What? It’s Raining!
Last weekend I decided to do one of my favorite Tuolumne Meadows area hikes – the Mono Pass trail. This trail starts below Tioga Pass, just inside the park, and goes out the Sierra crest near Mount Gibb, passing through forest and beautiful alpine meadows on the way.
As I loaded up my pack – filling with a lot of photography equipment – it was a beautiful, clear morning. The previous day I had hiked out toward North Dome and carried what turned out to be too much extra clothing. Since I usually tend to over-prepare for the weather, and was perhaps more aware of this than usual having done so only 24 hours earlier, I decided to just take what I was wearing. That’s right, no rain gear.
Is there a better way to ensure that it will rain?
About an hour into the hike, near the junction with the trail to Spillway Lake, I was pleased to see some white, fluffy clouds appear – they relieved the uniform blue sky and occasionally produced a welcome bit of shade. I began to consider how I would incorporate them in photographs near the pass.
I reached the area of the pass at about 1:00 and wandered over to the historic mine site that sits on the pass. (I had visited the mine remnants before, but this time I found out a bit more about it. The site is older than I had thought, first being used in the 1860s and abandoned in about 1890.)
I sat down on a comfortable rock to drink some water, have a snack, and look around for photographic subjects. I noticed that the fluffy white clouds had morphed into something much darker and a bit menacing to my south, in the direction of Parker Pass. I figured this meant that there might be some thunder and perhaps a few showers by late afternoon when I returned to my car. No worries!
Not five minutes later it started to sprinkle. I thought “that’s a bit surprising, but it will stop in couple of minutes.” It didn’t stop. The drops became larger. I began to think about my lack of rain gear. As I sat there munching on my snack there was a sudden clap of thunder right overhead – what I call “flash bang” thunder because it is so close that there is almost no delay between the flash of lightning and the bang of thunder. A few minutes later another clap of thunder exploded right overhead.
OK, time to leave! By the time I had the pack reloaded and on my back, the light rain was becoming steady. Two thoughts became prominent in my mind. One, I had left my tent windows open back in Tuolumne Meadows – I hoped the rain didn’t head that way! Two, I was either going to get lucky and watch the showers move on, or I was about to get very wet on the nearly two-hour walk back out.
I got lucky. Although the trail was wet all the way down, there was constant thunder, and I could see rain coming down all around… it barely sprinkled on me until I got to my car. As I loaded the car it began to come down in earnest.
My tent was not so lucky. Back in Tuolumne it had rained, and hard.
Lessons learned and relearned. Never leave camp without closing everything up and putting all of my gear away. And, what the heck, toss that lightweight parka in the pack!
My Backpacking Photography Gear
Since the season is upon us, it seems like a good time to post the link to my article on equipment for backpacking photography – at least for the kind of photography I do while on the trail.
I discuss some specific equipment that I use along with some general ideas about equipment and techniques. The post includes information on cameras, lenses, accessories, how to carry the stuff, and compromises you might or might not want to make on the trail.
Two-Heel Drive reports on one of my favorite hiking locations
Tom Mangan just posted a description of his Sunday hike at my favorite local park, the Calero County Park south of San Jose. I was there on Saturday (when it was cool and foggy in the morning, Tom… ;-) and he was there on Sunday after the Great Spring Warmup in Central California.
Tom hiked on some of my favorite trails in the park, including the relatively remote Chisnantuk Peak Trail, which traverses some of the less visited corners of the park (and in doing so passes over some less maintained trails) and also visits some of the open ridges that provide great vistas of Santa Clara County and beyond.
As a bonus, Tom not only writes a witty and informative description of his hike, but he accompanies it with some great photographs of the area, including some of the wildflower displays – which were probably more or less at their peak when he visited
A Good Sound on the Trail
Today, for the first time in almost a year, I heard the sound of running water during my hike in the Calero Hills. Here in dry California that is a special thing!
Young Lakes Information
I just replied to an email from future European visitor to Yosemite who wanted to know a bit about visiting the Young Lakes region in the Yosemite National Park high country, and I thought it might be useful to share the message with others who may want to go there. Here is the text, slightly modified: Continue reading
Access to Mt. Whitney – a List of Passes
The Mt. Whitney and Eastern Sierra Hiking blog covers almost all things related to hiking/climbing Mt. Whitney. A post (“Mt. Whitney From Horseshoe Meadows“) covers some alternate approaches for those who either can’t or don’t want to use the usual Whitney Portal approach.
