After spending the day looking for Brad Dozier, I had to return to the Bay Area
for a family wedding and associated activities. Between the wedding Friday
afternoon/evening and a family get together Sunday afternoon, I had the
morning to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. The nearest unclimbed thing
I could find near San Ramon where I'd spent the night was Dinosaur Ridge, a
minor summit with insufficient prominence (and an unofficial name) to make it
on LoJ, in the
hills above San Leandro. I grabbed a GPX track off peakbagger.com and headed
up to the residential neighborhood where it starts. The route is entirely open
to the public and follows a ridgeline north separating the San Leandro Creek
and Cull Creek drainages. It was a surprisingly enjoyable hike. Once past the
water tank at the edge of the residential area, there are almost no homes to
be seen along the scenic ridgeline. Most of the land on either side is EBMUD
property, with almost no development. There were a pair of horses kept
untethered just north of the water tank, pretty tame and obviously
used to people walking by. After about 2mi of hiking through lovely oak
woodlands, the summit of Dinosaur Ridge is
reached, a nice little view spot from which to take in scenes around the
undeveloped portion of the East Bay. It was an exceptionally clear day and
San Francisco was plainly seen about 25mi to the west. Thanks to David Sanger
for the use of his GPX track.
