I wish there wasn’t parking allowed here, but with so few parking spots in the city…
One takes the shot!
This was a fun day. Downhill Dali and I went up to shoot a few of the cities cathedrals, this, and we wrapped up the day at Baker Beach where I discovered lots of naked, pink men hang out. LOL!
Only in the city!
Here’s a link to Prometheus Reflects – one shot I took while at Baker Beach
Since I’ve been training to hike up to Cloud’s Rest this August I’ve been hiking in the mountains that surround Santa Clara Valley. I’ve hiked to Mission Peak, Mt. Allison, and Black Mountain. I decided that I’d like to conquer Mt. Umunhum too. It is a mountain that lies to the south of me in the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. Its name is from the Ohlone Indians that once called this valley home. It means “Resting place of the Hummingbird.”
It is a peak that has been a landmark, and barring marker to me since I moved to Santa Clara Valley in 1968. On top of Mt. Umunhum Summit sits a 5 story early-warning radar Station. Mt Umunhum was a former site used by Almaden Air Force that operated from 1958 to 1980. Years ago the county acquired the land for Open Space and is in the process of cleaning up the summit so we all can use the space for exercise and leisure. I hoped I would be able to get up there. This was my goal to conquer/summit Mt. Umunhum. I was in good company too. Heman joined me for this hike, and I was hiking it sans hot tea, caffeine of any sort, and with only 4 hours sleep!
Our route started on the Woods Trail which is aptly named. It is shaded by large trees, and the first 3 miles is mostly flat, with some gentle ups and downs. I moved really fast here.
At Barlow Road we turned left. You begin to climb straight-away on this fire road. You climb 800 ft in the space of 1 mile. There are fewer shade trees along this road, but there are views of the canyon, and of the valley looking south. Several Butterflies and I enjoyed the late-blooming Red Maids, and Brittlebush lining the road.
The trail ends at Mt. Umunhum Road. Here I discovered the “No Trespassing” signs and warnings NOT to venture up to Mt. Umunhum’s summit.
Alas, it isn’t open yet, so we hiked up to the summit of Bald Mountain instead.
Turning left on Mt. Umunhum Road we followed it about 0.3 miles to the trail-head of Bald Mountain. This is an easy 0.7 mile trail to the summit. Also aptly named; this mountain has no shade, it’s a grassy summit.
It was a long hike. Best done in the morning during the warmer months. I liked the Woods Trail best for its shade, and the views. Mt. Umunhum is still on my list to conquer. I’ll hike this route again when it’s open which I’ve read since doing this hike could be this fall.
Hike Stats:
11 miles
1800 ft elevation gain
4 hours 40 minutes total time
UPDATE: Reader Steven Christenson sends this KQED report on Mt. Umunhum
This morning I rose early to hit the trail. The PG&E trail in Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve. I needed a good hike since we didn’t do nearly as much hiking as I had hoped to do last week-end.
Getting out in the country early in the morning is wonderful for so many reasons; it’s cool; there is usually no problem finding parking; there is hardly any one else around; and the wildlife is out and about. That was the case this morning;
Here’s what I saw this morning while on the way up to Vista Point.
A widdle wabbit!
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
A Junco surveying the land.
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
The flowers have changed and will soon be plump and juicy berries!
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
Oh, we startled each other. He was curious about my shutter clicks and would look at me each time I clicked. After 3 clicks he thought it was safe and began to munch on these leaves. I let him graze a bit then moved which scared him up the hillside.
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
Just after I rounded the bend in the trail I nearly stepped on this guy.
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
My sunny day companion…
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
Lilies…I saw only one other plant of these while going up today. I don’t think they fit here. Are they indigenous or not?
Photo by Deborah M. ZajacPhoto by Deborah M. Zajac
It was warm by 7:30a.m. I’m glad I got started early. Here’s Vista Point!
There isn’t much here, the power tower, a sign, and a bench you can’t see on the other side of the tower, the view was hazy this morning too, but I made it here in my best time yet. 1h34m!
Photo by Deborah M. Zajac
The trip down was interesting and had wildlife too. A King Snake, and fawn and its Mother, and …well I’ll save that until next time.
