Tag: Black Mountain

The first 1 mile and last 2 miles of this hike were brutally steep! Rest of it was a a gradual incline, and it was…

Last hike in the challenge. Thought this and Mt Um were the easiest of the six, but still an awesome hike/workout.

Hiked from Rhus Ridge last year. Decided to try Monte Bello this time.  Windy narrow little road with lots of Labor Day cyclists.  NO PROBLEM…

Hot hot day.  Had to take extra breaks and drank more water than normal just to deal with the heat.  The summit is a bit…

The drought has sucked the life out of Northern California. While I’m happy to be able to move up this mountain I’ve never seen conditions…

I chose to start at Monte Bello because I heard that Rhus Ridge has limited parking. I did the loop and got 7 miles with…

First solo hike here back in the Bay Area- gorgeous morning through mist and the. Above the undercast. Saw deer and bunnies and plenty of…

Not much shade.

This peak was a doozy. We started at 10 am since we drove down from Sacramento. It was hot and dusty. The trail has a…

sunset hike kicked my butt. steeper than it seems, and more like 10 miles than 9.

Started out at 8:30 and it was cool and the morning fog was burning off. I opted for a short sleeve even though I usually…

Beautiful hike, and not cold and windy at the top as it sometimes is! Started early, and was glad of that when the sun was…

Beautiful hike on a sunny day through varying terrain. Glad we started at 7:30a to avoid the heat. The number of hikers increased steadily during…

Hot but good

Today was hot but breezy, not too many people on the trail and a mile longer than expected but all in all, very fun hike.…

First, need to arrive by 6:20 to get a parking spot, otherwise wait until late morning to come in as folks are leaving. We finished…

It was RUFF

Beautiful hike but certainly rough!!!

great views and some sweet wildflowers. A tough one but worth it.

Easy hike and My first experience with a coyote on the trail 🙂

I made the mistake of arriving at 6:50am on a Saturday. There was NO parking available. I was fortunate enough to park close enough away…

We tried to start at 7:30 at Rancho San Antonio Park but it was already full.  If your thinking of hiking from here I would…

Start early so you can get parking and beat the heat! The parking lot fills up fast and the trail is mostly exposed. There were…

Trail conditions perfect, weather perfect, company amazing!

Beautiful trail and beautiful day. Perfect weather. Kicked my butt going up and up!

This was such a crazy hike especially considering it’s right next to very tame Los Altos. Parking was impossible, so we parked at Foothill College…

Small parking lot full by 7:15.  We parked at Foothill College and walked to trailhead.   First mile of hike was straight up and certainly…

We tried to park in the little parking lot. We got there at 7:15.   It was full so we had to park at the…

First, some words of caution: Wow it was hot. 90 at the summit, but at least there was a breeze up there. The trails were…

We tried to do PGE quarry trail but the parking was already full at 7:30am. So we found an alternate trailhead for black mountain that…

Our hike began from a neighborhood that connected to the Chemise trail and then to Black Mnt. There was a steep incline right off the…

We didn’t have the time to do the regular 13ish mile loop from Rancho San Antonio, so I obtained a (free) permit from Midpen Open…

I was given a warning by my friends that I need to be at the Rancho San Antonio Preserve gate half an hour prior to…

The hike title sums it all up! I hiked with a friend WAAAAYYYYY back in April and don’t remember all that much about it! Pro…

This was a new peak for my friend and I. We agreed to meet at 9:00 AM and he got the last remaining parking spot.…

Started at Rancho San Antonio. The hike was mild. Lots of flowers and shade along the way. It was about 4 miles up before I…

We arrived a little before 7am on a Sunday morning to an almost full parking lot. The weather was forecast to be sunny and warm…

Great hike, beautiful day.  We got there at 8:15 and all of the parking lots were full, so we parked outside of the park and…

What a beautiful trail and views in our backyard!  Next time I would go earlier in the season to capture all more wildflowers.

It was a great trail, great views, beautiful weather.

It was sunny and breezy at the peak so we had a little picnic and hung out.