I’ve been over almost all of the passes mentioned, including Army Pass, New Army Pass, Kearsarge/Forester Passes and I’ve approached from the west over Kaweah Gap and up the Kern River.* The only pass that the article mentions that I haven’t done is Cottonwood Pass. If I’m not mistaken, this is a more southerly route and doesn’t go quite as high. Here is a quick summary of some of my experiences on these passes:
- Army Pass is an old route out of the Cottonwood Lakes area that ascends to the Sierra Crest near Mt. Langley. It is really quite a wonderful and direct route, but it has not been officially maintained for decades. The last time I travelled this way – a couple times over a several day period – most of the trail was in good shape, but a few key spots had been obliterated by rock slides. I recall at least one that made me nervous about the exposure. So, doable, but not for the faint of heart or the newbie.
- New Army Pass more or less replaced Army Pass and now seems to be more heavily used than the older, unmaintained trail. The ascent of New Army Pass from the east side is one of the most steady and “gradual” of any east side pass I’ve been on. Despite the fact that it crosses the crest (in sight of Cirque Peak) at over 12,000′, it really isn’t a very hard route at all, and you are rewarded by some incredible and open panoramas at the top.
- Kearsarge Pass and Forester Pass afford a route to the west side of Whitney that starts at Onion Valley. This isn’t an easy route, nor is it a short one, but it travels through some very scenic and alpine country. The trail ascends from the Onion Valley trailhead to cross Kearsarge Pass (just below 12,000′) and then descends to Kearsarge Lakes, a popular first night destination. From here you drop into the Bubb Creek drainage and then ascend to Forester Pass (over 13,000′) on a route that wouldn’t be overly difficult save for the very high elevation. The trail drops quickly from Forester and then travels a number of miles above timberline before finally encountering trees again near Tyndall Creek.
In all three of these cases, once you cross the Sierra crest you typically make your way by one or another route to the standard west side approach to Mt. Whitney, though variations are possible, especially if you come over one of the Army Passes.
I notice that the authors of the post don’t mention some other approaches. For one thing, they don’t consider the starting on the west side of the Sierra. It is possible to come in over Kaweah Gap and then go up the Kern River before ascending to the Muir Trail. This is a long route, but not that much longer than coming from Kearsarge/Forester.
More interestingly, there is no mention of Shepard Pass. Maybe this is a good thing. I’ve been over Shepard once, traveling from west to east at the end of a trip, and I am well aware of why this pass has a fearsome reputation. It starts virtually in the desert of Owens Valley, almost literally at the base of the Sierra, and then it climbs and climbs and climbs, with the depressing exception of a several hundred foot elevation loss midway along the route followed by additional unmitigated climbing. The climbing is often rather steep, and the terrain becomes quite rough in the upper reaches of the pass. Oddly, once you complete this brutal climb and cross the crest near a small stagnant lake, the remaining hike down to the JMT is a lovely little cakewalk through nearly flat and wide open alpine meadow with stupendous panoramic views.
* I’m doing yet another Whitney trip later this summer – despite my “decision” a year or so ago to not “do Whitney” again. I’m still not that enthusiastic about ascending Whitney – “been there, done that” – but the rest of the trip retraces a pack trip I took many years ago from Sequoia across the Kaweahs, and I do look forward to covering some of that terrain that I haven’t seen in many years.
A Brand New State Park…
… to me anyway. This morning I visited Pacheco State Park at the summit of Pacheco Pass between Los Banos and Gilroy. I’ve driven past here for years on my way to/from the Sierra, Death Valley, Los Angeles, but only turned off the road here briefly once a few years ago. This past week I read a post about wildflowers at this park, and I decided to check it out.
I was on the road early enough this morning that I arrived at the park before the sun was up – so I decided to first take a quick trip down to the shoreline of San Luis Reservoir to check out a photo I’ve had in mind. Didn’t work, so I headed back up to the pass and turned off to the park. A short distance up the road from Hiway 152 I took the turn-off onto the short dirt road to the parking lot at the start of the trail to Spikes Peak and many other places. There was only one other car there when I arrived!. This trailhead is – at this time of year – in a beautiful green meadow area with wildflowers just coming up.
