Got a bit braver today, and tried a trail that I haven't been on in years, and that what I did remember about it was steep trails.
Yea, funny thing about memory - mine is pretty damned good, dammit.
Saint Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve is great, because it is right in the middle of Los Gatos, but is still very wilderness-ish. It goes from Los Gatos, over the eponymous hill, and down again to Lexington Reservoir.
I planned this one, so did a bit of research on the best way to access the trails for an after-work hike, and found that the Novitiate Park would be the easiest for both parking and access. It's at the very end of Jones street (which is also the name of the trail) and there seemed to be plenty of on street parking, and I didn't see any signs for permits, so I felt OK leaving the car there.
The trail was muddy in places after yesterday's storm, but it wasn't impassable, and the dogs seemed to enjoy sniffing around through it. Also, the trail starts up right away on a slope - no easy flats to get you started. The first half mile alternated between decently steep grades, followed by easy slopes - it was timed just enough to get you panting, then give you a rest, then back to panting. At the one-mile mark, there is a nice place to rest and take in the view before the last bit of upward slope. Then comes the downhill trail to the reservoir - we debated about going, because we knew we'd have to come back up... Roya decided to let me decide, so we went for it.
At the bottom is the reservoir parking, with a few porta potties, but a lovely view of the reservoir:
After we totally passed out from "teh Qte",. we turned to face the hill from the bottom. I suggested to Roya that we "climb that bitch like a ladder", but she wasn't buying it. So, up we trudged, thankfully encountering two older (and I gotta say, in awesome shape) ladies coming down the hill, who stopped to adore our dogs.
Yes, we totally used the cuteness of our dogs to put off a very steep hill. You'd totally do it too, don't lie.
Once we made it to the top of that hill, there was only a few rises before the trail turned completely downhill. Great for Roya, who has a well-trained, leash-led dog. Not so great for the tiny strong-man at the end of my leash. I finally had to hold the leash in one hand, and lead it behind my waist to keep Elliott from pulling me down into the mud with him. We made it to the bottom with only one small injury (I accidentally stepped on Ell's foot, but he was totally faking that squeal) and Roya pointed out that we managed about 3 miles of fairly challenging terrain in only an hour. WHOO, we are actually making progress!
Let's see how this next few days of rain go... maybe a weekend hike? :)
Yea, funny thing about memory - mine is pretty damned good, dammit.
Saint Joseph's Hill Open Space Preserve is great, because it is right in the middle of Los Gatos, but is still very wilderness-ish. It goes from Los Gatos, over the eponymous hill, and down again to Lexington Reservoir.
I planned this one, so did a bit of research on the best way to access the trails for an after-work hike, and found that the Novitiate Park would be the easiest for both parking and access. It's at the very end of Jones street (which is also the name of the trail) and there seemed to be plenty of on street parking, and I didn't see any signs for permits, so I felt OK leaving the car there.
The trail was muddy in places after yesterday's storm, but it wasn't impassable, and the dogs seemed to enjoy sniffing around through it. Also, the trail starts up right away on a slope - no easy flats to get you started. The first half mile alternated between decently steep grades, followed by easy slopes - it was timed just enough to get you panting, then give you a rest, then back to panting. At the one-mile mark, there is a nice place to rest and take in the view before the last bit of upward slope. Then comes the downhill trail to the reservoir - we debated about going, because we knew we'd have to come back up... Roya decided to let me decide, so we went for it.
At the bottom is the reservoir parking, with a few porta potties, but a lovely view of the reservoir:
And also, of Koda being adorable doing his high-five:
After we totally passed out from "teh Qte",. we turned to face the hill from the bottom. I suggested to Roya that we "climb that bitch like a ladder", but she wasn't buying it. So, up we trudged, thankfully encountering two older (and I gotta say, in awesome shape) ladies coming down the hill, who stopped to adore our dogs.
Yes, we totally used the cuteness of our dogs to put off a very steep hill. You'd totally do it too, don't lie.
Once we made it to the top of that hill, there was only a few rises before the trail turned completely downhill. Great for Roya, who has a well-trained, leash-led dog. Not so great for the tiny strong-man at the end of my leash. I finally had to hold the leash in one hand, and lead it behind my waist to keep Elliott from pulling me down into the mud with him. We made it to the bottom with only one small injury (I accidentally stepped on Ell's foot, but he was totally faking that squeal) and Roya pointed out that we managed about 3 miles of fairly challenging terrain in only an hour. WHOO, we are actually making progress!
Let's see how this next few days of rain go... maybe a weekend hike? :)
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