* I Rate this as one of the *"Best First Hikes" in the Bay Area !
Flag Hill
I rate Flag hill in Sunol as one of the best first hikes in the bay area.
It's great for novices.
If someone is in reasonable condition but has never hiked, they can do it.
If it's not foggy, you can see your goal right above you when you first pull into the parking lot.
At under 4 miles round-trip, it's short enough for a novice to enjoy.
At about 1,000' it's tall enough for them to get a real workout, and when you get to the top it's a beatutful view.
You can even see where you parked.
They know they've accomplished something.
And that sense of accomplishment is real.
It took a lot of work to get here.
Take two liters of water with you.
Better too much than not enough.
It's great for novices.
If someone is in reasonable condition but has never hiked, they can do it.
If it's not foggy, you can see your goal right above you when you first pull into the parking lot.
At under 4 miles round-trip, it's short enough for a novice to enjoy.
At about 1,000' it's tall enough for them to get a real workout, and when you get to the top it's a beatutful view.
You can even see where you parked.
They know they've accomplished something.
And that sense of accomplishment is real.
It took a lot of work to get here.
Take two liters of water with you.
Better too much than not enough.
Here's Doug when we are about halfway up.
That rock cluster up there is where we're going.
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That rock cluster up there is where we're going.
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Sometimes it's shrouded in fog
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2015-1-18-56
That's the parking lot we parked in down there.
It's hidden in the fog.
I'm just getting above that fog this trip.
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It's hidden in the fog.
I'm just getting above that fog this trip.
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Other trips there may be no fog at all.
We are up top looking down at where we started.
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We are up top looking down at where we started.
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Off in the distance you can see Mission Peak in Fremont.
It's that tower in the middle of the photograph.
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It's that tower in the middle of the photograph.
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There's the peak.
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2015-1-18-76
Fog's getting a little thinner down there.
You can almost see my car.
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You can almost see my car.
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The Flag HIll marker at the top.
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And if you turn around you see the rock outcropping
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If you want to do a loop trail instead of an up-and-back, it's a little longer but quite nice.
That farmhouse down there is actually a Hostel you can stay at, (although I never have.)
Past it, back to the left around that first curve in the path is a Turtle pond.
I guess someone released their pet turtle there and they exploded, (see pics below.)
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That farmhouse down there is actually a Hostel you can stay at, (although I never have.)
Past it, back to the left around that first curve in the path is a Turtle pond.
I guess someone released their pet turtle there and they exploded, (see pics below.)
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We found these when Jerry and I went.
I never heard of them before.
When I say turtles, I mean LOTS of turtles!
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I never heard of them before.
When I say turtles, I mean LOTS of turtles!
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