Great day! A little hot where there is no tree coverage. Still very green, some wildflowers. Not crowded. Arrived at 8:30am

GREEEEEEN and QUIET! Clean bathrooms at trailhead. I startled one biker. Saw 3 random hikers on the connecting trails. I never crossed paths with anyone.…

We started at 7:30 am so we found one of the few parking spaces.  Temperature was 45 at the start and 70’s at the finish.…

The trial was nice with a mix of being in the sun and in the shade. The last two miles leading to the peak were…

Good weather, sunny, lots of traffic (hikers and MTBs on weekend. Most of the trail is a wide gravel road with great views, only the…

The trail was beautiful. We arrived at 8:30. Weather was expected to be in the low 70’s. There are some shady areas but when the…

I would consider this the perfect Winter/Spring hike. It is mostly open chaparral, so I think it might be too warm in Summer/Fall. The section…

Whoa!  The WIND up there!  Thought we were going to be Winnie the Pooh in “A Rather Blustery Day”!  Great trip though, wind kept all…

Beautiful Spring day to hike up to Black Mountain!

I wish it was a little more clear at the peak but I was treated to a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow so it wasn’t…

Bagged my 2nd peak in the 6 Pack of Peaks 2021 series. My friend Palmore joined me. First time for both of us hiking Black…

Great hike, great weather. Steep at beginning and end but not bad. Best views from the trail, not so much from the summit.

I planned actually to hiked the “black mountain trail”. I knew the parking is limited. We got there at 7. Was full already. Since I…

Took a lovely Saturday afternoon to go hiking with my labmates to Black Mountain.  We went via route of old ranch, bella vista, and canyon…

Beautifully kept trail – the fire road is well-travelled, like a trail highway. Loved that it got less crowded the farther up we got. Lovely…

Beautiful hike in the South Bay. The last 2 miles to the top are the prettiest and most challenging. Parking is an issue. We got…

Cold but fun

Great hike. Steep in the beginning and towards the peak but gradual incline most of the way. Great weather but a bit windy at the…

A perfect time for a long hike.

17-1/2 miles.

The weather was perfect, parking was easy, & there were no crowds. Great day, overall! (11.8 miles total)

Beautiful trail, we chose a longer trail this time both ways. It was mostly single track trail instead of a fire road ( PG&E ).…

Hiked a total of 13 miles roundtrip.

Even with the sunny weather it can get cold once you reach the summit, that is if you stop moving. This hike kick my behind.…

This hike was super cold loved getting up to the moon rocks and seeing at the views on both sides of the San Andreas fault.…

Nice warm day hike!

Nice, warm, sunny hike!

Did this hike last year, but must not be in as good shape cause it whooped me on the way up, especially the last two…

On the route we took, there were a lot of steep switchbacks in the beginning and then it’s flat til towards the end there’s more…

This is an absolutely beautiful trail, lots of shade and wide. Going up to the Summit was the incline but heading back was all downhill.

First time to San Antonio open space. Beautiful weather and environment. Longer hike, 26 km total. Not difficult.

You know Spring is announcing itself when Manzanitas are blooming and Taricha Torosas can be spotted when it’s a bit wet on the trails. Just…

Total length: ~18 miles, ~3200 ft elevation gain. Arrived at the preserve at 8:05, despite google telling me the opening time was 8:00 the parking…

I knew it was going to be a cool and wet day, but the rain was supposed to pass by 8am and I really wanted…

Excellent conditions, excellent weather, excellent companions!

A bit muddy in the wooded lowlands, but otherwise a great hike.

On The Rocks is a team of youthful women on the other side of middle-age who rocked two peaks in one week! This is one…

Great hike, great friends, great day!

Very nice sunny day. Saw a coyote very nearby at the summit!

Nice and easy hike with a little sightseeing on the top.

We did the ‘Black Mountain via PG&E, Quarry and Black Mountain Trail’ from AllTrails. The parking lots were full on what we thought would be…

We did the ‘Black Mountain via PG&E, Quarry and Black Mountain Trail’ from AllTrails. The parking lots were full on what we thought would be…

Arrived in the parking lot at 8:15 am and it was full. There were a lot of folks on the trail up through roughly mile…

The trail was in great condition. We went on the weekend, so parking was tough to find at the Preserve. We had to do two…

Very nice weather but needed a jacket and gloves at the very top due to wind.

Gorgeous solo hike on a cloudy day.  Beat the rain by five minutes.  Spaces in the main lot on this Thursday were easy to find. …

Several straight up climbs, especially the last two miles. Climbed above power lines with the airplanes. Large towers and cool rocks.

