The Absolutely Best Rainy-day Hike

Walking in the rain isn't for everyone. Then again, many hikers I've met just never thought about trying. Once they've headed out on trail in wet weather, many people come to realize it can be an incredibly special adventure.
If you've done it a few times, you've learned that there isn't really any 'bad' weather, only 'bad' gear. When you're prepared with the right clothes, shoes and accessories - so your body stays comfortably dry and warm - you can relax into the buffet of heightened sensory experiences Nature has in store for you. Notice how clean the air is; smell the scent of trees, shrubs and grasses(wildflowers in the Spring)mixed with the heady smell of fresh dirt; hear the raindrops on the ground and hitting your jacket, along with the huge drops that will roll off of leaves overhead; listen for the occasional bird call, frog croak, or trees talking to you on the wind.
Ok, we can also plan to make a hike as comfortable as possible in any weather, by thinking about the terrain and environment. When it rains in the Bay Area, one of the best places to hike is Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park.
Many of the trails in Redwood Regional are through thick groves of the towering eponymous trees. This has the dual effects of sheltering you from rainfall and keeping the trails from becoming too muddy(incidentally, when mid-summer temps are unbearable for hiking other trails, you can plan a route that keeps you relatively cool).
So Redwood Regional is my go-to for a day hike when weather sits at the ends of the Bay Area spectrum.
For this hike, we'll begin at the Skyline Staging Area on Skyline Blvd. in Oakland. Beginning on the West Ridge Trail, then descending into a lush canyon on Tres Sendas Trail. Here, we're definitely in the trees! Tres Sendas takes us to French Trail, which we take to hook up with the Redwood Peak Trail. After hitting the Peak, we continue back down to West Ridge, descend back into the canyon on Chown, reconnect to French and take it back to the staging area.
This is a 7.5 mile loop with about 1200 feet of gain. It's considered moderately challenging, with a couple of brief, steep climbs, and then the gradual ascent out of the canyon. The 4 hour estimate is assuming we can average close to 2mph over the length of the hike.
If you're interested in stepping out, but worried about being uncomfortable with either the weather or the pace/elevation, remember that we move as a group, nobody gets left behind, and we can adjust as needed(another advantage to hiking in Redwood: plenty of bail-out options!).
The West Ridge Trailhead is on the east side of the parking lot, near the water spigot. I'll be wearing a blue Outdoor Research shell, and have a blue Osprey daypack(if it's actively raining, my pack will have a bright green rain cover over it). We need to have boots on trail by 9:10am.
If you haven't done a lot of hiking and have any questions, please message me! If you hike frequently, this may seem like a slow pace for you, but I'm trying to make it doable for a range of abilities. We can always pick up the pace if everyone is in agreement.
I hope to see you on Sunday for a truly enjoyable outing.