I’ve been hiking at Calero County Park recently. The most obvious feature of this park south of San Jose is Calero Reservoir, which is used by powerboaters. However, the hills behind the reservoir hold some very nice trails which are shared by equestrians and some hikers.
I have not hiked all the trails in this park, but I am getting to know parts along the Peña and Javelina Trails fairly well. A while back I was crossing the high point on the Javelina trail when I spotted some birds above a ridge to my right. In order to investigate I left the trail, passed through some low trees and across a small meadow, and then climbed a rocky ridge. From here I spotted what looked like a trail heading back toward the old corral where the Javelina Loop starts.
Earlier this year I followed the same route to this high point, but instead of returning to the main trail I investigated the trail along the ridge. This was a magical day, as the valleys were completely filled with fog and the sky above was crystal clear. This trail traversed right at the top of the fog layer perhaps 25 feet below the top of the cloud. The light had an almost physical presence as it illuminated the foggy air around me.
The trail looks almost like an official trail, and it is clear that I’m not the only hiker who has been up there. However, judging from some of the criss-crossing variations at least parts of this probably began as game trails. After traversing through grassland right along the crest of the ridge (photo) the trail finally drops (somewhat steeply) back down to the corral mentioned earlier.
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February 10, 2005
Posted by gdanmitchell |
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Calero Hilltop. Calero Park. February 5, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
A slightly different version of an scene I posted earlier.
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February 10, 2005
Posted by gdanmitchell |
Commentary |
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Dan's Outside 
A New Favorite Trail
I’ve been hiking at Calero County Park recently. The most obvious feature of this park south of San Jose is Calero Reservoir, which is used by powerboaters. However, the hills behind the reservoir hold some very nice trails which are shared by equestrians and some hikers.
I have not hiked all the trails in this park, but I am getting to know parts along the Peña and Javelina Trails fairly well. A while back I was crossing the high point on the Javelina trail when I spotted some birds above a ridge to my right. In order to investigate I left the trail, passed through some low trees and across a small meadow, and then climbed a rocky ridge. From here I spotted what looked like a trail heading back toward the old corral where the Javelina Loop starts.
Earlier this year I followed the same route to this high point, but instead of returning to the main trail I investigated the trail along the ridge. This was a magical day, as the valleys were completely filled with fog and the sky above was crystal clear. This trail traversed right at the top of the fog layer perhaps 25 feet below the top of the cloud. The light had an almost physical presence as it illuminated the foggy air around me.
The trail looks almost like an official trail, and it is clear that I’m not the only hiker who has been up there. However, judging from some of the criss-crossing variations at least parts of this probably began as game trails. After traversing through grassland right along the crest of the ridge (photo) the trail finally drops (somewhat steeply) back down to the corral mentioned earlier.
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February 10, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on A New Favorite Trail