Well, it isn’t that grand and it isn’t quite winter, but it was a great hike.
When the Wood Road trail was officially opened at Almaden Quicksilver Park recently (rather, the parking lot at Hicks Road was opened) I realized that the trails in that park connect to trails in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and that it would be possible to do a long hike from New Almaden to downtown Los Gatos. I suggested it to my backpacking friends Owen and Caroline a few weeks ago, and we began to make plans.
This hike pretty much requires a car shuttle since the start and end points are so far apart. (It may be possible to access both ends via public transit, at least on weekdays.) We left my car in a free lot alongside the Los Gatos Creek Trail near downtown Los Gatos and then took Owen’s car up to the Hicks Road entrance to Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. We planned to start here, several miles into the trip, due to limited time. However, the signs at this entrance suggested that the gated parking might be closed at sunset, which is sooner than we would be able return to retrieve our car.
We decided to drive on down to the ungated Hacienda entrance parking lot at Almaden Quicksilver and start there instead. This had the disadvantage of adding several miles and 1000′ feet of climbing along with ensuring an arrival in Los Gatos after sunset. However, it also provided the opportunity to complete the full route.
At 10:30 a.m. we started up the Deep Gulch Trail, a steeper but shorter approach to English Camp. From English Camp we followed the Castillero Trail to the ridge where we turned left onto Wood Road and headed towards Hicks Road, arriving there about one hour and twenty minutes after we started. (This is the place where we were going to start until we discovered the gated parking and sunset park closing.)
Owen and Caroline contemplate our route at the Hicks Road entrance to Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve.
We took a 5 minute break at this point and then headed into the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. The first part of this hike is mostly gentle up and down terrain on a wide dirt road, traversing beneath the old radar station on Mt. Umunhum and crossing frequent small creeks during the winter months.
Mount Umunhum above the Wood Road Trail.
Eventually the route begins the rather steep and exposed climb to the summit of 2999′ El Sombroso, about 6+ miles from the Hicks Road entrance to the Open Space Preserve.
Owen climbs the steep section of Woods Road Trail below El Sombroso.
Thankfully, the first part of the climb hugs the canyon wall and is somewhat protected from the sun. This would be a miserably hot section during the summer months. Soon the trail winds to the right and steeply ascends a more open section. A passing hiker assured us (correctly, it turned out) that this was the steepest portion of the trail.
Wood Road Trail ascends before El Sombroso.
The grade lessens near the top and then crosses the ridge to the left of the high point at El Sombroso. There are pretty decent views here, but you need to look for them. At the high point on the trail a lateral takes off to the right towards power line towers. By following it to the second tower we found an overlook with a great view to the south and took a ten-minute lunch before heading back to the main trail. The actual peak of El Sombroso appears to be a short distance east and inaccessible due to thick brush.
From just below El Sombroso – looking back along our route from Almaden Quicksilver Park.
From here the trail follows the top of the ridge, with the advantage of good views and the disadvantage of the constant up and down as it follows the contour of the ridge. Soon there is a trail junction. The Bay Area Ridge Trail goes to the right and follows the ridge. Eventually this meets up with a trail that descends to intersect our route. We took the left fork onto the Limekiln trail which first descends fairly gently and then ascends a bit before arriving at a trail junction three miles later. Three trails converge here: the steep trail from the ridge arrives from the right, straight ahead is the Limekiln Trail, and another route goes left to Alma Bridge Road. We stuck to Limekiln since it comes out on Alma Bridge Road a bit closer to the dam thus reducing the distance that we would need to walk on the road.
Owen and Caroline on the lower section of the Limekiln Trail above Lexington Reservoir.
Much of this section of the Limekiln Trail is essentially very wide single-track and is under tree cover, with the notable exception of a very unsettling view into a quarry that is removing large parts of the hillside to the right. The trail eventually comes out on Alma Bridge Road, and a few minutes of road-walking brought us to Lexington Dam.
Here we picked up the jogging/cycling trail to downtown Los Gatos, arriving in near darkness. We probably made quite a sight striding though downtown Los Gatos in our hiking regalia, especially Owen who was still using his ski poles.
One of the great things about this trip is that arrival in Los Gatos provides many well-deserved food opportunities, though we were not appropriately dressed (or clean) for the nicer restaurants. We decided to grab Mexican food at Andale, which seemed like just the right thing after a hike like this.
***Statistics:
The whole route is at least 16 miles long and perhaps as long as 17 miles. It starts at about 500′ of elevation. High points are about 1100′ higher on the ridge where we pick up the Wood Road trail and then about 7-8 miles later at 2999′ El Sombroso. The descent from here to Los Gatos drops perhaps 2700′-2800′ and is about 7+ miles long. By doing the trip in the opposite direction, one could make it a “Breakfast to Dinner” hike. There are many places to get breakfast in Los Gatos and La Foret serves dinner in New Almaden literally steps from the end of the trail.
—–
December 20, 2004
Posted by gdanmitchell |
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Almaden to Los Gatos Grand Winter Traverse
Well, it isn’t that grand and it isn’t quite winter, but it was a great hike.
