The Stanford Dish hike - those student days!
The Stanford Dish Hike is the most popular hike at the sprawling university campus, not just for the students but also the residents of the area and is called so due to The Dish that was built in 1966 as a radio reflector antenna for the US Department of Defence to study atmosphere. The 150 feet diameter of the dish also makes sure that it's seen far and wide, and tempts you to go up there and explore the hill. While I was a student at Stanford, I hiked up there a few times, but not often enough. Here are some of my lovely memories from the hike...
We were in the US just for a couple of days and university was still shut for the Christmas vacations. It was quite cold, especially because I was coming from the rather warm winters of Ahmedabad, but when someone suggested we try the hike within the university I quickly decided to try it out. A hill within your own university sounded like a cool thing already, and a hike to the dish seemed just like a thing to do on a holiday.
We didn't have a car which made going to the dish an easy task as we didn't have to worry about the parking, which can be tough to get on a sunny weekend. But this was a cold and overcast weekday and there were only a few more people interested in the hill or the dish. In fact most of them seemed like locals who came for the hike almost daily.
With enthusiasm the three of us, Jag, Som and I, started our trek though Som was already shivering due to the cold. The multiple layers of jackets and pullovers didn't do anything to warm her up. But then she always feels cold rather easily, and we conveniently ignored her pleas to postpone the hike to a warmer day :)
The hills looked low and the path looked almost flat, but we were completely wrong in underestimating the hills. Even after half of an hour of walk in cold, the dish was nowhere in sight and it was already sunset. Thought I wanted to walk further, we decided to head back home (or to a warm bar) and come again another time. The recent tales of a wild animals seen at the dish was another factor which convinced us not to become fresh meat from India for these carnivores. As we huddled together in a warm bar later on, we made a pact to come in the morning for the hike, a promise which remained unfulfilled.
A few months later I, however, came to here with another friend (let's call her D) who had just finished at Stanford and started working in Palo Alto. After a cup of coffee in Palo Alto, she offered to show me around the campus a bit more and I happily agreed. We walked around a bit, but the day was way to nice to just walk in the campus and we decided to hike up to The Dish and look at the campus from up there. She had a car and with much difficult we managed to park it at a place where she was sure won't get a parking ticket.
Unlike my earlier trip, it was a busy hike and we had lots of company. There are multiple paths to the dish and we took one which was less crowded as we wanted to talk, and she was keen to tell me many stories form the campus. The hike looked small, but the 6.5 km trail can get a bit tiring and so carrying water is highly recommended. Many hikers don't necessarily come here to walk all the way to The Dish, because it's always there and they have done it often. But it was new to me and so we made a compete trip to The Dish and D also showed me a building which is apparently a secret underground laboratory, though I think it was just one of those legends about the place :)
Our day ended with another round of coffee later on (who can ever say no to coffee), and I was happy that I could finally hike all the way up to The Dish!
January: 6:30 am - 4:45 pm
February: 6:30 am - 5:30 pm
March: 6:00 am - 6:30 pm
April – August: 6:00 am - 7:30 pm
September: 6:30 am - 7:00 pm
October: 6:30 am - 6:00 pm
November – December: 6:30 am - 5:00 pm
The schedule is adjusted monthly to closely match sunrise and sunset.
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| The beginning of the hike... |
We were in the US just for a couple of days and university was still shut for the Christmas vacations. It was quite cold, especially because I was coming from the rather warm winters of Ahmedabad, but when someone suggested we try the hike within the university I quickly decided to try it out. A hill within your own university sounded like a cool thing already, and a hike to the dish seemed just like a thing to do on a holiday.
We didn't have a car which made going to the dish an easy task as we didn't have to worry about the parking, which can be tough to get on a sunny weekend. But this was a cold and overcast weekday and there were only a few more people interested in the hill or the dish. In fact most of them seemed like locals who came for the hike almost daily.
With enthusiasm the three of us, Jag, Som and I, started our trek though Som was already shivering due to the cold. The multiple layers of jackets and pullovers didn't do anything to warm her up. But then she always feels cold rather easily, and we conveniently ignored her pleas to postpone the hike to a warmer day :)
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| Bird sightings are not rare at all... |
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| Gorgeous houses can be seen from top... |
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| Here is a runner on the hike... |
The hills looked low and the path looked almost flat, but we were completely wrong in underestimating the hills. Even after half of an hour of walk in cold, the dish was nowhere in sight and it was already sunset. Thought I wanted to walk further, we decided to head back home (or to a warm bar) and come again another time. The recent tales of a wild animals seen at the dish was another factor which convinced us not to become fresh meat from India for these carnivores. As we huddled together in a warm bar later on, we made a pact to come in the morning for the hike, a promise which remained unfulfilled.
A few months later I, however, came to here with another friend (let's call her D) who had just finished at Stanford and started working in Palo Alto. After a cup of coffee in Palo Alto, she offered to show me around the campus a bit more and I happily agreed. We walked around a bit, but the day was way to nice to just walk in the campus and we decided to hike up to The Dish and look at the campus from up there. She had a car and with much difficult we managed to park it at a place where she was sure won't get a parking ticket.
 |
| Finally the dish :) |
 |
| Stanford campus seen from the hike... |
Unlike my earlier trip, it was a busy hike and we had lots of company. There are multiple paths to the dish and we took one which was less crowded as we wanted to talk, and she was keen to tell me many stories form the campus. The hike looked small, but the 6.5 km trail can get a bit tiring and so carrying water is highly recommended. Many hikers don't necessarily come here to walk all the way to The Dish, because it's always there and they have done it often. But it was new to me and so we made a compete trip to The Dish and D also showed me a building which is apparently a secret underground laboratory, though I think it was just one of those legends about the place :)
Our day ended with another round of coffee later on (who can ever say no to coffee), and I was happy that I could finally hike all the way up to The Dish!
Timings
The Stanford Dish area is open to recreational visitors the following hours:January: 6:30 am - 4:45 pm
February: 6:30 am - 5:30 pm
March: 6:00 am - 6:30 pm
April – August: 6:00 am - 7:30 pm
September: 6:30 am - 7:00 pm
October: 6:30 am - 6:00 pm
November – December: 6:30 am - 5:00 pm
The schedule is adjusted monthly to closely match sunrise and sunset.
Looks like a nice place to hike.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
It surely is lovely! Thank you for stopping by :)
DeleteCool..
ReplyDeleteSeems like a good idea to hike standford university. If it has green environment I would love to go for a hike. Hey check out my blog: https://www.swotahtravel.com/blogs/annapurna-base-camp-trek-a-complete-guide
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nice place to visit and hike. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a nice place to visit and hike. Thank you!
ReplyDelete