Dawn unfolding her light across the mountains. There is something magical about the way that Alpine glow can reach across the span of a valley and warm, and fill me with inner peace and harmony. In these moments when nothing else exists but me, nature, and God…it’s euphoria.
Nikon D300s| Nikkor 18mm ai-s| f22| 1/13sec| ISO 400| Manual Mode| Tripod| Cable Release
Taken from Cloud’s Rest, Yosemite National Park. The Sawtooth Mountain Range is to the right.
I had the pleasure of hiking with the “Wednesday Hiking Group” today. I haven’t hiked with them in a really long time due to work. Today I didn’t have work scheduled so I met them.
The group split into two groups at 3.25miles. The Rabbits took a shorter route that would loop them back and give them a 6.5mile hike, and the Big Dogs continued on to complete a 10.85mile hike.
There were 5 Big Dogs, and I’m happy to say I was one of them. On the way back we took the Bayview Trail for a bit and there beside it was some wild Foxglove. I’ve never seen it in the wild before. It was a lovely surprise.
Foxglove Photograph by Deborah M. Zajac
Foxglove’
Foxglove Photograph by Deborah M. Zajac
A little later we saw some pretty Pacific Pea.
Pacific Pea Photography by Deborah M. Zajac
The fog hung thick in the Santa Cruz Mountain Range today, and several times we got rained on. It was definitely the place to hike on hot sunny day in the valley.
It was great seeing some old friends, and meeting new people today. I hope it’s not long before I can hike with the group again. There was another neat surprise during this hike I’ll share soon!
I’ve made my Hike Stats public if you’d like to see them, and the route map go here.
I got to spend a full day with my friend Big Jay while in Montana. I had read about a Mission in St. Ignatius,MT and wanted to go tour it . Fortunately he was game. While in St. Ignatius we spotted this Barn and pulled over to shoot it.
I was busy photographing it when a young man drove up to the gate and unlocked it to let himself out. Big Jay asked if we could come around the gate to shoot the barn a bit. The young man was very sympathetic. He said he was a painter and was doing an acrylic of the Barn himself. He said he comes out to this very yard with his easel and paints. Wouldn’t I love a photo of that! I also wish I could paint like that. He left the gate open and told us to take our time, and have fun. We stayed about 30 minutes walking through many of the fields getting different angles and views of the barn. I liked this view with all the wildflowers growing over the fences.
The trail has 16 switchbacks getting longer the higher you climb. Every 4th switchback or so Pat had a story. Most were about bears. Bear management, behavior, and safety which I found interesting, and educational.
I turned around to look back here. I’m about halfway to the top at this point. It’s windy up here, and worth the effort to get here. Look at this view! That’s Two Medicine Lake, and way down there by the waters edge is a campground where many of my hiking companions were camping, and about half inch above the Z in my signature in the right corner is the parking lot my Va-Va is parked in under a shady pine tree.
Hike details
7.80 miles rd trip
2,853ft elevation gain
5h57m total time
The trail is steep, but the switchbacks help make the going easier.
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
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