Because I was carrying my camera equipment my hike was rather slow since I needed to stop frequently to unload and set up my tripod and camera and various lenses. Before I topped the small saddle at the far end of the meadow I had already stopped two or three times to photograph oak trees catching the first morning light.
Two Oak Trees, Morning. Pacheco State Park, California. March 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Although the hills and grasslands of central California have been starting to turn green for a few weeks now, the impossibly green season is now underway, with grasses coming up like crazy along with all sorts of other vegetation and many wildflowers. I stopped frequently to check out loads of flowers, though it wasn’t easy to photograph them due to extreme winds.
Eventually I wound my way up onto a high ridge along the crest of this portion of the Diablo Range, with extensive views in all directions. To the south there was a bit of snow on somewhat higher peaks; to the west I could see a few clouds forming under the marine air influence; to the north the burned areas of Coe Park were visible with Mt. Hamilton beyond. But the real treat was to the east – green, folded, oak covered ridges in front of me, the San Luis Reservoir beyond them, and then across the wide Central Valley almost the whole Sierra Nevada range was visible on the horizon.
From Pacheco to the Sierra. Pacheco State Park, California. March 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
I continued on along the ridge – in astonishingly strong winds – until I finally reached the “summit” of Spikes Peak. It is the tallest spot on this ridge, and it affords quite a view – but there were higher peaks in several directions. After a quick jaunt back along the ridge and then down to the parking lot the way I had come, I was back at my car by noon.
Almaden Quicksilver County Park Photographs
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***About this page
You might wonder “why so many pictures of this park?” It is the closest decent hiking location to my home, so I go there frequently – often once a week. Although this park overlooks Silicon Valley (and even San Francisco on a clear day) and some trails are almost literally in the backyards of expensive Almaden Valley homes, there is a lot of great hiking here. (More info at http://www.parkhere.org/ and at Ron Horii’s Almaden Quicksilver web site.)
All text and photographs are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved. Neither text nor photographs may be used in any form without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
(Note: This now qualifies as a rather old page, but I’m keeping it around for the archives.)
***Photos of buildings at Almaden Quicksilver
– There is no escaping the fact that this was a mining site for many years (hence “Almaden Quicksilver County Park”), and I find the ruins historically and aesthetically interesting. A separate page (Almaden Quicksilver County Park Structures Photographs) contains photographs of these subjects.
Note: Additional photographs from this park are found here.
—
New and Old Trees, Spanish Camp. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 15, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Trees, Spanish Town. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. April 15, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Oak Grassland Near Webb Canyon. Almaden Hills, California. March 17, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Two Hikers, Oak Grove Near Webb Canyon. Almaden Quicksilver Park, California. March 17, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Santa Clara Valley Hills. Almaden Valley, California. February 16, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Winter Hiker. Almaden Hills, California. February 16, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
Oak Emerging from Fog. Almaden Hills, California. February 16, 2007. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell. (Sales)
“>
Poison Oak Leaves. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 14, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Autumn Leaves. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 14, 2006. ©: Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Rocks, Trees, and Grass. Almaden Quicksilver Park. March 18, 2006. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Diablo Range Snow and Clouds. Almaden Quicksilver. February 18, 2006. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Oak Arches. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 23, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Late Season Fall Color. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 23, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Tree and Rain. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 21, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Solstice Trees. Almaden Quicksilver. December 21, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Prospect #3 Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 26, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Oak Grove and Fog. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 22, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Moonrise Near the Senador Mine. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 16, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Mt. Hamilton and Santa Clara Valley Fog. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 1, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Leaves Turning Colors. Quicksilver Park. September 2, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
Sunset. Almaden Quicksilver Park. July 21, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
South Santa Clara Valley from Catherine Mine. Almaden Quicksilver Park. July 19, 2005. © Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Morning Light. Almaden Quicksilver Park. May 7, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Almaden Quicksilver Hillside. April 2, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Spring Flowers. Almaden Quicksilver Park. March 13, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Fisherman at Guadalupe Reservoir. Almaden Quicksilver Park. March 13, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Morning sun on oak trees and new grass. Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 26, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
New oak foliage. Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 26, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Hillside near Guadalupe Reservoir. Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 12, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Looking west from the ridge above Senador Mine. Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 12, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell
Oak and grass covered ridge near Webb Canyon. Almaden Quicksilver Park. January 22, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
