Celebrate 20 years of the Bay Area Ridge Trail with a 5-day Hike from Castro Valley to Hercules/Martinez

Annual Tilden Wildcat Horsemen's Benefit Ride & Hike, September 2-7

To honor the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council's 20th Anniversary, Tilden Wildcat and Metropolitan Horseman's Associations are again inviting hikers to join the annual East Bay Hills Trails Benefit Horseback Ride, which has raised $105,000 for the trails in the last seven years. 

Our 2nd Annual Hike is in memory of Ron Brown

This second annual through-hike is dedicated to the memory of Ron Brown, who championed the Ridge Trail as a Ridge Trail Board member, as early staff member, and as a super volunteer, who in his final year was crucial in organizing last year's hike.

Details: Hikers will cover 45 miles of the Ridge Trail and about 15 additional miles nearby, with opportunities for as many extra miles as you care to handle! The hike is fully supported, with meals and campsites included, and gear shuttled between campsites.

We will offer BART pick up at the start and drop off at the end of the ride, but it will also be possible to coordinate vehicle shuttles from camp to camp.

For pictures from last year's hike, please see the Ridge Trail Council's Facebook page. For more information on the equestrian ride, see the Tilden Wildcat Horsemen's Association website.

Trails and Camps: You will enjoy varied terrain, and the stunning views for which the Bay Area is famous.

Hikers and horses will share trail primarily on 2 days only as the equestrians will largely follow a different route. This year's ride for the first time will be the East Bay Hills and Water ride, with a ride from each camp to a local lake or reservoir. Riders will get to ride from Bort Meadow to Lake Chabot, from Sequoia Arena to Upper San Leandro Reservoir, and from the Es Anderson Equestrian Camp in Tilden Park to San Pablo Reservoir.

Daily hike mileage will range between 10 and 15 miles. The hike route includes Cull Canyon Regional Preserve in the South, through EBMUD watershed, Anthony Chabot and Redwood Regional Parks, Huckleberry and Sibley Regional Preserves, across EMBUD watershed high above the Caldecott Tunnel to Tilden and Wildcat Regional Parks, Eagle’s Nest Trail, Kennedy Grove Recreation Area, Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve, the Pinole Watershed and finishes on the Muir Heritage Land Trust's Fernandez Ranch near Hercules/Martinez.  The Fernandez Ranch Ridge Trail is NEW Ridge Trail, partially built on June 6th for National Trails Day.  This property is will NOT be open to the public until 2010, so this is your opportunity to see it early!

Camp opens at Bort Meadow in Anthony Chabot Regional Park Tuesday, the day before the hike starts. On Thursday we move to Sequoia Arena in Joaquin Miller Park and on Saturday to the Es Anderson Equestrian Camp in Tilden Park. Friday's hike is an optional 10-mile loop hike near Redwood Park.

Food and Evening Entertainment: Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided for all. We will move your tents, sleeping bags and other gear to each new camp. Swimming and showers will be available very close to camp most nights. Presentations will include an East Bay focused talk by EBRPD naturalist Mike Moran, an exciting slide show on through-hiking the John Muir Trail, astronomy at the Chabot Space and Science Center and an evening workshop on Bay Area trails.

Costs/Benefits: This event benefits the Bay Area Ridge Trail and other East Bay trail projects. The $50/day (or $45/day for all 5 days) fee includes camping, food, and entertainment. For visitors, dinner in camp will be $15/night. We encourage you to solicit pledges from friends, neighbors and other trail supporters, but this is optional. We encourage participants to bring raffle items for this year's raffle.

Volunteers: If you cannot hike, join us to volunteer and help with the important tasks that will make this event happen.

Camp Rules: We will enforce restrictions on generators after dark.

Reserve Now for this Popular Event! Space is limited to 75 participants, per day.  

For more information, contact:
Morris Older: 925.254.8943, ebhillsride@comcast.net
Joel Gartland: 415.561.2595, volunteer@ridgetrail.org

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