Walked the Whole Trail

Two days ago I walked the whole Joe Rodota/ West County Trail from Santa Rosa to Forestville. That was a good 12 mile walk! I didn't expect to log any observations but of course I couldn't help myself. While most of the way there were a lot of non-native plants to be seen and many mysteries, I was surprised that so much was still green and blooming. Stopping in Sebastopol for breakfast and coffee at Coffee Catz was relaxing and I wasn't hungry or ready for another break by Graton so I carried on to Forestville. By then I was happy to celebrate at Backyard where they made me a fresh strawberry lemonade with local fruit and everyone came out to say "hi" to my exhausted pup. I wasn't a fan of the stretch along Highway 116 and especially down Occidental Road right alongside traffic, but after 3/4 miles you're back on a nice trail. My dog was a trooper and trotted the whole way. Next time I would definitely bring binoculars because I really missed out on the bird-watching the whole way. I'll definitely do it again. I left my car in the big dirt parking lot in Forestville and got dropped off at the trail entrance at Hwy 12 and Fulton (the interior parts of the trail in Santa Rosa are a bit sketchy and not so pretty anyway, in my humble opinion). The whole trip took six hours including my leisurely hour-long breakfast/coffee break and several longish chats with other walkers.

Posted on April 22, 2015 02:32 PM by bjoelle