|
>A dream of green stretched out at our feet. We stood midway up the hillside, pausing to catch a breath and to soak in the dampness. It was midwinter, and coming as we did from the bare-branched, gray-thorned neighborhoods of the Nevada high desert, we were enthralled by the green. Captivated. Held. In love. We embraced the green. We let our eyes meander here and there through the countless shades of green, from lime to crayon green to forest, to deep, to dark, to bright and back. Green, green green, fed our thirsty eyes, from Cedar, Bayleaf, Buckeye, Toyon and Manzanita trees up close to hillsides so far in the distance that they grew misty. Hiking Napa We were in Napa for a weekend of wineries and, being the walkers that we are, immediately found a hiking trail.
 The wineries could wait while we took a moment to refresh our dry, winter spirits. We pulled over at the Skyline Wilderness Park, a 900-acre park with horseback trails, hiking, bike trails, even a disc golf course, plus a native habitat garden.
Small, a locals favorite, The Skyline Wilderness Park is apparently run by a group of local citizens who took on the project in order to preserve the wilderness for all of us. (Read more about the Skyline Wilderness Park citizens here.) Thank you, thank you, thank you, Skyline Wilderness Park citizens! This is the sort of green belt that makes a hiking lady want to fall on her knees and thank her foremothers for preserving these oases that could so easily become condo associations. Experiencing Skyline Wilderness Park
As you enter the parking lot (well worth the $5 parking fee), the folks there will tell you that you might just see deer and a wild turkey or two as you wander the trails. If you’re like me, your first reaction is, sure. I’ll count on that! But here’s the news: you will see deer. We watched a family nibble quietly amongst the trees, and we ran across a flock of wild turkeys on the Buckeye Trail, just beyond the cutoff from the Skyline trail. There’s something about a turkey in the wild. Makes you ponder the Thanksgiving turkeys we’ve created – mutants, really, in the world of real creatures. The wild guys we watched were no butterballs. They strutted, owning the land on which they walked. Gobbling the whole way. We followed the Skyline Trail to an overlook. Spectacular. On one side of us was a view that stretched to the San Pablo Bay. On the other, green hillsides. And as we followed the path further on this misty but not rainy day, we met up with a family of deer. “Ooh, look look,” I whispered, because you do whisper and find yourself talking in See Jane Run sentences when you come across a wild creature in the forest. “Oooh. Look.” We stopped. Watched. The deer nibbled, saw us and paused. Nibbled some more. The locals use these Skyline Wilderness Park paths a lot. We passed a few out for exercise walks and a couple heading off toward the separate bike trails, as well as a couple of workers having a mid-day picnic. We visitors come to envy them there green valley their forest walk, maybe eve their wine culture, which we did, indeed, get back to enjoy in due time. How to get there:
Skyline Wilderness Park
2201 Imola Avenue
Napa, CA 707-252-0481
|
Our Hiking Stories 
Comments