May 5, 2004

This was a long, flat hike along the paved trail along Alameda Creek to San Francisco Bay. The hike was just over 12 miles. The weather was nice - with a nice breeze to keep us cool.  

We passed familiar ground midway through the hike when we passed the DUST Trail, a trail we hiked about a week earlier. This trail had many geese and ducks, including babies, all along the way. Of course we saw pelicans, herons, egrets, kites, and gulls near the DUST trail.

The last couple of miles of the trail are along dikes in the salt flats along San Francisco Bay. From the trail we could see San Francisco skyline, San Mateo and Dumbarton Bridges, and many of the cities lining the bay.

As we returned to the trailhead where we parked, Marcia found a nest of rather large snakes playing in the sun. We saw at least 6 snakes that were 3 feet long. Eventually most of them disappeared into holes in the grass near the parking lot.