Your dusty tennis shoes pound Tilden Park’s water-chiseled, winding Wildcat Creek Trail. Your heart thumps fiercely in your chest, struggling to keep pace. Music from your iPod blares into your eardrums. Your lungs heave, your eyes focus on the next hill.
But then — wait, is that a cow?
Fixing your gaze on a large brown head and a muscular, sluggish body, you cautiously pull out your headphones and approach the awestruck beast. Separated by four measly strands of wire fencing, you and the cow lock eyes. After a few seconds, your uncompetitive adversary forfeits the staring match and resumes feeding on her savory cellulosic dinner.
Flanked by Tilden’s green hillsides, you notice the silence. Besides the lengthy grass swishing in the wind, the cow’s munching is literally the only thing you can hear. No chattering classmates. No car engines. None of that “perpetual bass” that you can hear at all hours on frat row. No clicking of keys — just absolute, all-consuming silence. Imbibing the tranquility, you tuck away your earbuds for a few miles.
In a lot of ways, running is like life at Cal. Delicately balancing intense loads of classes, jobs, clubs, exercise, lunches with friends, Saturday night parties and, if we’re lucky, a hobby. This careful cramming is both thrilling and exhausting. Even when we’re nodding off in physics because of sleep deprivation, we still make time for our social lives and the activities that bring us joy.
But sometimes you need silence. Just for an hour or two, you need to escape the midterm stress, the conversations with friends, the family conflicts, the relationship issues and the ever-lingering essay. Sometimes, solitude in a quiet place is enough to restore your patience and put your life’s intricacies in perspective. Especially on a calm, sunny weekday, Tilden Park’s Wildcat Creek Trail is the perfect haven from intense days at Cal.
The Reward:
The Wildcat Creek Trail is a mildly hilly, spacious trail that extends from Tilden to Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. Nestled between sloping green hillsides, this winding dirt path is perfect for a relaxing run or hike. Since the trail begins at Tilden Park’s Little Farm, animal lovers usually pet the cows and goats for good luck before embarking on their adventures. Our route also skirts the secluded, placid waters of Jewel Lake, and if you’re lucky, you can stand feet away from cows after hiking two miles into the canyon.
The Trek:
Though this trail stretches for more than five miles and intersects with a host of other exciting paths, we have only tested the first four miles of Wildcat Creek Trail. We recommend this out and back route. Since Tilden Park is seated at the top of the Berkeley Hills, driving or taking the bus here are your least painful options. Beginning from the Little Farm and the Education Center at the base of Canon Drive, follow the wide, flat path labeled “Wildcat Canyon.” Jewel Lake lies to the left about a quarter mile from the trailhead. You’ll see a few trails branching from our route, but the Wildcat Creek Trail is pretty easy to follow. Run, hike or mountain bike as long as you’d like, and say hi to the cows for us!
Contact Katherine Velicki at [email protected]