Sierra Azul open space reserve (Kennedy road, priest rock trail & Limekiln trails)

Summary

Location: Sierra Azul open space, Los gatos California
Date & Time: 06/23/2015 11:30 AM
Distance: 14.3 miles
Duration: 5 hours 40 minutes
Difficulty (1-5): 5, There is so much climbing up and down, it will make you crazy and kill your toes :)
Official web page: http://www.openspace.org/preserves/sierra-azul

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Story

We picked this trail as our final big preparation before trying to hike mount whitney in one week. The reason why we picked this hike is that it provides a lot of elevation.

The trail starts at Kennedy road in Los gatos, parking might be difficult since there there is only a few spots available but since we did this hike in the middle of a week we didnt had any problems to park.

The first part of the hike is a steady 4 mile climb up to the peak, total elevation gain is about 1500 feet and goes from about 800 feet to 2500 feet. After that we turned right on Priest rock trail and went down from the peak for about 1,5 miles. The descent part is really steep so make sure you have your shoes tied correctly or your toes will start to hurt really bad. My wife realized in this part that her shoes was not as good as she thought and we had to go to REI to buy new shoes for her the day after :)

Next part of this hike was to enter the limekiln trail and slowly start to climb towards the peak again. After been already walking for about 2.5 hours in the sun this slowly never ending ascending for 3.5 miles was a big challenge but still very nice. On this trail both me and my wife tried our new trekking poles for the first time and i can promise you that they really saved me on this part of the hike. Using the poles really relives the pressure from your legs and i was very happy for that since my stamina in the legs has never been good.

After getting back up to the peak you are going back into the kennedy trail and i really liked this part because it was going constantly up and down for 1.5 miles until you start to descend towards the end for 4 miles.

This hike was overall great but i can promise you that after a total of about 14 miles and 4000 feet total elevation change both me and my wife were exhausted but at the same time very happy. The views and the trail (fire roads in good condition) are awesome and even though most of the part is in the sun you will have some shady areas.

Now we are feeling that we are ready for mount whitney :)

Start of the hike, 4 miles of slowly climbing

Entire hike is on great fire roads

Going up, up, up

So much up and down

Happy wife with her new trekking poles

Descending again

Love the nature up here

Me at the up and down sections, note the trail in the background

View from the last part of the hike, the photo is bad but yuo get a great view over San Jose

I just love this trees

The entance

 

Alviso marina county park, San Jose CA. 06/13/2015

Summary

Location: Alviso marina county park, San Jose California
Date & Time: 06/14/2015 02:00 PM
Distance: 9.08 miles
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes
Difficulty (1-5): 3, The trail is 9 miles but it is flat and no challenges
Official web page: http://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/AlvisoMarina.aspx

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Story

This trail is one of my frequently used trail since it is so close from my home. Normally i do this hike at least one time per week and i always enjoys it a lot. The reason for that is even though the trail is far from exciting it gives me a peaceful moment and a way to getaway from city life very quick and easy.

The trail is basically a nine mile circle around some salt ponds in the Alviso slough, you are walking on a dirt road that is very easy to follow. There is always a lot of wind out here, that makes it great to hike here even if its very hot and in the middle of the summer.

But make sure to wear sunscreen and sunglasses since there is no shade and the wind can be very annoying for the eyes.

Parking is easy to find any day and time of the week and it is free.

Normally you only see other people the first two miles and the last two miles, so most of the hike will be very quite and peaceful.

I can really recommend this trail as an excellent weekday after work hike if yuo work or live in the north part of south bay.

Long hike around the salt ponds

The view is basically the same the entire trail

Peaceful and quiet

My best "but soon wearn out" Brooke shoes

Fremont mission peak in the background

Waterway out to the SF Bay from Alviso harbor

Alviso marina county park

The park entrance, nice to get into the wilderness only 5 minutes from tech world

Mission Peak regional park, Fremont CA. 06/07/2015

Summary

Location: Mission Peak regional park, Fremont California
Date & Time: 06/07/2015 12:30 PM
Distance: 7.14 miles
Duration: 2 hours 52 minutes
Difficulty (1-5): 3, short but steep elevation. Very hot and no shadow at all makes it hard.
Official web page: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission

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Story

Yesterday me and my wife decided to take a hike up to the mission peak in the afternoon.
We have never hiked up there before and i was thinking it was gonna be an easy task… but believe me it was not!

This day it was really hot outside (mid 85°) and there is almost no shadow at all on this hike so it was really hot and even though we only hiked for a total of three hours a lot of water was needed.

There is two parts of this hike, first you go 3,5 miles up to the peak and then you go down again.
The hike is very steep, so even though its a pretty short hike a lot of energy is needed due to the elevation change (2,100 feet). In the sun you really have to struggle to get up to teh peak.

But when you finally get to the top it is worth it, the view from the peak is wonderful.
This day it was not so clear but it is told that on a clear day you can see all the way to the sierras from the top. This trail is very crowded and sometimes as much as 2000 persons can do this hike in only day.

Finding parking is difficult so most of the times a street parking up to a half mile from the park entrance is required.
There is no water available so make sure to bring a lot of water for this hot hike.

We finished this hike in 2 hours and 52 minutes, this included a 15 minutes rest on the peak. To summarize this is a nice hike to do when you really want to exercise your legs and your heart. The view from the top is also well worth the hard work to get up there.

Mission peak park open hours

Last climb up towards the peak

Me at the peak monument

View over Fremont and the bay from the peak

On the way back

My wife enjoying the peak