Rockville Hills - Feb. '24

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On Monday, February 12, eight of us met in Davis & drove to Rockville Hills Regional Park, in Fairfield. Attendees were Frank, Kathy, Surjit & Raj, Rick, Jean, Maryam, and me.

Most of us have been here many times before, so this time we tried a loop new to all, heading towards the southwest boundaries of the Park, where we saw large homes with incredible views.

Spring grass made the rolling 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 photos
		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 Spring '19 visit. The farm terrain behind the cow is classic California scenery.....hills with Oaks.  

We came upon a sign indicating a short loop type trail ahead with a picnic table, and soon stopped for lunch.

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,  so spring is here

Thanks to a substantial storm season, spring grass was the scenic highlight of the day. It was also a great temperature for being out hill-walking !

We walked at least 5 miles, with around 650 ft. of gain.  

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

Rockville Hills in Feb '23

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

As I acknowledge on my general info page, 'my photo cupboard would be nearly bare', if not for Rich's monthly hikes over a long period. My website began in Oct. 2001 and the initial posting was from a hike to Winnemucca Lake, with 15 hikers, from Carson Pass. 

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Postscript - On the drive NE on I-80, we exited after 5 minutes, at North Texas Rd. to try Favelas Mexican Grille, where we enjoyed a cold beer & great food. You could watch the cook making your order, and, a constant aroma of grilled onions & peppers added to the ambience.. It was uncrowded (at 3 pm) and food came out quickly. 

In addition, this place has an easy off-the-freeway & back-on aspect, well-placed (on the east side of I-80).

note - there is a 2nd Favelas restaurant in Fairfield, a mile away & more upscale & expensive, on the west side of I-80 (and not related).

Yes, we accomplished a good hike and food day & thanks to all attendees.

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