I had put off hiking Mt. Um for the longest time because of the evil Kubrick-esque cenotaph waiting at the top, but today's hike proved to be a very pleasant trip amidst the manzanitas and madrone trees, offering sweeping views of the Santa Clara valley to the north and green mountains in every other direction.

We started our hike from the Bald Mountain parking lot at around 3 PM, covering the Bald Mountain trail first and then summiting Mt. Um. The trail was well maintained, and we had a nice canopy for most of the hike. We maintained a nice easy pace of ~21 minutes per mile which kept us just warm enough on this cool February afternoon/evening. We encountered no wildlife larger than a squirrel and very few fellow hikers on the trail. Some of the trees were starting to bloom, scattering tiny flowers on the trail every so often. The evening sky over the mountains was stunning as always, with striking colors across the spectrum.

The entire hike (Bald Mountain + Mt. Um) was recorded at 9.6 miles, which we completed in 3 hrs, 20 mins.