If you’ve ever tried to capture a photograph of a beautiful sunset you know just how challenging it can be. Time is the enemy. The light and color fade as the shadows deepen with the setting sun, and you only have minutes to shoot that precise moment when all the elements come together. Photographer and lifelong Hawaii resident Todd Maeda captures those magic moments time after time, and shares with us how he did it on this beautiful tropical evening in Oahu.
Photo by Todd Maeda
Q. Tell us about this location.
Todd: This is at Kaka’ako Waterfront Park, in Honolulu, Hawaii, a State park that was reclaimed from the old town dump. It is situated near the entrance of Honolulu Harbor, so there is a stream of boats and ships going in and out. It’s part of the game; ship, barge, wave, sunset… A “go to”spot for solid sunsets while keeping your feet dry; most of my mid-week forays are right after work, so I am usually still in work attire.
This particular spot is on a hill closest to the harbor. At the bottom of the hill, about the center of this image, is a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) memorial. Rather poignant, and a decent sunset subject/foreground. The vantage point is such that I actually get better views of the water, and usually fewer people. Usually. A problem with this spot, and actually any spot on a hill in the park, is the maintenance crews sometimes turn on the sprinklers in the middle of the sunset. Something to watch for.
Q. What time of day?
Todd: This was that magic moment around 15 minutes after the sun sets, when the colors “pop,” then die quickly. During the “winter” months, so a little after 6PM. Yeah, I know; Hawaii don’t have winters. Hey, we have to wear warm shorts, so there!
Q. How difficult was this to capture?
Todd: This was a fairly basic capture; hardest thing is to be sure you have everything you want in the frame. Since I do a fair amount of post-processing, I try to give myself some latitude in the composition for possible creative cropping, which I did here.
Q. How did you expose for this shot?
Todd: I used a 3-stop Reverse Graduated Neutral Density filter to hold back the light at the horizon, as it was still bright enough to darken the foreground without it. Other than that, Aperture Priority on Matrix Metering (Nikon’s equivalent to Canon’s Evaluative mode), because the light is moving so quickly. I usually input -0.7EV, because I prefer that look. This one ended up at ISO200, f/22 for 1/4 second; you can see a bit of the effect in the trees and water.
Q. What camera and lens did you use for this shot?
Todd: The Nikon D700 is my standard landscape body. I had the Nikkor 17-35mm/2.8D mounted for this shot, as it is the widest reasonable lens with filter threads I have; I did know I would be using filters for this particular day, based on the sky. Had that mounted on a Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead on a Gitzo GT1531 tripod, with the Rapid-Rise column at the lowest position.
You can see more of Todd’s photographic work here:
I spent a long week-end up in the Sonoma Coastal area with Naturalist Jon Menard and 6 other hikers this was one of the first places we stopped to visit. I enjoyed the garden so much I didn’t have a chance to go in the house! You know what that means don’t’ you? Right! I must go back.
For the Historians:
The famed horticulturist Luther Burbank made his home in Santa Rosa for more than fifty years. On this garden site and in nearby Sebastopol, Burbank conducted the plant-breeding experiments that brought him world renown. His objective was to improve the quality of plants and thereby increase the world’s food supply. In his working career Burbank introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants- including over 200 varieties of fruits, many vegetables, nuts and grains, and hundreds of ornamental flowers.
Yesterday afternoon I hiked up to Black Mt. starting from a new to me trail-head. On the way down he was sunbathing on the side of the trail. Heman nearly stepped on him! He was about 2ft long, not too fat, and only had 4 rings on his rattle. I didn’t get all that close to him. I stayed on the other side of the fire road/trail.
About 1/2 mile from the end of my hike I saw another smaller one sitting on the side of the trail.
Yesterday afternoon was the day for wildlife. I saw a deer, a rabbit, 2 rattlers, and a hawk eating something. I couldn’t tell what it was I was too far away.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18-200mmVR @ 170mm| f10| 1/25 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Hand-held
Hike details
Black Mt Trail via Rhus Ridge Trail
Total hike 10 miles
Total feet gained 2,549
Total time: 4h 33mins.
Average speed 2.2mph
Correction- Thanks to Correcamino for correctly Identifying this rattler for me!
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