -- last week the parking lot had more out-of-state cars than local ones. Hikers can follow a self-guided earthquake tour through the easy loop, but I usually prefer to head deeper into the preserve for more peace and quiet (and a longer hike).
Nothing exciting to report about the hike with one exception: within my hike's first minute I came across a rattlesnake stretched across the trail. At least it wasn't coiled!
