Story:
A really nice hike through Montebello that includes Black Mountain and the Stevens Creek Nature Trail.
The hike started off wonderfully with a coyote hunting gophers in the grass some distance away from me. I was downwind of him so while he was preoccupied with getting his breakfast he ended up drifting up the ridge quite close to me. I saw two coyotes today and neither seemed very concerned with my presence. In my past experience they usually take off as soon as they notice that you've spotted them if not before.
The hike up to Black Mountain is nice and gradual along the Bella Vista trail. The wildflowers are putting on a decent display now, lots of filarees, lupines, poppies, popcorn flowers and a ton of blue eyed grass, I counted over 25 different types today. It is still amazingly wet up here with a lot of the creeks and streams flowing nicely. I don't think the flowers will peak for another few weeks at this rate.
Once past the backpack camp near Black Mountain I ran into another coyote in the middle of a hunt, he also allowed me to get quite close which was a real treat.
Next stop is Black Mountain or the Antenna Farm which has been one of my favorite spots since I was kid riding my BMX bike up here in the early 80s. I enjoyed a quick snack, the sun's rays and a nice can of IPA while checking out the 360 views of Diablo, SF, Pacific Ocean and most of Santa Clara County.
I decided to drop down the ridge off trail from here since I know there are clear stretches all the way down to the Canyon trail along this particular ridge. It got a little steep at times so I'd recommend against following my route and just taking Indian Creek Trail back down.
A nice hike back up the Stevens Creek watershed gets you back to the car on Page Mill Road.
Good fun!
A really nice hike through Montebello that includes Black Mountain and the Stevens Creek Nature Trail.
The hike started off wonderfully with a coyote hunting gophers in the grass some distance away from me. I was downwind of him so while he was preoccupied with getting his breakfast he ended up drifting up the ridge quite close to me. I saw two coyotes today and neither seemed very concerned with my presence. In my past experience they usually take off as soon as they notice that you've spotted them if not before.
The hike up to Black Mountain is nice and gradual along the Bella Vista trail. The wildflowers are putting on a decent display now, lots of filarees, lupines, poppies, popcorn flowers and a ton of blue eyed grass, I counted over 25 different types today. It is still amazingly wet up here with a lot of the creeks and streams flowing nicely. I don't think the flowers will peak for another few weeks at this rate.
Once past the backpack camp near Black Mountain I ran into another coyote in the middle of a hunt, he also allowed me to get quite close which was a real treat.
Next stop is Black Mountain or the Antenna Farm which has been one of my favorite spots since I was kid riding my BMX bike up here in the early 80s. I enjoyed a quick snack, the sun's rays and a nice can of IPA while checking out the 360 views of Diablo, SF, Pacific Ocean and most of Santa Clara County.
I decided to drop down the ridge off trail from here since I know there are clear stretches all the way down to the Canyon trail along this particular ridge. It got a little steep at times so I'd recommend against following my route and just taking Indian Creek Trail back down.
A nice hike back up the Stevens Creek watershed gets you back to the car on Page Mill Road.
Good fun!
Comments (7)
Nice! I'm going to have to take a long lunch and get up to some of these parks during the week.
by Brighto on Apr 17, 2010
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