Sierra Azul OSP Mt El Sombroso: 12.0 mi Moderate Plus Hike

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CARPOOL REQUEST COMMENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED DUE TO THE LARGE SIZE OF THE GROUP. Please read below how to carpool.

Level: Moderate plus

Total Distance: 12.0 mile, out and back.

Hiking Time:

6 hours and done by 6 PM

Elevation Change: 2152 feet.

Parking fee: Free

Official Trail Use: No Dogs allowed from the East Side where we will be hiking.

Facilities Pit toilets at trail head.

Please read our tutorial for hiking in the sun:

https://www.sleeplateandhike.com/tutorials/how-to-hike-in-the-sun/

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO GO BEFORE YOU ARRIVE SO WE CAN START ON TIME.

MROSD Permit 50501

Permit limit is 45 people. Therefore, please be considerate and update your RSVPs at least 24 hours before the event start time, to give someone else a reasonable amount of time to make it. I have limited the RSVPs to 90, as I expect some individuals not to show up.

Recommended Map Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve:

http://www.openspace.org/sites/default/files/pr_sierra_azul.pdf

AllTrails Map: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/almaden-quicksilver-to-mt-el-sombroso-5258d7f?p=-1&sh=rxgyfx&utm_medium=map_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

• Please use the Google Maps link above to familiarize yourself with the trip and explore various route options from your home. Zoom in all the way.

• The GPS locations below and the map link above are accurate enough to find us by looking around with your eyes when you get there.

(Most Cars) GPS Degrees Minutes Seconds Format:

37°10'31.4"N 121°51'51.6"W

(Google Maps) GPS Degrees Decimal Format:

37.175386, -121.864321

Nearest street address:

Intersection of Mt. Umunhum Road and Hicks Road, Los Gatos, CA

The Google Waze app will route around "restricted access" roads, unlike the Google Maps app, using the same map data as Google Maps. Therefore, Waze is recommended over the Google Maps app for your phone.

If you have the Waze app installed on your phone, click this URL:

http://waze.to/?ll=37.175386,-121.864321&navigate=yes (http://waze.to/?ll=48.149491,17.108636&navigate=yes)

Just click it. It will open Waze and start navigating to the trail head.

• As always, it is good practice to confirm the night before that any app you use takes you to where you expect by comparing the destination with what is posted above on your PC/Mac.

• Most street addresses provided are approximate, and may be up to a couple of miles from the hike location. Use GPS coordinates when driving, if possible.

PARKING DIRECTIONS:

Drive to:

Mt Umunhum Road and Hicks Road ( map (https://goo.gl/maps/ekDbGKcDAST2))

Click on this map (https://goo.gl/maps/ekDbGKcDAST2)link and you will see to the west side of the road there is the:

Midpeninsula Open Space Reserve: Jaques Ridge Parking Area

and a much larger parking area to the east side of the road at:

Almaden Quicksilver County Park Hicks/Wood Road Entrance

We will meet you at the Wood Road Entrance.

Plan to arrive 15 minutes early to find parking, and walk to the trail head.

CARPOOLING DIRECTIONS:

We will use this link for carpooling:

https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/i6hab9

Please sign up here.

CARPOOLING MANNERS:

Please refrain from trying to negotiate your carpool in the comments, as it is equivalent to sending multiple "Reply All" emails to everyone.

Please start your carpool quest, by first adding yourself to the carpool link above.

Then, use the contact info provided by the driver or rider in the link above to contact them directly and privately.

Please be considerate of others and resist the urge to "Reply All".

Thank you for understanding.

SUMMARY:

One can visit serpentine grasslands, hard, rocky, and steep chaparral, dense stands of bay trees, or quiet, shaded oak woodland forests. For the more hardy explorers, there are deep ravines and riparian corridors, some containing seasonal or year-round water flow.

The entire Preserve provides homes for deer, bobcats, coyotes, and many other species of animals. This Preserve has the beauty and ruggedness of an unspoiled wilderness and attracts visitors seeking a more vigorous hiking, biking, and equestrian experience.

HIKING DIRECTIONS:

Parking lot -> Woods Trail -> Mt El Sombroso Summit.

Mt El Sombroso Summit -> Woods Trail -> Parking lot.

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