Category Archives: Nature

Trail Rehabilition Star Volunteer

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Mary Nesbitt was honored today as a “Star Volunteer” at the Sonoma Valley Fund’s Annual Celebration of Volunteers. Mary was vital for the Trail Rehabilitation Project (starting summer 2018), securing $80,000 in project funding by identifying appropriate sources and writing grant proposals. She also has designed communications to inform the public, and has been a key player in meetings with the City of Sonoma and interested parties. She is part of the Sonoma Overlook Stewards, an all–volunteer organization that is dedicated to maintaining the Overlook Trail and providing educational opportunities for children and adults in Sonoma Valley.

Thank you Mary, for all you do for our beloved trail.

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Jeni NIchols, Mary Nesbitt, and Joanna Kemper

Baby, it’s Great Outside!

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Hiking the Overlook is great at any time of year, but winter can be particularly rewarding, especially this year! When other parts of the country are muffled in deep snow and freezing temperatures, the Sonoma County trekker can take to the trails in relative comfort and ease. This year, after the fires, the green grass blanketing the ground gives us all a great breath of hope and renewal. Wintertime hiking is a joy and offers some unique benefits:
  • You’ll see less people and more wildlife
  • Mosquitos and other bugs are nowhere to be found
  • Rattlesnakes are still hibernating
  • Less people=less noise. Enjoy the quiet peacefulness
  • Hot food and warm drinks taste even better after a cold weather hike
  • Hike the trail on a sunny winter day and you will instantly feel the happy effects of endorphins as they kick in!
If you haven’t been up the trail lately, now is the perfect time to shake off those solstice doldrums and take advantage of our Northern California winter. You’ll be glad you did! winter hike

The Movies and Hiking

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While hiking the Overlook trail, I’ve been thinking about movies that I enjoyed that had hiking as the central plot.

IMG_3111Wild is a story of an inexperienced hiker who decides to hike solo the 1,100 mile Pacific Crest Trail. She wanted to drive out her demons after the death of her mother and her own addiction. With sheer determination –and some help from REI replacing hiking boots—she made the entire distance and experienced what many hikers know—get out in nature and your problems diminish. I may not be driving out demons but every time I go on a hike I feel better afterwards. Being out in the great outdoors lifts my spirits.

A Walk in the Woods is a tale of two older friends who challenge themselves to hike the legendary Appalachian Trail. They aren’t really tackling any weighty issues—the movie is really the story of two grumpy old men dealing with mishaps, sharing confidences (some of them pretty racy!) and building a bond between them while hiking. I find that walking with a friend is comforting and fun and this movie reminded me of how hiking with another person can create a strong bond with your hiking buddy.

There are many movies that have hiking as part of the plot, I’m much more aware of them since I’ve become a hiker. I’m even reflecting on hiking that may not be central to the plot –think Julie Andrews hiking with the seven Von Trap family members out of Austria to safety at the end of the movie Sound of Music, a multiple Academy Award winner.
What movies have you watched lately that made you think, “Forget sitting here watching a movie, I’m going outdoors to hike!”

Montini Invasive Species Kept at Bay!

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The Invasive species removal day was a huge success for both Montini Preserve and the Overlook Trail. In total, 10 crew and volunteers came out to the event, including my Enviroleader Teen crew members and veteran Volunteer Roy Tennant.

The group met up at the Montini Water Tanks and dispersed into 3 smaller teams, each equipped with their heavy-duty trash bags as well as a handheld GPS device. In addition to pulling up primarily Yellow Star Thistle, each group documented the location and approximate size of the outbreaks on their digital way points. This information is being transferred to the Sonoma Ecology Center’s Geographical Information staff to be documented and mapped. This is crucial baseline measurement to determine if/and where we are making progress on fighting back the noxious plants from the Preserve. “We are depleting the seed bank each season and things will get easier and easier from here on in until complete eradication”said Roy.

Additionally, some of the other invasive plants like Harding Grass have already gone to seed this season but the mapping will give our staff and volunteer crew a jump on locations for 2017 that can be noted on the map below.

Montini Trail Map Pest Plant Locations

The primary locations that we dedicated our weeding towards was the rip-rap culvert adjacent to the Water Tanks fire road, the meadow at the Intersection of Spotted Fawn and Rattlesnake Cutoff and some really bad meadows along Norrbom Road on the cusp of both Montini and Overlook.
As Roy put it, “I think it is safe to say that the YST on Montini is virtually gone (this year)…This also means that for the second season running we will have completely eradicated it.”

A huge thank you goes out to Roy for his ongoing efforts in weed management. Your quietly diligent efforts at fighting back Yellow Star Thistle at the Montini and Overlook properties for the benefit of both hikers and habitat should not go unnoticed. A thank you to Joanna for getting the word out and supporting the Montini Preserve Volunteer efforts.

Look for other outreach events at the Montini Preserve coming later this fall!

 

 

No Dogs, Please, It’s the Law

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I’m up on the Montini Preserve and Sonoma Overlook Trail almost every day and I see new dog leavings frequently. So I think this video I shot last year deserves another watch. Remember that it is a City ordinance that carries a $100 fine for the first infraction. The fine ratchets up with subsequent infractions. So not only is it sensible to obey the law, it can save you money too. If you happen to be a scofflaw who ignores all of this and allows your dog to do its business on the trail, then at least pick it up — or at the very least take a stick and fling it off the trail. I and plenty of other dog owners do not take our dogs on the trails. You should do the same.