August 9, 2017 - Fremont Peak and Mission San Juan Bautista

Title: August 9, 2017 - Fremont Peak and Mission San Juan Bautista
Hike Info : Description :  Extra Photo's 

Trail head: Fremont Peak State Park

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Fremont Peak Trail and Service Road

Destination: Fremont Peak

Distance:  1.25 miles  ¹

Elevation Rise:  350'

Maximum Elevation: 3,169'

 ¹I did not turn on my GPS. The times and mileages are from a previous hike Sherri and I did five years ago for Capture California

Description:

When I saw this hike posted on meetup, I had two things: 

• Yeah! John and Cathey are leading hikes again. 
• Oh wow, a three hour drive for a mile and quarter hike.

Start of trail

But we signed up and are going. This will be a good short hike for me. The last hike I did, I rested as much as I walked. Lately my caloric intake is pretty low so my energy levels have been lacking. So a short hike, with others with a good uphill will be a challenge for me.

We meet at Eddie’s Bakery at 7am. There will be 12 on the trip, most of of them we know so this is a good group to crash and burn, if I do. This event will be in three parts:

•     Hike up Fremont Peak
•     Eat at Jardine’s de San Juan
•     Visit Mission San Juan Bautista

Transmitter Towers

Sherri starts off driving and goes all the way to Casa de Fruita. We have in our car Nancy B who we have hiked with before and her friend Zar. After Casa de Fruita, I drive and am the lead car. First, Sherri prefers I drive on the curvy roads which is the final 10 miles up to the Fremont Peak State Park. Second, John wants me to lead us up the way to Fremont Peak State Park because he thinks I know where I am going-foolish man. So glad to take a quick peek at a map before we start off.

Fremont Peak State Park

Betty on the trail

We pay our fee and go up to the trailhead parking area-you can tell we are from Fresno because I find one of the few spots of shade. We gather up-by this time it is 10:15 and are ready to tromps off. John asks me to take the lead. We will see how I do. Even though it is a short hike and not much of a climb, I know I cannot go very fast or far and am concerned about even pushing myself after a hike a couple of weeks again. The good part is that my caloric intake has increased the last couple of days.

Sherri and Mike

We start out for a short distance on the paved service road, but then quickly turn off to the right (north) on a dirt trail. This part is only a gradual up. I can feel my lungs a moving even on this, but I am walking at a decent pace, at least nobody is on my back. Fortunately there is enough places to stop and enjoy the views. There is a cloud bank to the west covering both ocean and land, which I admire often. But we must stop and take a look at it. Then later we come across some stone steps which I comment it must be “natural” steps-they are not. But it is another stop and breath place for me.

We cross a small ridge and all of the small trees disappear with dried grass replacing it. But the cloud bank stretches as far as we can see. The trail gradually slopes up with a switchback or two before landing us on an unused road out of a transmitter station. Fortunately for me, this is a good place to stop and peruse the landscape, which I do.

View from the top

Now it is only one more section to the top. Lien advances in front of the old man, scrambling the last little bit. That last 100’ of the trail is an easy class 2 scramble up some rock, nothing hard, just not trail quality walking. I am glad to have made it to the shelf before the peak. Several others go up to the top, including Sherri, John and Betty. But I noticed that I was a bit wobbly on the rock below, so I stay on the shelf rather than climb. While up their Lien’s daughter sits close by and we talk a bit about schooling, life and photography. An enjoyable young woman. She even soothes my ego by saying that a lot of old people-my words-are not as active and interesting as us.

Lien, Cathey and Jeffery

We start down the peak. I manage to lag behind, but not from feeling bad, but just enjoying the time out. A short ways further, John and Jeffery are waiting for me, so we walk down together. Going down, I feel pretty good. We take the service road back instead of the trail-a bit shorter and much steeper. An enjoyable short walk. 

Fremont Peak

Eating

Our next stop is at Jardine’s de San Juan, a good Mexican restaurant. They have a garden eating area. Very relaxing. We sit with John, Cathey, Betty and Maria, enjoying the food and company. Evidently most of us do not feel like moving much because nobody makes an effort to get up or summon for the bill.

Mission San Juan Bautista

Mission Bells

But there is one more stop for our day: the mission. So we saunter over to it, walking around to it—all of a block or two. We stop by the livery, examining many of the coaches and wagons used in the various era’s of Euro occupancy of the area. Then over to the mission. But the mission is the Earthquake walk. Because she asked where the San Andreas Fault was I take her down to it.