New Years Day. Almaden Quicksilver Park. January 1, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Sun on a nearby ridge as rain approaches. Almaden Quicksilver Park. January 1, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Rainbow over Almaden Valley. Almaden Quicksilver Park. January 1, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Santa Clara Valley with San Francisco in the far distance. January 1, 2005. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Spur trail between New Almaden Trail and Randol Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 15, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Trees and grass on a small ridge near the Randol Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 15, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Trees in morning sun at Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 15, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Fog in the Santa Clara Valley. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 11, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Golden late-fall trees. Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 11, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Oaks and fog on a ridge at Almaden Quicksilver Park. December 10, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Trees and grass on the New Almaden Trail. December 4, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
New Almaden Trail. December 4, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Bare branches, fall leaves, and new grass. Almaden Quicksilver Park. November 14, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Peeling bark. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 31, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Bay trees. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 31, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Green and brown leaves on the Deep Gulch Trail at Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 23, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Oak tree near the Hacienda Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. October 16, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Fall trees near the top of the Deep Gulch Trail at Almaden Quicksilver. October 16, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Mountain Hamilton beyond Almaden Quicksilver ridge. September 18, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Randol Trail #2. Almaden Quicksilver Park. September 3, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Almaden Quicksilver Park with Mt. Hamilton in the distance. August 28, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Randol Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. August 28, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Hacienda Trail oaks. Almaden Quicksilver. August 21, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Hacienda Trail. Almaden Quicksilver. August 21, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Catherine Tunnel mine site. Almaden Quicksilver Park. August 7, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Lichen and Leaves on the Castillero Trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. August 7, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Mine Hill trail in evening light. July 28, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Fall colors near English Camp. Almaden Quicksilver Park. November 15, 2003. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Rock, grass, and trees on the Woods Road trail. Almaden Quicksilver Park. June 12, 2003. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Dry grass at Almaden Quicksilver Park. June 26, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
New Almaden Trail near Mockingbird Hill. April 18, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Rocks, grass, and trees. Almaden Quicksilver Park. April 18, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Another version of the oak-covered ridge near Webb Canyon. March 27, 2004.< Photo copyright Dan Mitchell./i>
Oak-covered ridge near Webb Canyon. March 27, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Hillside near the Hacienda entrance to Almaden Quicksilver Park. August 13, 2002. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Near the Hacienda entrance. March 20, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Bridge on the New Almaden Trail, Almaden Quicksilver County Park. March 13, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Trees and grass along Woods Road, Almaden Quicksilver Park. February 15, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
January flowers. January 31, 2004. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Forested section of the Prospect #3 trail. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Almaden Quicksilver early autumn leaves. September 28, 2003. Photo copyright Dan Mitchell
Almaden Quicksilver early autumn leaves in black and white. September 28, 2003.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
Photo copyright Dan Mitchell.
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Dan's Outside 
Today's Hike – New Almaden Quicksilver
Since school is out (yes, teachers look forward to that, too!) and I have a major pack trip coming up later this summer (more about that later) it is time to get serious about whacking the old body back into some sort of shape. Although I’ve always felt that the best conditioning for backpacking is the first three days of the trip, as I get older I find that I’d rather start those first three days from a little better position if possible.
So, today I decided on a “conditioning” hike that pushed me both in terms of dealing with heat/sun and climbing. I started at the New Almaden entrance to the Almaden Quicksilver County Park and ascended past English Camp by way of the Deep Gulch trail. Deep Gulch is a less-used route that has the disadvantage (or, for my purposes today, the advantage) of being rather steep but on a hot day like this the fact that it is in a, uh, deep gulch means that it is also very shady. After English Camp I continued on past the site of the old mill on the ridge via the Castillero trail to join up with the Mine Hill trail, which I followed back down to the parking lot.
I certainly do not recommend this route in these conditions to anyone out for a pleasant little stroll. It was 90 degrees when I returned to my car and portions of the hike near the highest point are directly in the sun – and I was there right around noon. On the other hand, it seemed like I had the entire park almost to myself. During the several hours I was there I saw exactly five other people.
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June 29, 2009 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary, Places, Trails, Trips | almaden, ascend, castillero, climb, county, deep gulch, descend, hike, hill, hot, mine hill, new, park, peak, quicksilver, santa clara, trail, train, weather | Comments Off on Today's Hike – New Almaden Quicksilver