Chris Kidd and I co-lead the walk, and were joined by 40 people and half a dozen dogs. We met near the park in Montclair Village, and started by viewing the two large concrete walls nearby on Mountain Boulevard. Many residents don't realize those are left from the days when the Sacramento Northern Railway ran behind the village and a railroad bridge passed over Mountain Boulevard.
Realty Syndicate building
Then it was a short but steep climb up to the railroad trail. This wide, level trail follows the old Sacramento Northern Railway right of way, which makes it ideal for walking and biking—it's part of my bike route home. My grandfather worked for the Sacramento Northern, so it has a personal connection for me as well. Along the trail there are various interpretive signs about local history installed by Eagle scout Daniel Levy.
Sacramento Northern Railway display
A little further up the trail, we learned about the freeway that was never built. CalTrans bought up land in Shepherd Canyon with the plan of building highway 77. It was to be an extension of Park Blvd., and would run up the canyon and connect highway 13 with Contra Costa county (much as highway 24 does just two miles north). Fortunately, community activists argued against the plan, and the area was preserved. In 1972, assembly member Ken Meade officially protected the area with AB561. After the downfall of the freeway plan, the Shepherd Canyon Corridor Plan was shaped by volunteers, and now guides the preservation of the canyon.
stairs up to Gaspar
From there, Chris took the lead, and we headed up Thornhill Drive along the upper reaches of Temescal Creek. Geographically, we'd crossed over from the Sausal Creek watershed which goes through East Oakland, to the Temescal Creek watershed which goes through Oakland and meets the bay in Emeryville. Yet another way of looking at the question of where is East Oakland?
steep stairs!
Some of the stairs in this part of the walk I'd found while test-walking routes for Secret Stairs of the East Bay. We didn't climb all the way to the top, but we pointed out an even steeper set of stairs that continued up the hill. While most of us then headed back down towards Thornhill, a few intrepid souls continued on up the stairs. That's dedication!
All in all, another great walk. Thanks to everyone who turned out for it. Special thanks to Chris Kidd for co-leading the walk; Bob and Myra Redman for helping test the walk route; and Myra Redman and Katarina Stenstedt for taking pictures during the walk.
More pictures:
More reading:
The books mentioned during the walk are:
Links to more reading:
- Daniel Levy's Sacramento Northern page
- Friends of the Montclair RR Trail
- Western Railroad Museum
- Sacramento Northern on Wikipedia
- a brief history of the Sacramento Northern
View our route on Google Maps.
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