Animals and Nature

Our First Hike up to the UCR Big “C”

December 1, 2012 by Ole 3 Comments

Earlier this year we hiked up to the giant “M” that overlooks Moreno Valley on Box Springs Mountain. Last weekend we hiked up to the big UCR “C” that overlooks UCR and Riverside (also on Box Springs Mountain).

The trail is defined on Google maps, so just search for “The Big “C” Trail, 92507″ on maps.google.com if you are interested in finding the trail. If you decide to hike to the “C”, please be careful since you have to walk over an active railroad line.

Update 10/14/2015… Please see this warning from the city and university posted to Facebook on 10/13/2015 that fast-moving Metrolink trains will begin running on these tracks:

Also, make sure you bring enough water.

I think our hike up to the “M” was longer, but I remember it being a gradual climb with a few steep parts. The “C” hike seemed to be steeper and more challenging, or maybe I’m just in worse shape now than I was when we hiked up to the “M”. My kids had no problem making it up to the “C”, so that should probably tell me something. Actually, I saw a few younger and fitter people hiking up the trail on our way down who were doing their own share of huffing and puffing, so I don’t feel too bad.

The “C”, along with many of the rocks on the way up, is covered with graffiti. There was some trash, but not as much as I expected considering this is probably a place that some college students visit for extracurricular activities (if I had gone to college at UCR, I would have spent time up there). Of course, no trash would be better.

Here is an old picture of the “C” without the graffiti from UCR’s website:

The view is definitely worth the climb.

My size thirteens on the “C”…

A little history about the “C” from UCR’s website (retrieved 11/30/12):

August, 1955
The big “C” on Box Springs Mountain is made with cement and equipment donated by the E.L. Yeager Construction Co. Surveying work is done by students. At 132 feet long, it is the largest concrete block letter on record.

Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond. #hikeriverside

First Hike up to the Giant “M”

March 2, 2012 by Ole Leave a Comment

Have you ever thought about climbing up to the big “M” on Box Springs Mountain? We have, and we finally did it last weekend.

If you don’t know what I’m writing about, the big “M” overlooks Moreno Valley and is visible from the 215 and 60 freeways as you pass by or through Moreno Valley.

I didn’t have any idea where to start our hike so I checked out the area around the “M” on Google maps. I noticed a parking lot off Hidden Springs Dr. (near Pigeon Pass Rd.), which turned out to be for the Box Springs Mountain Park. There is a trail map at the park (which someone decided to draw pictures on), but it didn’t help us too much so I am glad that I looked at the aerial photos first.

After our hike, I visited Riverside County’s rivcoparks.org website, which has a map of the various trails on Box Springs Mountain. We followed the “M” Trail (the red line), which the rivcoparks.org website lists as difficult.

Although we didn’t see many people on the trail, we did see a range of people including parents with kids, young adults with dogs, and a few elder statesmen who left us in the dust.

Once we reached the “M”, the view was great, although it was a bit of a hazy day.

The “M” is so large that I couldn’t fit it all into the frame when I was standing just slightly downhill from it.

You can’t see it too well in this picture, but there is quite a bit of graffiti on the “M”. I wonder if people would continue to deface the “M” if they knew how much time, effort and money volunteers have contributed to maintain the “M” since it was originally constructed in the mid-1960s. Unfortunately, I believe the answer is that some people still would.

If you take the “M” trail, bring enough water to last you to the “M” and back. Other than the drinking fountain at the bottom of the mountain, there is no water on the trail.

There are some challenging spots, especially if you choose to take some of the straight up paths rather than the zigzag paths. We hiked the trail in running shoes, but we might buy hiking boots for our next hike to handle the slippery and steep parts of the trail better. Unlike Mt. Rubidoux, the trail leading up to the “M” is all dirt and rock.

Next time we visit Box Springs Mountain, we will try to find out how to reach the big “C” that overlooks UCR.

Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond. #hikeriverside

Riverwalk Bark Park, Riverside

December 3, 2011 by Ole 4 Comments

We love dogs. Instead of taking our two dogs for their daily walk yesterday, we took them to the Riverwalk Bark Park at the corner of Pierce Street and Riverwalk in Riverside.

We have brought our dogs here to play about 5 times so far, and they love it every time. There are separate fenced areas for big dogs and little dogs, and there is also an agility course.

There is seating for the humans and lights for when it gets dark since the park is open until 9 pm. In addition to plenty of grass, the dogs get some shaded areas for hot days and even their own drinking fountain/bowl.

This is the only dog park I’ve ever been to so I can’t compare it to others, but it is a nice place to bring your dog(s).

Riverside Bark Park

Pierce Street / Riverwalk Parkway

Riverside, CA

New Parking Restrictions Near Mt. Rubidoux

May 14, 2011 by Ole 7 Comments

We enjoy visiting Mt. Rubidoux and hiking its many trails. We haven’t had any problems finding parking, but that might change due to a recent decision by the Riverside City Council to add new parking restrictions.

From the City Council and Redevelopment Agency Regular and Special Meeting Minutes for 5/10/11:

PREFERENTIAL PARKING ZONES – MT. RUBIDOUX – RESOLUTION
Following discussion, the City Council (1) adopted a resolution to establish a “No Parking Any Time, except for residents with permits” Zone […]

Where are the preferential parking zones?

From Resolution No. 22213 (click for larger image):

From a Public Works Department memo dated 5/10/2011 (click for a larger image):

Why did the City take this action?

From Resolution No. 22213:

WHEREAS, the staff received a petition from seventy-eight (78%) of residents on designated portions of University Avenue, Ninth Street, Tenth Street, Eleventh Street, Redwood Drive, Glenwood Drive, Mt. Rubidoux Drive and Loring Drive, requesting establishment of preferential parking zones; […]

Happy Hiking!… if you can find a place to park.

First Hike up Mount Rubidoux

August 9, 2010 by Ole Leave a Comment

Our family went on our first hike up Mount Rubidoux on Saturday. Actually, the main trails that lead you up and down the hill are paved, so it was more like a steep walk.

There are two main trails, the “Up Road” and the “Down Road”. According to the Friends of Mt. Rubidoux website, the Up Road is 2.25 miles long and the Down Road is 1.25 miles long.

We parked at the bottom of the Down Road on Glenwood Dr. and started making our way up toward the top. This was a completely unplanned trip for us, so four of us ended up making the trek in flip-flops. I recommend wearing shoes. I also recommend bringing water since the only water fountains we found were at the bottom.

Even on a somewhat hazy day, the views at the top were worth the hike. However, I was disappointed that the cross at the top of the hill was defaced by some graffiti. Not a lot, but it looks like the cross has been repainted many times to combat the taggers.

Taggers: Is nothing sacred? Shouldn’t a cross be off limits?

Aside from the graffiti and the tasteless (in my opinion) karaoke fliers someone left at the base of the cross, Serra Cross is a beautiful sight.

We will go back.

——————-

Update: 08/16/2010

An interesting article from pe.com: “Permit parking sought by residents near Mount Rubidoux”

Looking for more hiking spots in and around the Inland Empire? Check out our list of Places to Hike in Riverside and Beyond.

Click on the thumbnails below to view full-size images:

Sights: Turkey Vultures at Lake Mathews Dam

July 31, 2010 by Ole 3 Comments

We saw these turkey vultures flying over Lake Mathews Dam a few days ago. My wife had her camera with her so we decided to stop and take a few pictures.

We were curious about the bird with the wing tag so I consulted google and found a conservation site that had pictures of other turkey vultures tagged with white wing tags. I eventually found out that this bird was tagged in the summer of 2009 either at Irvine Lake in Orange County or at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area.

I also found a site operated by the U.S. Geological Survey that lets you report sightings of tagged birds. So if you see a tagged bird, visit www.reportband.gov/.