I try to get an early start on these, and this was no different. I arrived at the trailhead at around 530, and the stars were out and gorgeous. Despite my good intentions, I also get a bit of irrational fear when starting out in the dark. It crosses the line from “the woods are lovely, dark, and deep” into “lions and tigers and bears, oh my.” I know it’s irrational, but it’s there. So, I took a nap in the car until the sun came up.

Started on the trail at around 7am and took a little less than 8 hours to do the loop. The Shortcut was pretty brutal, and the poles came in handy. It was super quiet – I think I saw 4 other people the whole day. Saw a bobcat run across the road on the way up in the morning, but just birds and bugs after that 😉.

Overall, a nice hike in cool(ish) weather (high was 65F). Lots of fire road, which my knees appreciated by the end. The summit was a bit underwhelming, but the sense of accomplishment after the shortcut was palpable. This was more challenging than Umunhum or Diablo. I took a circuitous route on Tam, but I think this was more challenging than the Tam East Peak loop (if you actually follow the trail). Next time, I’ll consider camping in Coe.