A Strait, Some Bridges, and John Muir

November 27-29, 2015

Trails and maps used on this leg:

http://www.ridgetrail.org/vallejo-benicia-buffer

http://www.ridgetrail.org/vallejo-benicia-waterfront

http://www.ridgetrail.org/al-zampa-memorial-bridge

http://www.ridgetrail.org/benicia-martinez-bridge

http://www.ridgetrail.org/martinez-city-streets-to-carquinez-strait-regional-shoreline

http://www.ridgetrail.org/mount-wanda-trail

We started this 3-day walk as the sun set on Friday evening. With our flashlights, we charged up the ridge that connects Vallejo and Benicia, and our view over the entire early-nighttime San Francisco Bay was replete with deep, shiny purple, dark blue, and black. This is clearly a great trail, and someday we'll walk it again when the sun's up.

Mt Diablo from Hulet Hornbeck Trail, Martinez

The next morning, we began our bridge-filled day with a view of these two! In 1927, the first major bridge that crossed the San Francisco Bay was built here across the Carquinez Strait, connecting Vallejo with Crockett. In 1958, the cantilever bridge pictured below (left) was built to accommodate eastbound traffic, and it is nearly identical to the 1927 bridge. In 2003, the new suspension bridge opened, and the original 1927 span was demolished a few years later. The new bridge was named after bridge worker Al Zampa (1905-2000), who famously survived a fall while working on the Golden Gate Bridge. Here is a short interview with Zampa.

Al Zampa Memorial Bridge (right)

Benicia waterfront

The Bay Area Ridge Trail to Martinez

Heading up Mt. Wanda early Sunday morning

We are looking forward to more walks in the East Bay this winter.
Do you want to join us?

More photos are here!