9Rockville Hills - Feb. '24

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On Monday, February 12, eight walkers met in Davis & then drove to Rockville Hills Regional Park in Fairfield.

Attendees were Frank, Kathy, Surjit & Raj, Rick, Jean, Maryam, and me. All of us have been here before, but this time we took a loop new to all, towards the southwest boundaries of the Park, where terrain varied & spring grass made the hills seem magical.   

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again (with some exceptions). 

	start of the walk		on a gradual climb (see note 1)		winter light/spring grass
		main trail junction		big oak at a small lake
	Oaks were everywhere		group photo 1		gp 2
		a high point, looking east into winter haze		February light
	SW part of the park		Elkhorn Peak to the west, at 1,332 ft.		< see note 2 >

note 1 - if you zoom in, you can see a small rock outcropping, across the way, and, a well-defined single-track trail through the woods, at mid-distance.  

note 2 - These two cow photos are from a walk here in spring '19.

We came upon a short loop trail sign showing a picnic table, where we stopped for lunch. Travel plans of the group, over the next year or so, became the main topic, and some of us had tales to tell of last year's outings.    

Once back on the trail we completed the southern part of the Lake Trails Loop (ref. AllTrails) and took the shorter of two return paths back to the trailhead. 

	Frank & Surjit		lopsided Oak		lunch photo by Surjit
						heading north & uphill
	Frank & Surjit		nearing the big lake		juvenile great blue heron, an amazing sight
		Jean & Raj in spring grass		shooting stars

Thanks to a substantial storm season, spring grass was the scenic highlight of the day. It was also a great temperature for hill-walking. We walked at least 5 miles, and had about 650 ft. of gain.  

Postscript - Here's a photo of Rich B. taken here, one year ago, when he lead a hike that many of us attended. 

Rockville Hills in Feb '23

About Rich - after leading an ever-changing group of weekend hikers for more than twenty-five years, Rich B. recently retired from hiking and now he enjoys life at home with Linda the Roseville or Auburn area.   

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Final notes - on the drive back we exited at North Texas Rd. (in Fairfield) to try Favelas Mexican Grille, where we had a beer & great food. The aroma of grilled onions & peppers added ambience & you could watch the chef(s) preparing your meal. Food came out quickly and my veggie burrito was great.

Everyone seemed to enjoyed the place, which has an easy off the freeway & back on aspect, well-placed.  

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