Mt. El Sombroso

I am taking a brief detour from the Banff posts to cover a local hike we did today. This is supposed to be one of the toughest hikes in the local bay area. 

The Kennedy trail to Mount El Sombroso, a series of hills that come in waves. It is very different from a go up and come down formula.. you keep going up and down for the last 3 miles.. so that makes it 6 miles of up and down on a ~14 mile hike. 

We left early enough but had to park across and walk. We were up in the clouds and fog fairly early but slowed down steadily over the next two hours. The views were amazing in spite of the sun because we were above the clouds for the most part. 

there were no benches on this trail...not much shade either!

Two photos from this vista point that made my day.. (thanks to the two ladies who clicked these!)

As usual, we had chai at the top..

You can see Mt. Umunhum in the background. we were thinking that if it wasnt for the building on the top of that, this would be the tallest point in the range. we felt we were looking down on that mountain at one point!

The landscapes were amazing.. till the sun came out.. then there was a bluish tinge on everything.. maybe the fire in Yosemite is causing this?

you can see downtown San Jose under the cloud cover!

A video of the hike.. 

As a prep hike for Yosemite, this one comes close.. definitely more challenging than Mission peak! 

Strongly recommend this hike, if you can leave early enough and avoid the sun beating down on you relentlessly.. take enough water. We underestimated how much water we needed today and slowed down the last few miles because of that!

The trail is slippery in the gravel areas and pretty steep at places. They call it a tough hike for a reason!

All is well that ends well. I am tired but have a sense of accomplishment! Hope this trend continues...