A quick trip to "almost the beach"

MIL had a request to take her "somewhere" so she could see some nature. So the plan was to go to Santa Cruz to our favorite beach.

Once we got there, the unmasked crowd just freaked me out. So we just took pictures on top of the sandbar and drove back.. 

Some pictures..

we were the only ones on the end of the bar.. and we removed our mask just for the selfies. Most of the crowd was not wearing any mask. It was shocking to see.. when we went to the same place in December just to get some sea breeze almost everyone was masked. 

Things are changing, hope we dont get into another wave!

Mt. Um from yet another angle -Quicksilver trail

We spent the day at Quicksilver trail in Almaden and got some clear views of the valley, and got to see another facet of Mt. Umunhum. By this time we have seen that building from every mountain around it..

First.. an MGR Saroja Devi moment captured for eternity..

The trails were steep and kept coming, maybe we should have come the opposite way. Nevertheless it was fun!

Direct sun gave us that orange glow!

did not get as many pictures on this trail as it did not have much room to step back and take pictures. Had to focus on the ground to be safe at all times! It was also busier than the other trails for the same time in the morning. So we tried to face the mountain side and let people pass every now and then!

The mansions on the hillside facing the trail were out of this world.. didn't realize there were this size mansions anywhere in our neighborhood!

A day well spent.. a nice hike that is definitely recommended if you go early in the morning before the sun is up high! 

The journey is what counts..

My fellow hikers have often heard me say that it is the journey that is more important.. so I take my time, stop for pictures, do the hike in an "alangaama kulungaama" way as my Grandma would put it. 

The hike marketing department (aka San and co.) sold me on the Lexington reservoir trail with the selling points being 

1. it is only a 5.2 mile hike compared to the recent 8+ mile hikes

2. It is part of the same preserve as Mt. Umunhum

3. It is a "moderate" hike per the all trails website.. so given recent history, a "piece of cake"

I am not allergic to the words "piece of cake" spoken in that sequence.

It turned out that this hike, while being 5.2 miles and in the same Sierra Azul preserve, is nothing but moderate!

It started off with a steep ascent like the ones they set you up on a rollercoaster ride.. except you think there is a drop after that.. in this case, it levels off for 100 feet and you go up another steep slope. By the time you went up to a lower grade, knees are shaking! 

At some points, I was pretty much trailing by a wide margin of a few hundred feet. we eventually crossed a quarry of sorts and made our way back on the loop trail. 

There were not many scenic spots or vista points with a view of the valley unlike other recent trails, but for once, the only sense of accomplishment was the destination.. the journey itself was not that great for me!

If you are one of those people who want to say "I did this trail".. then go for it. Try it when your stomach is not full.. I went just after lunch and struggled. My wife was also tired of my "are we there yet" questions.

There are always pictures..

A few more vista points or colorful paths might have made this more enjoyable for me.. I did have fun with the conversations and the occasional jokes, but not the hiking itself. Maybe a day with red skies would have made the lake views more interesting..

It is also possible that the previous hike to Foothills set the bar a little too high for this one to measure up..

and a pano of the view after we do the first part of the hike.. (after this there is no view of the lake)

At one point I was "offered" the option to go "just another 2.2 miles with a 1200 foot gain" to see Mt. Um from the other side and promptly passed on it before the sentence was finished!

Decent trail, but not enough vista (break) points for me..

A lost world - Foothills Park Palo Alto

Given we are on a hiking spree, I happened to read an article on my google feed about a hiker who went to Foothills park and his first response was anger.. anger that such a beautiful park right in our backyard was not publicised and was restricted to Palo Alto residents only. An ACLU lawsuit had to be won to make this park accessible to the general public, temporarily starting October 2020.. 

Given the access could close, we went to wrap up 2020 with one more hike!

We tried to go a day earlier but the parking was full and the cops turned us back at the entrance. So we tried again the next morning at 7AM before the park opened, found parking and did the entire ~8 mile hike on the one way Los Trancos trail.

We got there before the sun rose behind the hills. This is a beautiful time to get photos because the sun is bounce flashing the light through the clouds and there is a diffuse golden light everywhere.. you don't have to worry about shiloutte effects or underexposed pictures! 

There was a beautiful lake with a pier! My first response after taking a few photos and looking at my camera was the same.. anger.. should have been here before! 

We went on to park near the interpretive center and walked across a slushy field to start the trail.. It was a pretty steep trail through and through and also narrow. It was good that they made it a one way loop. 

It has rained the previous night and there was still a slight drizzle. The colors were vibrant everywhere on the trail and we were treated to water dripping off the moss on the trees everywhere!

except for two small stretches, you are mostly in the shade in this trail! 

The ferns give the park a Jurassic park look and feel. Something unique in all the parks we recently visited!

The moss is also a brighter green in this park!

The bright red wet leaves ground into the path made for good contrast in parts of the trail! 

Then you come to a level clearing where you get views all the way to San Mateo bridges and beyond! 

We walked back down through a dazzling light display through the trees..

An amazing park through and through! Definitely go visit this park before they close the public acecss! 

Loved it..

my technical difficulties still continue.. but Jr. was nice enough to let me borrow her laptop for blog posting! 

Last hike of 2020 Plus 1

It has been an interesting week for me with a lot of emotional twists and turns that would make a Saroja Devi movie bland.. 

Wanted to end 2020 on a postive note.. so did one more hike today.. 

to Jurassic Park!

This was a hard but spectacular hike. Will post about this later.

The next week promises to be interesting as well.

For now, just happy to wish you all a wonderful 2021 !!

Sincerely hope it is better than 2020!