Almaden Quicksilver—Mockingbird Hill to Catherine Tunnel Loop
Hike Review:
I hiked the New Almaden Trail, Prospect #3 Trail, Mine Hill Trail, Great Eastern Trail, Day Tunnel Trail, Randol Trail, Buena Vista Trail, and back to New Almaden Trail.
The New Almaden Trail is a trail that I found more tiring than what I had expected due to its maddening roller-coaster like changes in elevation. Still, I liked how shady it was.
Prospect #3 Trail was a short switchback trail that didn’t have too much shade. Instead as I climbed in elevation, the views of Almaden and San Jose started to improve.
Mine Hill Trail was not much of a trail, and more a dusty road. I didn’t like this so much due to the lack of shade.
The Great Eastern Trail, Day Tunnel Trail, Randol Trail, and the Buena Vista Trail were pretty single width trails that zig-zagged among the manzanita, bay, and oak trees. I loved how shady the trails were.
All trails were hard-packed dirt that was easy for my shoes to grip, which I liked.
There were only a few sections where I would have called the trails steep, which was nice.
What I Learned:
I donated platelets yesterday and although I wasn’t supposed to exercise for 24 hours, I really wanted to hike, so I chose this hike, which I didn’t think would be very hard. Because I started late, it was hot. Still, I felt fine throughout the hike.
I hiked this trail in my old running shoes and although I felt fine on the trail, I had foot pains after a day. I promptly threw the old shoes away since its obvious to me now that there was no cushioning in the foam. What I learned is that I really need to have a backup pair of trail running shoes for when they break!
Media Consumed:
Red Scarf Girl—finished
What Happened?
8.2 miles, 2 hr 54 mins, 1674 ft of ascent
My company gave everyone a day off, so I really wanted to go on a short hike before I had to pick my kids up. So I settled on New Almaden Quicksilver County Park, which I had not hiked in over a year.
In the first 1/3 of the trail, I was a bit worried if I could make it back in time, but even with the hot weather, I hiked at almost 3mph, which allowed me to make it to my kids school with lots of time to spare.
During the hike, I visited the Catherine Tunnel and Saint George Shaft, which are the remnants of how much mining was happening in Almaden more than a hundred years ago. I really wished I could get inside the Saint George Shaft, but I understand why they have to close it off.
Other than that, I found the hike and the trail a good one, and I feel very lucky that this hike is only 15 minutes away from me.