Sunol-Camp Ohlone Road,McCorkle Trail, 6.1 Miles, 1150Kcal, 2hr 30 min

After yesterday's down pour until late night the chances of going to hike was very bleak. Also we returned late from the Friday party which is another reason to skip hike this week, but we finally decided to go ahead. I tried to persuade few new members to join us for this week's hike. We reached the park by 7.30 A.M. but unfortunately park gates opened only at 8:00 A.M. It was a bit chilly and very cloudy. We were expecting to hike on wet muddy trails but it wasn't bad at all. Actually this trail is ideal during rainy season as you can see Little Yosemite falls and few creeks next to trail. It was very scenic all around. Some sections of the trail was covered with  Poppy flowers. Throughout the hike we didn't  get a glimpse of the sun. Kudos to new member on burning 1150 Kcal who deserves a 3 course lunch :)

Route: McCorkle Trail, Camp Ohlone Rd
Time: 2.30 hr 
Difficulty: 5.5/10

Clouds at very low level

Young hiker at W tree

One of the climb

2nd climb

On our descent

Las Trampas Regional Park, Chamise, Trail, Sulphur Springs Trail, Del Amigo Trail and back, 5.16 Miles, 1478 Kcal

It was windy and cold when we started the climb up. Mahogany trail took us down into a ravine and back up and was pretty slippery in stretches. But wildflowers were in full bloom and the views were great. We lost our way a little due to poor trail markings on the route, but finally blundered our way into the right trail. The trail took us through numerous uphill and downhill stretches and slowed our progress a lot. It is always a pleasure to hike in Las Trampas when the hills are green and we enjoyed it quite a bit. Count down starts 2 weeks away from Yosemite hike... We did miss the company of one enthusiastic hiker who traveled to India.

Route: Mahogany trail
Time: 3 hr 
Difficulty: 7/10

Mahogany Trail

 Wildflowers in bloom with Mt. Diablo in the background

Committee meeting to discuss the route

Meadow with wildflowers

Black Mountain Trail, Los Altos, CA, 11 Miles, 2,850 ft, 2,296 KCal, 5 hrs

This was a much awaited hike we wanted to do for a few weeks. But we kept postponing due to rains and other obstacles.  With few weeks away from Yosemite hike we wanted to finish this preparatory hike. Finally the day has come. We were very thrilled as we had new members, our friends, join us for the hike. Reading through the blogs of previous hikers, we were all a bit skeptical whether we could do this hike or not. The first one mile had a very steep gradient and  was pretty strenuous. The next three miles were pretty tame, with beautiful views of the the bay and peninsula. Wildflowers had already started to appear and the fern garden was along the way was very pretty. But soon we came to the last one and half miles of the hike, which were grueling and we made it to the summit exhausted. But the views at the summit were worth it and we relaxed and took a few snaps. The descent was pretty rapid and we rewarded ourselves with a good lunch afterwards.

Route: Black Mountain Trail
Time: 5 hr 
Difficulty: 7.5/10