Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cerro Este Hike - Sunol Regional Wilderness

Last Saturday we went hiking in Sunol Regional Wilderness. It was our first time there and we got positively surprised by the park's beauty and the number of the hiking trails there.

We opted for a 4.75 mile (7.65 km) loop trail created by stitching together four trails: Indian Joe Creek Trail, Rocks Road, Cerro Este Road and Ohone Road. The highest point of the trail was Cerro Este overlook, which at 1'720 feet is one of the higher points in the park. The views from there were very beautiful and definitely worth the short (1310 feet/400 m), but exhausting, climb. Whoever designed the system of trails in the park must have not heard about switchbacks, as all trails we hiked were following the shortest (and therefore the steepest) way to the top of the mountain.

At the very beginning of the hike I almost stepped on this tarantula:


Indian Joe Creek Trail:


Cave Rocks:


Part of the park is used for grazing: