Coal Creek Open Space Preserve

Coal Creek Open Space Preserve is located just south of Windy Hill Open space preserve. Unlike its popular neighbor, Coal Creek is relatively unknown, one of the main reasons we wanted to explore it further. We started off from Skyline Blvd at Crazy Pete's Road. It was early May, but this part of the mountain was bitterly cold early in the morning, close to freezing. I guess it is called Windy Hill for a reason. Good thing I had all my winter gear and was able to dress appropriately. It did get warmer as we walked down the slope of the mountain; it was only at the very top that it was bitterly cold. Crazy Pete's road winds through a semi-urban setup and Oak woodlands. Due to the persistent fog, the first half of the trail is lush green. As you walk along the trail, Coal Creek crisscrosses the trail, and you even see a couple of small waterfalls next to the trail.

In a few miles, the trail merges with the Old Spanish Trail. At the intersection, we saw this magnificent Oak tree, which I believe was at least 300 years old. This tree was most likely standing in place when the Spanish first came to the Bay Area; it is mind-blowing if you think about it. One of my friends decided to climb the tree and ended up with a bunch of ticks on his arm!

A little further ahead, we were crossing this small pond when we heard a loud, strange noise; it sounded like a snorting cow or bull but very loud. I half expected a cow to break out of the bushes soon. We waited, but nothing came out. "Maybe it's a mountain lion," - one of my friends said. After not seeing anything for a bit longer, although concerned we decided to move on. I did record the sound, though, and after I returned home, I researched and found out bullfrogs made this sound! (Now I know why they are called Bull Frogs). A little further down the trail, we also saw a rattlesnake sunning itself. It scurried away as we got closer. This is not very typical on the peninsula, I haven't seen a lot of snakes in my hikes in the area over the past several years.

I also saw my first Band-tailed pigeon, which is a wild pigeon that is native to the area. It is a beautiful large bird!

Overall this was a very interesting hike with many firsts. However, it is not a very scenic hike, mostly semi-urban, but you are pretty much guaranteed to be the only person on the trail.