Straight up climbs last 2 miles to the peak. Cool Black Rocks. Large towers. Trough along the way. Did 14+ miles.

Mask compliance is terribly on this trail.

The trail conditions were good and the weather was great. It was a high of 68 degrees. There were a couple spots with some light…

Weather was great!  Sunny with a slight breeze. Trails conditions were good especially for after the rain in the previous week. PG&E trail was 4…

Arrived about 9AM and found just 2 parking spots available. First and last mile a bit steep but not bad. Beautiful views of the valley…

I began my hike at the main Parking lot and looped around the park. 15 miles   ~3,000ft elevation Trails: Permanente Creek – Lower Meadow…

Peak #2 – 1 day after Mission. Black Mountain is not much of a peak/summit but lots of shade and ferns. Birds and bunnies. Really…

Hard to find parking, but it was a nice hike.

Bring your cardio game no matter which trailhead you choose:  the straight A frame incline or the steady reverse uncle with and added 4 miles.…

We (me and the 3 ladies) opted to do the 15 mile route since the 11 mile version was soo packed – even at 730AM…

Hiked with my Dood and2 good lady friends! Was a nice place but packed of people and very warm

Really foggy! No view. 2hrs 25 minutes up, 2 hrs down, total 10.6 Miles and over 2900 feet in elevation gain

The hike Though I live in Silicon Valley and I hike the PG&E loop often in Rancho San Antonio, the Black Mountain is not something…

I’ve always heard of Black Mountain but never actually hiked to it. Today that changed and it felt great! It was a solid hike from…

Some parts of the trail is steep like the halfway point and towards the end and you add the miles to get to the summit…

Had the day off today since I am working Saturday (and also got my second COVID vaccine yesterday). Felt good and headed to the Rhus…

(About that photo…it was windy, the sun was in my face, and I NEED A HAIRCUT!) Last year I did my first peak on New…

Up, up and up.  The route is primarily a comfortably wide fire road that starts with a climb then levels off a bit before the…

Wide open fire roads for the start of the hike.  Nice section of single track once on the Quarry Trail.  Long last mile to the…

Pretty straightforward hike, saw a fair amount of wildlife, bobcat, deer, eagle, etc.  Good sunny cool day.  Good uphill stretch to the top of black…

Great start to our year of peak challenges!

We did this peak on an overcast day. There was some clearing at times with nice views. We started 8AM and it was high 40s…

Trails were great!  Weather was a tad foggy.  It was our first peak, now on to the next one!

Early morning sunrise hike, cold and clear, beautiful view at the top!

Well maintained trail with plenty of parking. Construction is occurring in the area where one parks. Steady stream of people during the 12 mile hike.

This was my first hike of the year, and after the winter holidays, I needed it! I decided to make Black Mountain my “training” peak.…

A foggy and rainy day climbing Black Mountain! We didn’t see much of the view but it was still a great start to our 2021…

This last hike on the last day of 2020 could not have been more perfect. This loop trail in Monte Bello Open Space is diverse…

Having talked to a Ranger the previous day about Rancho San Antonio Park, I decided to wait until sunrise to engage in the hike. There…

Beautiful hike, accidentally took wrong trail down 2 miles and had to hike back up, started at 10am and completed around 4:00pm with the detour.

A little bit of rain.  Trail was well maintained. Snuck it in before the years end!

An easy hike, very mild ascent. The weather was foggy at the beginning (around 11am) then, it warmed up significantly. We needed the carry all…

It was a good and mild climb hike. It was raining heavily right before our hike, so I was a little bit worried that we…

6.25 miles, 1239 ft, 2hr 8 mins Fairly easy hike, it rained a bit but the trail wasn’t too slippery.

Chilly and damp from rain.

Busy day on the tail. Parking lots nearly full at 8:45am.

Love this hike even though 2 hours from Vacaville!  Last hike done!

Another cold one

Perhaps not the most interesting of the hikes but the views were certainly amazing – fun to see Umhumnum, Diablo, Mission Peak , Sizer and…

Amazing rare clear day with great visibility. Hiked up through the deer hollow farm and the north ridge and down the PGE road. Saw a…

lot of chance encountering deers

Beautiful hike after a 2-day rain. Although nothing much to see at the summit.