Almaden Quicksilver—Webb Canyon, Cinnibar, Randol Trail Loop
Hike Review:
I hiked the Webb Canyon Trail, Cinnibar Trail, Mine Hill Trail, Randol Trail, then a steep unnamed side trail back to Webb Canyon Trail.
The Webb Canyon Trail starts off as a fully paved double track road that turns into a pretty single track trail that kept a pretty constant elevation by hugging the hills. This trail had a great mix of open air when there were pretty vistas and wooded sections as the trail folded into (or out of) the hills.
The Cinnibar Trail was a slightly steep, but short dirt path that linked the Webb Canyon to Mine Hill Trail.
The Mine Hill Trail is a fire road that has great views of the Santa Cruz mountains to the west. As we hiked this trail, we got a beautiful display of the clouds crowding the radar tower on top of Mount Umunhum.
The Randol Trail was a pretty double track dirt road that can apparently close due to inclement weather. It looked less worn compared to all the other trails, which made this trail a bit more precious.
Due to our late start, instead of hiking all the way, we decided to cut back to the start using some clearly marked side trails. This single track was very, very steep, which made the going slow. The views though, were the best on this hike.
What I Learned:
The girls and I were motivated to finish this hike, as we promised ourselves a hard shell taco each after the hike. During the hike, we discussed other awards for longer hikes, where I promised the girls either stuffed animals (and/or up-to $100 Lego set) for a 8 mile hike (for Anna; it’d be 10 miles for Kaylee). I also promised them a laptop each if they ever hike Half Dome with me. They got pretty excited and were asking when we could tackle a 6 or a 7 mile hike to train for a 10 mile hike.
What Happened?
3.4 miles, 2 hrs, 669 ft of ascent
Since we had hiked in the rain yesterday, and we didn’t want to do that back-to-back, we waited out the rain and hiked a new-to-us trail at Almaden Quicksilver. Our favorite part of the hike was the clean and crisp air (especially since it had stopped raining less than an hour before we started hiking). During the hike, we spotted mountain lion (and baby mountain lion) and deer foot prints, which Annabelle spotted and Kaylee erased. We all took a plethora of photos, and generally had a great time.
The only scary part was the steep down slope at the end, but the girls held on to me and we slowly walked down without a hitch.
At the end of the hike, we promptly drove to a Taco Bell on the way home, had the #1 combo, and each enjoyed a delicious taco as a well-earned snack.