Fremont Peak State Park, California

 Waxing Gibbous Moon

In a continuing effort to conserve gasoline, yesterday I curbed my yearning for more new Bay Area Ridge hikes and motored 11 miles up San Juan Canyon Road to Fremont Peak State Park. I am very familiar with the trails there, but the overcast skies and cold wind provided a somewhat different feel to the park. I opted for a very enjoyable counterclockwise loop starting from and returning to the upper parking lot via the Fremont Peak Trail, Carmen's Trail, Tony's Trail, the Cold Springs Trail, and the Valley View Trail.

 I like to park next to these big oak trees by the caretaker's house.

The views were somewhat obscured by the cloud cover, but the walk around the peak was still engaging.

The Fremont Peak Trail sign has been vandalized since the last time I visited.

The end of that segment spit me out at the beginning of Carmen's Trail. About halfway down the gentle switchbacks, I was lucky enough to see a deer resting in the grass plus a variety of wildflowers. 

Carmen's Trail winds down into a drainage and contours up to a road near the Fremont Peak Observatory. Tony's Trail takes off from there. On Tony's Trail I saw a few wily turkeys who defied my attempts at a photograph. If you optimize one of these pictures and squint real hard, you might see a big Tom fanning his tail feathers for you.

The Cold Springs Trail is my personal favorite walk in this park. It twists in and out of oak and madrone forests before connecting to the Valley View Trail that leads back to the parking lot. By the time I was halfway through this homestretch, the wind had picked up and a light sprinkle had begun to blow.  I was starting to get chilled so I didn't lollygag much in these sections. 

I met a smart, friendly Bay Area couple camped where the Valley View Trail passes by the west end of the Oak Flat Campground. They had a snazzy, remodeled 1980's VW Westphalia pop-up camper and a very positive attitude about the funky and getting funkier weather. After an interesting, wide-ranging conversation in between shakes and shivers, we said adios and I sped away along the last segment of the trail, eager to hop into Hondo and head for home.

Peace, Love, and Brrrring Back the Sunshine,

Jim

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