February 10, 2018 - South Shore Trail

Title:  February 10, 2018 - South Shore Trail
Hike Info : Description 

Trail head: South Bay parking lot

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: South Shore Trail/Blue Oak Trail

Destination: Winchell Cove

Distance:  3.32 miles

Start Time: 10:34

End Time:     12:04

Travel Time:  1:29 (2.31 mph)

Moving Time:   1:09 (2.98 mph)

Elevation Rise:  298'

Descent: 293‘

Maximum Elevation: 623'

GPS Tracks

Description:

This is Sherri’s and mine third time to do this hike in the last month (Jan 10th and 15th-if you want to see pictures, that may be the better place to look). Why you might ask? It is short, close to Fresno, and pretty level. So it is a good way to start our California Classic Half Marathon training. We have set up our training schedule on our hiking meetup group’s events. So we are joined by nine other people, most of whom we have not met before.

We meet in Fresno. Sherri is sick, recovering from the flu, so we are not wild about having others in our car.Others want to drive themselves, so it is a car per unit rather than a car pool. But that is OK since Millerton State Park is only 15 miles away. We arrive and are able to start hiking around 10:30. This is good since some people need to be back a bit earlier.

The weather is good, maybe in the mid-60’s. I shed my long-sleeve shirt and give a short talk before leading the charge along the trail. Early on I find my stride and start in at close to a 3 mph pace. This is really good for me as lately, even 2 mph has been pushing me. Wonder if I can keep this up. But Bill is right there behind me and we talk. So my lungs must be cooperating today.

I realized about a quarter mile into the walk that I have forgotten my camera in the car. But the way I am walking, I do not think I would be stopping to take pictures. After 35 minutes, Bill and I reach Winchell Cove, all in all doing well. Bill takes off on the return trip while I wait for the rest, maybe about five minutes after we got there. Sherri brings up the rear.

Is this California Man-Root?

The walk back is the reverse of us coming. Now I have a good pace going and feel comfortable, like I can walk this way for awhile. But I think I am going slightly slower than when we came over. There are three others keeping pace with me-I wonder, am I slowing them down? A couple of places I wish I had my camera as a few flowers are starting to bloom. There may have been some lupine, fiddleneck and a few other really early flowers showing through. Sherri got a picture which I am labeling as California man-root-whatever that may be.

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Coming back in we started meeting other hikers and a couple of bicyclists. But then around noon we get to the parking lot, an hour and a half travel time, but only 70 minutes walking. That is getting pretty close to my goal of going at least 3.3 mph. Now to spread that over 4 hours.

We do not stop on the way home for lunch-with the coughing, it seems a bit better to go straight home, just happy to have walked this at a pretty good time. Now to prepare for next week’s training hike.