Monte Bello OSP

Distance: ~7 miles
Elevation Gain: ~900 feet
Time: ~4-5 hours
Difficulty Level: 1 - Easy Hike [scale used: 1-Easy...5-Very Strenuous]

Pace: Moderate pace of average ~1.8 miles per hour. (fast hikers please excuse, we will take frequent breaks)

Exposure: ~50% shaded, Sunblock recommended.

Weather: We will go rain or sun-shine.

Cost: None

Parking: Free Parking Lot

Directions: Link to google maps: (http://goo.gl/maps/aXhZo) http://goo.gl/maps/aXhZo

The preserve's main entrance is on Page Mill Road, 7 miles west of Highway 280 and 1.5 miles east of Skyline Boulevard. Parking is available for 45 cars. Additional parking is available at the Los Trancos Open Space Preserve parking area, located directly across Page Mill Road.

We typically wait for 20 minutes from the posted time when we hit the trail.

Equipment: Hiking shoes with good treads, woolen socks ( avoid cotton socks to avoid blisters), layered clothing, jacket/fleece, Water, Snacks

I will let the following pictures do the talking as to what awaits us on this hike.

I hope you can join us,

Cheers!
-Vic

Beautiful sunsets and sunrises: From the top of Black Mountain, visitors have an incredible view of Santa Clara Valley and the Mt. Hamilton Range. On clear days, visitors can see beautiful sunsets from the Black Mountain Backpack Camp, or watch the fog roll in from the coast. A former long-term caretaker of the ranch property remembers, “We had a 200-degree view of the Pacific Ocean. We could see the Crystal Range above Lake Tahoe a few times a year on a really clear day. Arguably we saw some of the greatest sunsets and sunrises in the world.”

History of Black Mountain Ranch: The Spanish explorers called Monte Bello Ridge and its high point Black Mountain the Sierra Morena, or dark mountain. Early American settlers to this area named one of their towns Mountain View because they had a view of Black Mountain and they were “deeply affected by the loftiness and beauty of this great rock looming against western sky.”1 George Morell, a wealthy newspaper publisher, originally owned the Black Mountain Ranch property. “Nature in the raw” is what led Mr. Morell to buy Black Mountain Ranch. Following is an excerpt from his essay, “History of Black Mountain and Monte Bello Ridge,” written in 1959:

"This is a very primitive area, kept so because of its inaccessibility either by road or trail. On the Morell, Winship, Johnson properties no destructive mark of fire or axe can be found. The land remains much as it was a century ago. Wildlife abounds. A magnificent coyote chorus greets the rising moon from a bald promontory. Coons, wild cats and foxes seem to be everywhere. Mountain lions have beenin residence during most of the years since 1940, when I bought the ranch. Last yeara female raised two cubs and exercised them almost daily within a quarter mile of the ranch buildings. It is hoped that the primitiveness of this core area, the Johnson, Winship, Morell ranches may be preserved. Wilderness areas such as this are becoming more rare and consequently more precious each year."

Stanford University later received Black Mountain Ranch as a gift from Mr. Morell and, in 1974, the District purchased the
760-acre ranch property, creating the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve.

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Usual Equipment For Hike:

1. Dress in layers – so you can do thermal body heat management

2. Hiking Shoes with Woolen Socks (Highly Recommended)

3. Light Wind Breaker

4. Water 3 liters (Minimum) (Preferably a Camel-pak)

5. Electrolytes - preferable in dissolving tablet form (Highly Recommended)

6. Snacks

7. Sugary Snacks – Chocolates etc.

8. Lunch

9. Headlamp and extra fresh pair of batteries (for night hikes)

10. Emergency space blanket sheet

11. Warm Cap (Highly Recommended)

12. Sun Shades

13. Sun Block 70 or 100 SPF

14. Camera

15. Day Pack

16. Hiking Poles - (Highly Recommended)

17. Treats to share with Organizer :)

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GUESTS: THERE ARE NO "PLUS ONES" OR "GUESTS" ALLOWED ON THIS HIKE. FOR SAFETY REASONS AND SO EVERYONE ACCEPTS THE MEETUP'S WAIVER OF LIABILITY. EVERYONE WHO SIGNS UP MUST BE A MEMBER OF THIS GROUP. IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO TAKE ON THIS HIKE, HAVE THAT PERSON SIGN UP AS A MEMBER OF THIS GROUP AND JOIN THE HIKE.

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CARPOOLS

How to pay your Fair-Share to Carpool driver (updated): When we carpool, we should take into account vehicles wear & tear, tires and maintenance, in addition to gas spent when paying the Carpool Driver. Here is our recommended formula:

Driver+1: Passenger pay 70% of gas + share the parking/entrance fees equally.

Driver+2: The two passengers, each pay 50% of gas + share the parking/entrance fees equally (driver’s share is wear & tear + driver shares the parking/entrance fees).

Driver+3: the three passengers, each passenger pay 33% of gas + share the parking/entrance fees equally among each other. (driver’s share is wear & tear. Driver pays NO parking/entrance fees or gas).

Phones: phones don't work on most of the hikes, though may work at some high spots. Please keep them switched off to enjoy silence and respect for our fellow hikers.

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