Rubber Side Down: March 2006

Check out the run

I just have to say I love playing around with google earth. Maybe its the God's eye view but it is a great thing to be able to see something up close like running a trail for 5 hours, and then be able swoop down on it and get the big picture. This is the data from my gps converted into a Google Earth .kmz file. You have to install Google Earth to view it, but its worth it if you have a PC. I wish they had a Mac version.

We ran this roughly 22 mile trail in under 5 hours. Now that's a morning workout.

From Los Gatos through St. Joseph Hill and Sierra Azul to QuickSilver

Did you read the title ? That's already too many park names to put in one blog, not to mention running them all on one Sunday morning. Yes, that was March 19, 2006.

See a gmap of the run at : http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=73009

Disclaimer - the photos were taken with an E850 phone. Under most circumstances I would not use my phone to take pictures, nor I would use my camera to call you. Hence the bush is not blue and our legs are not yellow, for most of the time.

We started from LGHS (elevation 350 feet) and ran across the St. Joseph hill to Alma road. In nother five minutes we were at the trailhead of Limekiln trail (2.7miles). The trail climbs on the south side of the Limekiln canyon. It is very pretty, mostly covered with trees, and we could hear the water in the creek bellow. Sissie and Alana turned back half the way in, as they planned to.

Patrick, Dayle, Carol and I finally reached the top of the ridge and the cross with Priest Rock Trail (1600f). On the map it shows 1.4 miles from Alma Rd to this point, however the GPS showed almost 2 miles, and so did our time. We continued with the Limekiln trail (this section is also a part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail) for another 3+ miles, up to the top of Mt. El Sombroso (2999f). So far 2:10 hours on the trail, 8+miles uphill. This is also the closest point on our trail to Mt. Umunhum.

What you see here never happened. Never believe any pictures other people show you. Yes, the mountain is there, and we were there, but there was no one else to take our group picture. I carry my phone without a tripod. And it's not photoshop either!! Nop. I use a different photo editor, called LView Pro.

We have room for one

more person on the left.

If you will send me your

picture (and $$) I will

add you in.

Going down Woods trail we saw some bikers going up - this trail seems even steeper than the one we took up. Going down was not easy, but we did not whine. It took us about an hour to get to Hicks road, where we entered the Almaden QuickSilver park. So far about 15 miles, 3.5 hours.

Most of the last 6.5 miles were downhill, and very pretty. But we did notice every short uphill as well, like the one past the Copper Mine.

We finished just bellow 5 hours !!! The car we left the night before at the McAbby entrance was still there. Oh, how many smiling faces to see a parking car, taking their shoes off and jumping in. The drive back to LGHS was effortless, isn't it ?

Mushrooms

As promissed (see Sissie's blog), here are some mushrooms that I shot at Point Lobos in December 05. I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours alone with my D50 camera, a Nikon 60mm Macro and a couple of tripods, one small enough to position the camera at ground level.

I take flower photos for years, but this is my first attmpt at mushrooms. Unlike flowers, mushrooms grow very close to the ground, often hidden between leaves, and only in dark areas.

I don't know mushroom names, however these bellow are very tiny ones. These mushrooms are smaller than a fingernail, 1.5" tall, and their stems are thin as a pine needle, many of which are shown in the background. On my laptop screen they appear in this little image in natural size. I had to wait for the clouds to open to get this sun light.

The truth is, i never intended to shoot mushrooms. I went there to catch big waves. Like this one. The middle rock is about 30-40 feet high above the water. A wave like that comes once in every 20-30 minutes. The camera was mounted on the tripod, in manual-everything mode. The camera's wireless remote control was very handy to shoot a sequence of frames when the wave arrived.

Oh, I almost forgot - this is a running blog, not my photo album ! Did I mention that I also ran around the Point Lobos park ? in shorts and running shoes, without my camera. It's a very scenic one hour run !

Arnon