Another day of misses … was hoping to get clear sky with views at the top, but clouds shrouded the top of Black Mountain. Needless to say, it was good that I arrived before 8 am to get a coveted parking spot. I took off from the lower parking lot onto PG&E Trail (Stephen E Abbors Trail), heading into an occasional light mist. It was just warm enough that I was not needing the windbreaker that I left behind, but I was happy that I had my gloves with me. There were a number of people along the PG&E Trail, which was a pretty steady stream of activity from the parking lot to Quarry Trail. I took a moment to pay respects to a hiker who unfortunately was killed by a falling tree just last month along the trail while hiking with her son's Boy Scout troop. There were a few downed branches along the Quarry Trail, which necessitated a bit of ducking through the narrower trail. The temperature seemed to drop a little bit when I got to Black Mountain Trail for the last mile to the summit. I saw a couple of salamanders crossing the trail and got a picture of one. Black Mountain (2,812) was capped by a veil of clouds that was just starting to thin as I got to the summit medallion. I greeted another runner at the top — he was planning to continue along Montebello Road and then back down for a much longer outing (which I recommend — it continues past some high vineyards with some nice views of the Santa Clara Valley). After getting the obligatory summit pics, I headed back down Black Mountain Trail to Chamise Trail. It was a pretty steady, though gradual, descent which followed the ridge down to Duveneck Windmill Pasture. A little more downhill followed, with a turn onto Rogue Valley Trail at the pond along Permanente Creek. A gentle downhill continued through Rogue Valley, past Deer Hollow Farm, and then the last mile to the parking lot.

Total was just over 14 miles with 3200 feet of elevation gain.

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