When the Wood Road trail was officially opened at Almaden Quicksilver Park recently (rather, the parking lot at Hicks Road was opened) I realized that the trails in that park connect to trails in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve high in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and that it would be possible to do a long hike from New Almaden to downtown Los Gatos. I suggested it to my backpacking friends Owen and Caroline a few weeks ago, and we began to make plans.
This hike pretty much requires a car shuttle since the start and end points are so far apart. (It may be possible to access both ends via public transit, at least on weekdays.) We left my car in a free lot alongside the Los Gatos Creek Trail near downtown Los Gatos and then took Owen’s car up to the Hicks Road entrance to Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. We planned to start here, several miles into the trip, due to limited time. However, the signs at this entrance suggested that the gated parking might be closed at sunset, which is sooner than we would be able return to retrieve our car.
We decided to drive on down to the ungated Hacienda entrance parking lot at Almaden Quicksilver and start there instead. This had the disadvantage of adding several miles and 1000′ feet of climbing along with ensuring an arrival in Los Gatos after sunset. However, it also provided the opportunity to complete the full route.
At 10:30 a.m. we started up the Deep Gulch Trail, a steeper but shorter approach to English Camp. From English Camp we followed the Castillero Trail to the ridge where we turned left onto Wood Road and headed towards Hicks Road, arriving there about one hour and twenty minutes after we started. (This is the place where we were going to start until we discovered the gated parking and sunset park closing.)
Owen and Caroline contemplate our route at the Hicks Road entrance to Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve.
We took a 5 minute break at this point and then headed into the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. The first part of this hike is mostly gentle up and down terrain on a wide dirt road, traversing beneath the old radar station on Mt. Umunhum and crossing frequent small creeks during the winter months.
Mount Umunhum above the Wood Road Trail.
Eventually the route begins the rather steep and exposed climb to the summit of 2999′ El Sombroso, about 6+ miles from the Hicks Road entrance to the Open Space Preserve.
Owen climbs the steep section of Woods Road Trail below El Sombroso.
Thankfully, the first part of the climb hugs the canyon wall and is somewhat protected from the sun. This would be a miserably hot section during the summer months. Soon the trail winds to the right and steeply ascends a more open section. A passing hiker assured us (correctly, it turned out) that this was the steepest portion of the trail.
Wood Road Trail ascends before El Sombroso.
The grade lessens near the top and then crosses the ridge to the left of the high point at El Sombroso. There are pretty decent views here, but you need to look for them. At the high point on the trail a lateral takes off to the right towards power line towers. By following it to the second tower we found an overlook with a great view to the south and took a ten-minute lunch before heading back to the main trail. The actual peak of El Sombroso appears to be a short distance east and inaccessible due to thick brush.
From just below El Sombroso – looking back along our route from Almaden Quicksilver Park.
From here the trail follows the top of the ridge, with the advantage of good views and the disadvantage of the constant up and down as it follows the contour of the ridge. Soon there is a trail junction. The Bay Area Ridge Trail goes to the right and follows the ridge. Eventually this meets up with a trail that descends to intersect our route. We took the left fork onto the Limekiln trail which first descends fairly gently and then ascends a bit before arriving at a trail junction three miles later. Three trails converge here: the steep trail from the ridge arrives from the right, straight ahead is the Limekiln Trail, and another route goes left to Alma Bridge Road. We stuck to Limekiln since it comes out on Alma Bridge Road a bit closer to the dam thus reducing the distance that we would need to walk on the road.
Owen and Caroline on the lower section of the Limekiln Trail above Lexington Reservoir.
Much of this section of the Limekiln Trail is essentially very wide single-track and is under tree cover, with the notable exception of a very unsettling view into a quarry that is removing large parts of the hillside to the right. The trail eventually comes out on Alma Bridge Road, and a few minutes of road-walking brought us to Lexington Dam.
Here we picked up the jogging/cycling trail to downtown Los Gatos, arriving in near darkness. We probably made quite a sight striding though downtown Los Gatos in our hiking regalia, especially Owen who was still using his ski poles.
One of the great things about this trip is that arrival in Los Gatos provides many well-deserved food opportunities, though we were not appropriately dressed (or clean) for the nicer restaurants. We decided to grab Mexican food at Andale, which seemed like just the right thing after a hike like this.
***Statistics:
The whole route is at least 16 miles long and perhaps as long as 17 miles. It starts at about 500′ of elevation. High points are about 1100′ higher on the ridge where we pick up the Wood Road trail and then about 7-8 miles later at 2999′ El Sombroso. The descent from here to Los Gatos drops perhaps 2700′-2800′ and is about 7+ miles long. By doing the trip in the opposite direction, one could make it a “Breakfast to Dinner” hike. There are many places to get breakfast in Los Gatos and La Foret serves dinner in New Almaden literally steps from the end of the trail.
—–
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December 20, 2004 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Almaden to Los Gatos Grand Winter Traverse