Calla Lillies at Garrapata State park

Three weeks ago we drove an hour and a half all the way to Garrapata State park area. The main goal was to go to Doud peak, which will be the subject of a separate post. We also wanted to leave early enough and take pictures among the white lillies that grow on either side of the creek as it goes into the ocean.

It is a local seasonal favorite, but we have never made it before. We saw posts on the net that said the lillies are already starting to turn brown, so before the window closed we visited.

We were not disappointed.. 

it was a misty walk to the beach among the lillies..

The new iPhone was put to test and it passed with flying colors..

especially the macro mode..

Nice beach. There were a lot of kids making their way to the beach as we were walking back. Given it is just a short walk from the freeway, this place would probably be crowded once the sun is out. It was good we finished this first!

had the beach mostly to ourselves..

We climbed up to the top and got a beautiful view of the coastline. Then we drove a few miles to go on our planned hike..

Strongly recommend this place, for a mid March or even early March trip. It is a beautiful sight!

A sense of completion

We have hiked multiple local peaks and hills and points around Cupertino area since COVID and the resolution to hike every weekend. We had however, not covered the Fremont Older and Stevens Creek preserve in its entireity!

We got a chance to do just that this morning. We covered 10+ miles in 4 hours and went up 1800 feet, all around this local loop.. from our local Regnart Road all the way to Tony Lookout Trail loop. We started before sunrise and went at a decent pace. Came back in 4+ hours including a chai and photo breaks. Definitely one of the long ones this year, but totally worth the effort. 

We got an amazing sunrise view ..

watch the valley still enveloped by fog

and more fog..

this entire area was lush green and the trails were clean and well maintained!

Loving the macro mode on the new iPhone.. this entire thing with the buds and flowers,  is smaller than my thumbnail! 

we went along the reservoir for a nice chai break!

There are a lot of cute little bridges we get to cross on this trail. Everyone of them was beautiful!

when we got back, the fog was still there.. and beautiful

A morning well spent.. and we will do this again someday when we feel like going on another 10+ mile hike. My legs felt the effort from the morning that I took a long nap after! 

A beautiful hike for spring or winter! 

Santa Teresa County Park Loop trail

There is this absolute beauty of a trail right in Santa Teresa area. It is the hills next to IBM Almaden. There is a loop trail that starts from Joice trail and goes through Mine trail and Coyote trail, Hidden springs and Bernal Hill to the Vista loop trail. 

It is 8+ mile and pretty steep at places and takes around 4+ hours (by our standards). It is also ~2000 feet elevation gain. A decent workout and a "moderate" trail if you listen to the internet.. if you pace yourself! 

There is a part of this trail at the end that has zero cover. So it is best to do this as a very early morning or late evening hike. The sun setting over the valley is beautiful to watch from the ridge!

The flowers have started blooming across the hillsides.. the poppies should be there in a week or two to add a ton of orange to the yellows.. 

Strongly recommend this provided you have the right hiking shoes!

There is a one mile stretch on the way back where you are just walking on rocks and gravel. Not much of a path and the feet don't land evenly. Many of us almost twisted our ankles, but would still recommend it. 

Here are more pictures.. 

Thoroughly enjoyed this hike.. and the chai at the top of the summit! That is one good thing that has become tradition already over a year and a half of hiking! 

COVID got us started on hiking every weekend to a new trail in the local area. The fact that we have plenty of unexplored trails for months to come says a lot about the natural beauty of this area, the resources used to maintain these places and our luck in ending up in a place like this, in a time like this!

More trails to follow...