Inside the Mission

Sherri, Betty and I go into the mission and see the various parts. There is a museum which explains its construction and life on the mission. Also a couple of old hymnals are under glass-both in Latin. The museum also contains a study of the different missions in silver gelatin. Finally to the interior of the mission.

I drive back to Fresno. Seems like this trip tired us out since I was the only one who stayed awake-a good thing since I was driving. That was OK as I was not sleepy or that tired. We made it back to Eddie’s by 6:00pm. Now it is time for me to flop on the couch and rest.

Extra Photo's

Sherri coming down from Fremont Peak-those are our cars!

View from Earthquake Walk

Mission Wall

March 21, 2014 - Pig Pond/Tunnel Monement Loop

Title: March 21, 2014 - Pig Pond/Tunnel Monument Loop

Trail head: Parking Lot at Pacheco State Park

Hike Info:

Type:  Hiking

Trail: Pig Pond/Tunnel Monument/Spikes Peak

Destination:  Tunnel Monument

Distance:  3.67 miles

Start Time:   11:41

End Time:      1:27

Travel Time: 1:45 (2.10 mph)

Moving Time: 1.29 (2.47 mph)

Elevation Rise:  966'

Maximum Elevation:   1,823

Start of Trail to Pig Pond

Description:
Once again we are on our way over to my parents in Mountain View. Pacheco State Park is turning out to be a great place to go for a mid-trip hike. We get to Pacheco around 11:30 and take off to Pig Pond. Previous hikers had not closed gates, but we leave them closed.

Climbing out of Pig Pond

Pig Pond is a familiar route-we have done this several times. While Pig Pond will never be a destination spot, it is a close one mile walk from the car. We travel beyond this, up the hill to a picnic table. This would be a great place to eat, with shade and views of Salt Creek, windmills and even Fremont Peak.

Fremont Peak

But we do not have lunch with us, so on we go, but just a little ways to the Tunnel Monument trail junction. We make a right turn onto the Tunnel Monument Trail and start a training hike up. This is really a steep climb. Glad it is not hot, but it is windy, which cools us a bit. The climb seems to be never ending, but in reality, it is only 500' up! Just straight up.

Tunnel Monument

But at the top you see back towards San Luis Reservoir, then down the west side of Pacheco. Nice, as long as the wind does not blow my hat off too many times. We hunt around for the Tunnel Monument, but do not find it. But we go down the trail thirty yards, and there it is. The monument is only a benchmark which says there is a tunnel below us from San Luis Reservoir to the creek on the west side of Pacheco. But you do enjoy thinking about all the engineering of those who bore through the Coastal Range to make this happen.

Spikes Road Trail

We continue our walk, starting on the return trip. As steep as it was coming up, it us at least as steep going down Spikes  Road. But we rejoin the Pig Pond trail, where it flattens out. From there it is a short walk back to the car. Then off to Gilroy and Subway for lunch-a Chicken Enchilada Melt if you must know.

Trail Lesson:

Say,     do you have any grey pig pond?  (Probably one of those things where you had to be there, but try saying it slightly slurred)

March 4, 2014 - Dinasour Lake and Pig Pond Trails

Title: March 4, 2014 - Dinosaur Lake and Pig Pond Trails

Trail head: Pacheco State Park Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type:  Hiking

Trail: Dinosaur Lake and Pig Pond Trails

Destination: Salt Creek

Distance: 5.70 miles

Start Time: 11:47

End Time:    2:41

Travel Time: 2.53 (1.98 mph)

Moving Time: 2.25 (2.36  mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,140'

Maximum Elevation: 1,541'

Description:
We are on our way to our parents in the Bay Area. So we stop at Pacheco State Park on the way. I had hiked this trail last week and it was a very pleasant after the rain. So Sherri wanted to do it as well. We will go in the opposite direction of the hike I did last week.

Green Hills, east ward

San Luis Reservoir

We start with the Dinosaur Lake Trail. The first little bit is not promising-we walk about a quarter mile across a cow pasture, till we get to the gate. Then we walk the old road which used to go down to San Luis Reservoir. The asphalt still shows up, making for easy walking, but there is an annoying click of our hiking poles. There are numbered posts along this way, but I have not been able to find out what these numbers refer to.  

The whole State Park is littered with chris-crossing trails, so it is easy to get confused between the trails and the service roads. Fortunately there is trail markers at almost each intersection, or where we walk the dirt service roads.

