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The top of the trail was closed for some sort of maintenance, and the detour went up the face of the dam next to the spillway as in the old days. I took Alma Bridge Rd. a short distance to the Limekiln Trail.
The Limekiln Trail was an old paved road, the pavement visible in sections. But the old road had washed out in a few places, making the going slow and requiring portages.
The first of these traversed what appeared to be an old quarry. The second was a slide that covered the old road, requiring climbing over the slide.
This marked the start of the main climb to the ridge. The climb went in fits and starts, climbing steeply for a hundred yards, then leveling off and following the contour before commencing another steep climb.
At the ridge I decided to continue straight on the Limekiln Trail that crossed the ridge and descended a few hundred feet into Soda Springs Canyon before climbing along a spur ridge along a row of power lines. I stopped briefly to photograph a spring in the face of a limestone outcropping, similar to the one in Stevens Canyon.
I had seen only three other people since leaving Alma Bridge Rd.: a couple of cyclists descending the Limekiln Trail and one hiker climbing the trail, whose speed I seemed to match the entire time. The only other creatures were swarms of small flies that seemed to be attracted to my salty sweat. The flies were especially persistent on the upper section of the Limekiln Trail.
At the top of the Limekiln Trail I reached a junction with the Kennedy Trail and the Woods Trail. I continued on the Woods Trail, stopping for several minutes at what appeared to be the highest accessible point on Mt. El Sombroso near some power line poles to take several photos and then continued down toward Hicks Rd.
The descent started moderately, climbing again for a short distance before starting a longer descent. I paused a few times to admire the view east toward Morgan Hill and the north face of Mt. Umunhum nearer at hand.
About a half-mile from the top I passed a lone cyclist who was resting, having just finished walking his bike up what was to be the steepest section of trail I was to see this day. The trail was indeed steep and rocky. It would be a tough climb on any bike.
At the bottom of this steep section the Woods Trail leveled out and became a broad, pleasant meander through wooded vales alongside Rincon and Guadalupe Creeks. There were a few short climbs, but most of the way was level or downhill.
At Hicks Rd. I descended to the north, took Shannon and Kennedy Roads back into Los Gatos, then rode home.
(distance: 50 miles; climbing: 4500 feet)
(distance: 102 miles; climbing: 5000 feet)
Highlights include the sighting of a great horned owl on a post (or a very life-like fake--it was very still, maybe sleeping?), and a family of wild turkeys above the UCB campus.