I have two spots open for a day hike up Half Dome that a friend of mine is ramrodding. The hike will be very strenuous and will include nearly a mile of elevation gain over 16 miles of hiking; we’re going to be attacking at dawn.

We have a campsite at Hodgdon Meadows Thursday night June 4th and we’re talking about dinner at the Ahwahnee; Friday night we have a yurt reserved in Groveland, where we’ll celebrate our adventure with a bottle of Dominus 2004.

Are you interested? Leave a comment.

~winehiker

FROM THE COMMITTEE FOR GREEN FOOTHILLS comes news of an event scheduled for this Saturday.

If you love wine, care about your local environment, and are looking for something fun and worthwhile to do on the peninsula tomorrow night, then Environmental Volunteers (EV) invites you to Wild Crush 2009. The annual gala honors thirty-seven years of environmental education in Silicon Valley.

The evening will include wine tasting offered by local vintners, educational demonstrations by the EV, a silent auction, dinner and a live auction. Each year, the EV reaches over 11,000 children in the San Francisco Bay Area with unique learning experiences in the classroom and at field trip sites. Your participation in this event can support the educational programs of the Environmental Volunteers. The event will be held on April 25th at the Quadrus Center in Menlo Park at 6:30 p.m.

Pouring at the event will be Burrell School Vineyards, Big Basin Vineyards, Bink Wines, Handley Cellars, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Michael Martella Wines and Wente Vineyards. The live silent auction promises to offer a number of items worth bidding for, including an aerial tour of the San Francisco Bay.

For more information, see the Environmental Volunteers’ Wild Crush 2009 website or contact Sue Trautman at 650-961-0545.

If you buy a ticket, be sure to mention that you’re a member of the Committee for Green Foothills.

~winehiker

The sweeping grassy cow-cropped ridges of Vista Grande Trail, looking southeast.

I love to return to Sunol Regional Wilderness every Spring. Sometimes my timing is right and I’ll be greeted by welcome displays of orange California poppies and purple lupines. But even when I’ve arrived a week or two early and the wildflowers haven’t yet wandered onto Nature’s stage, I still find Sunol’s vast expanse of oak-dotted, green-velvet hillsides soothing to my soul.

And to my soles! For Sunol Wilderness, a gleaming gem in the East Bay Regional Park District’s treasure trove of managed lands, is also a hiker’s paradise, offering hiking challenges large and small. From families enjoying a creekside Nature Walk to outback overnighters who wish to explore Sunol’s hilly, bucolic backcountry, and to dayhikers like us – outside and on the trail – we all come to breathe the wind-washed air, to smell the oak and the laurel, and to feel the sun and the spirited beating of our light and happy hearts.

Before all was said and done early this past March, our crew of 16 had squandered away five precious hours hiking over seven glorious miles, a time which included plenty of stopping to enjoy splendor and distance, diversion and serendipity, and the sound of each others’ laughter.

True to form, our day at Sunol Wilderness was yet another classic episode in a series of wanton, whimsical squandrage. And we were all the better for it.

Descending from the upper reaches of Vista Grande Trail.

Yes indeed, it is another High Gorgeosity Factor day in sunny California.

The view down upon High Valley from our Vista Grande Trail vantage point.

Calaveras Reservoir, looking southward from Vista Grande Trail, Sunol Regional Park.

My fellow hikers pausing at Vista Grande Overlook, with Mission Peak looming behind.

Approaching Sunol Regional Wilderness Park’s High Valley Camp.

The horse stable at High Valley Camp.

The view south toward Calaveras Reservoir from atop our destination, Flag Hill.

Me, Mr. Winehiker Guy, posing atop Flag Hill, Sunol Regional Park. Howdy!!

Looking west from the approach to Flag Hill toward Maguire Peaks.

From Flag Hill looking directly down upon the Sunol Visitors Center. Oh, the vertigo!!

A not-too-atypical juxtaposition of rock, tree, meadow and sky.

The pastoral splendor of High Valley Camp from above. I love this wide-open country.

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April may soon be drawing to a close, but there’s still time to explore and enjoy Sunol Wilderness before the heat of summer turns those East Bay hills from green to gold. Meanwhile, the wildflowers are putting on quite a show as I write these words, and they’re waiting to greet you and your camera.* You need to put on your boots, go to Sunol, and squander some precious time.**

~winehiker

*For an even better visual treat, I recommend viewing this fine photoset from my friend and hiking companion Yi Ding, who was along on this adventure.

**If you’d like me to accompany you at Sunol – and if we can arrange it – you’ll find a trail that’s tailored to you as well as learn the names of a number of pretty wildflowers. Plus, I’ll show you where the wine is being poured!