Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve is the largest preserve in the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. At 18,670 acres, it encompasses the portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains from Lexington Reservoir above Los Gatos down to Mt. Umunhum where it shares a boundary with Almaden Quicksilver County Park. If you look toward the southwest from nearly anywhere in the South Bay, you are looking at Sierra Azul.
A year ago, a friend and I set up a car shuttle and we walked the full 11.4-mile length of the preserve from Woods Trail over Mt. El Sombroso to Lexington Reservoir. The main attraction of this hike was the view of the Bay Area we hoped to see, but the cloud cover was low and dense and we rarely saw farther than we could throw a rock. I recently returned to the Woods Trail hoping to see the views I missed before.
Sierra Azul OSP is steep and rugged country. While most of the trails are long climbs up gradients steep enough to reduce the toughest hiker to a whimpering husk, the first few miles of the Woods Trail cut a comfortable route across the slopes that tumble down from Mt. Umunhum.
Though still summer, it felt like a gentle fall day—warm, clear and perfectly still—when I stepped from the car at the Woods Trailhead at the corner of Hicks Road and Mt. Umunhum Road—several miles beyond New Almaden. The air was rich with the aroma of vinegar weed and ragweed that scent our thirsty hills this time of year. Right away, the trail entered a cool shaded forest of oaks, bay and madrone. In the creases where winter runoff gathers, there were sycamore and bigleaf maples beginning to show hints of yellow.
Below me on the right, a huge wooded amphitheater gathered the waters that would become the Guadalupe River and dropped impressively down toward the valley. Across the way, I could see miles ahead where the Woods Trail begins to edge up toward El Sombroso. On my left, when the sight lines opened up, the monolith atop Mt. Umunhum grew larger and higher overhead.
If plants interest you, look for the very unusual California nutmeg along the trail beginning about two miles out. On opposite sides of each branch are two rows of needles that look somewhat similar to a Douglas fir or redwood, but notice that the needles are longer, very shiny and have very sharp tips. The tree is endemic to California, and though not considered rare, it is a very uncommon sight.
About three and a half miles out, the gentle gradient I promised on the Woods Trail gave way to a steep Sierra Azul-like climb up to Mt. El Sombroso. To make matters even tougher, as the trail steepened it left the cool forest and entered a sun-battered stretch of chaparral.
But that’s all right. If your heart is set on a big day, the round trip hike to El Sombroso is 12 miles, but most of us will prefer a six or seven mile round-trip hike out Woods Creek. It is a cool shady stroll that anyone looking to get out will enjoy.
The view? I was foiled again. Instead of gray skies above, there was brown soup below. One more reason among many to return again to Woods Trail.
Congratulations Joanne Rife
Last fall, I wrote about a special woman who was walking the John Muir Trail. She divided the 211-mile trail along the crest of the Sierra into four sections, hiking one section each summer for four consecutive years. Last summer, she finished the third leg, and she hoped to complete the journey this year.Â
Every step south on the John Muir Trail takes you higher. At the bottom of the range is where the Sierra Nevada flexes its muscles. On the last leg of her journey, Joanne had to cross 13,200-foot Forester Pass. From there, she descended 3,000 feet, walked 25 miles and climbed 4,000 feet to the 14,495-foot summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the 48 contiguous states. All this, mind you, carrying a full backpack.
A brutal storm thwarted her first attempt, but on her second try Joanne reached her four-year goal, the summit of Mt. Whitney.
Joanne is 82.
Tonight, as you sip your Chardonnay, lift your glass to Joanne, an inspiration to us all.