Walking the ridge

Fremont Peak

After following a few dirt roads, we come to a path. It climbs us to the top of a ridge where we can see east towards San Luis Reservoir and south to what I think is Fremont Peak. Since it rained this weekend, the hills are alive with greenery. The California Golden Poppy's are starting to bloom, sprinkling in the emerald grass with spots of gold. Small yellow and purple flowers pop up beside our trail. So much more refreshing today than when we have hiked this in the Summer or Fall.

Dinosaur Lake

The path drops down after a mile and three-quarters into a pond. This is Dinosaur Lake, from a height, the shape of the pond looks like a dinosaur paw-I think this is the reason for the name of the lake. Rushes surround the lake on many sides. A blackbird with a bright splotch of red on his wings tests the strength of the rush before he fly's off, only to try another rush. The pond mallards enjoy these waters with an occasional attempt at flight, only to land a hundred feet away.

The trail rises to the top of a different ridge and we see the windmills  silhouetting the skyline are no longer just distant figures, but are looming close by. As we approach them, the trail turns away from them, but there is a service road which leads up to them.  I do not see a sign restricting access, so I go on up to the closest one of them. While we know they are large, you see how they tower over you. One of them doing a slow turn, the others silently standing still. I stay only a few moments as Sherri is continuing on the way.

Windmills

From here, it is a steep downhill to Salt Creek. Partly on a dirt road, but then down a steeper path, zig-zagging across the hill side until we get to Salt Creek-which is dry. Here there is an intersection and we start our return trip via the Pig Pond Trail. We take a break here. As steep as the descent was, the ascent has us going up at about the same rate. I am  feeling the climb.  But there is enough eye-candy with the greenness of the hills and the oaks silhouetting the sky that we can fain a break to enjoy our surroundings, rather than a rest break.

Trail back

At the top before descending into Pig Pond, we are at the high point of our hike. We debate about going over to Tunnel Monument, but decide to save it for another day-the Monument is only a marker saying the e tunnel out of San Luis Reservoir lies beneath you. A picnic table is at the top, but we do not stop, even for a look at Pig Pond-mostly empty. The final gap in the hills yields one of my favorite sights of the whole loop. The sight is good not only to see the car, but the expanse of green before us, eventually spreading to highway 152.

From here it is a short mile walk back to the parking lot and our car. A pretty nice day for this walk.

Place: CA-Fremont Peak

Fremont Peak-3,015' (San Juan Bautista) (36.7571817, -121.5052196)

Description:
From GNIS:
In Fremont Peak State Park,on the San Benito County and Monterey County boundary, on the eastern end of Rocky Ridge, 17.6 km (11 mi) northeast of Salinas.
From the GNIS documentation supporting the change from Gavilian/Gabilan Peak to Fremont Peak.  FREMONT PEAK - This feature is shown as Gabilan Peak on the San Juan Bautista 15>-minute quadrangle and appears on page 315 of the 6th Report of the U. S. Geographic Board. The origin of the names appears to be clear, i.e., Gabilan came from the Spanish name for the sparrow hawk. These were numerous in the area. Fremont is from the incident where Capt. John Fremont defied Gen, Castro's order to leave California and made a fortress of the peak for some time. He raised the American Flag for the first time in California on this peak The peak is now in the Fremont Peak State Park and there are several monuments in the area bearing the name of Capt. John Fremont and Fremont Peak, The field engineer who worked in the area reports a universal acceptance of Fremont Peak. 

There is also some dispute if this is the peak which Fremont first raised the flag on. From a Colonel Rodgers records, the peak which Fremont raised the flag on was around 2,200'. There is a peak 2 miles north which is 2,188' which may be the correct peak.
Also called:

• Gabilan Peak-mispelling of Gavilan
• Gavilan Peak-Means sparrow hawk. Name of peak as the 1904 decision until changed in 1960
• Hawk's Peak-Hoover, Mildred B., et al. Historic Spots in California. 3rd edition. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1966.
• Picacho de Gavilan-Durham, David L. California’s Geographic Names. 31-Dec-1998. Clovis, CA : Word Dancer Press.

Trips:

• August 4, 2012 - Side trip for Capture California to climb the peak
• August 9, 2017 - Meetup hike to Fremont Peak and San Juan Bautista

References:

•  State Park site
• Wikipedia
• Fremont Peak Observatory Association
• Clear Sky for Fremonth Peak Observatory
• Parks in Monterey County
• 
  

Pictures:

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