Mt. Madonna County Park

 Waning Crescent Moon

Thursday I fired up Spugly and rumbled over to Mt. Madonna County Park near Hecker Pass between Watsonville and Gilroy, CA. The peak of Mt. Madonna itself is barely higher than the surrounding ground, which is covered in forest, so as far as peak-bagging excitement goes, it's a dud. But there are lots of cool up-and-down hiking trails and the ruins of the Henry Miller estate to explore, making the park one of the best places to recreate within 25 miles of my camp. Part of the Loop Trail and all of the Merry Go Round Trail are included in the Bay Area Ridge Trail (BART) mileage, so I hiked the pieces I had not done before, adding to my BART total. I am now up to a whopping 33.2 miles. Wowza.

I also found out there is something called the Nifty Ninety, a Sierra Club list of 90 peaks in the Bay Area which you can legally climb (walk up, mostly). I have already walked up to Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Diablo, Mt. Umunhum, and Mt. Madonna, so I'm getting niftier and niftier. Maybe I will finish by the time I am ninety. 

This is a crazy thing to do when you factor in all the gas money and day use fees I have racked up already. Somebody needs to intervene and make me stop this nonsense. Or volunteer to take me to the trailheads and pick me up after my hikes. At least I have enjoyed the walks and benefited from the exercise and enjoyed some pretty scenery. Here is a sample of what Mt. Madonna had to offer this past Thursday. 

This BART thing is just a side hustle to keep me entertained until the snow melts in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades. I am toying with some mini-goals for this summer that will help me get in better shape and place me in the thick of the holy and joyful woodsy woods woodsy. You can help by praying as hard as you can for a milder fire season in 2021 than we had last year. Please please please.

Peace, Love, and Hope,

Jim