November 24, 2005

Loma Prieta

Complete Route Map

Jobst Brandt had been bugging me to try a route through the Sierra Azul along Loma Ridge that lies between Loma Prieta, the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains at 3784ft and Mt. Umunhum, its slightly lower neighbor to the northwest at 3486ft. The local open space district (MROSD) has recently acquired most of the parcels of land along Loma Ridge and has been working to open a trail along Loma Ridge Rd.

Unfortunately, there is still some private land at the Mt. Umunhum end of this ridge where the owners or occupants of this land don’t want the public to use the roads across their land. I think MROSD could force the issue if they wished as the roads were almost certainly pre-existing easements. But MROSD in their dealings with the locals have taken the strategy of deferring to their preferences and have installed or left in place signage to keep the public out.

I decided that Thanksgiving Day would be a good day to explore this area, in part because I did not want to take a full day—I estimated the ride would be close to 100k—and because I figured the holiday would make more likely anyone living up there to be away with family or to be occupied with thoughts more pleasant than that of guarding the road from trespassers. In the unlikely event that I did run into individuals who objected to my presence, I figured the holiday might put them in an uncommonly good frame of mind such that they might allow me passage. Also the weather promised to be reasonably warm, and I found this to be true on the ridge tops but not in the valley where an inversion layer held down cold, smoggy winter air.

I started as I usually do from home near downtown Sunnyvale at about 8:45a. I rode to Los Gatos via San Tomas Expressway and Los Gatos Ave. Once I got to Los Gatos I took the Los Gatos Creek Trail to the top of Lenihan Dam at Lexington Reservoir. After I arrived at the top of the dam I turned left and proceeded on Alma Bridge Rd. that traverses the east side of Lexington Reservoir.

At Aldercroft Heights Rd. I turned right and climbed a short hill to Old Santa Cruz Highway where I turned left and proceeded up the gradual climb to Summit Rd. At Summit Rd. I turned left and rode a bit over two miles until I got to Loma Prieta Ave. where I turned left. The Summit Store is about 0.2 miles beyond this junction, but as I was well supplied with food and water I didn’t feel the need to stop there on this trip.

[See detailed map. Suggestion: open the full-size version, and keep it handy.]

Loma Prieta Ave. starts with a short steep climb to the top of the ridge that lies directly south of Los Gatos Creek. At the top of this climb, the road bends southeast and begins a climb directly up the spine of this ridge. Small gentlemen’s ranches lie on either side of the road: first a Christmas tree farm, then a couple of orchards. The summit of Loma Prieta itself came into view a few times. Descending this road is a bit like a roller-coaster ride from the undulations and no curves to slow one down, although the driveways entering the road at frequent intervals, some of them hidden by the changing slope of the road, counsel one not to throw caution to the wind.

Eventually Loma Prieta Ave. narrows to one lane, begins a series of short steep curves, loses its pavement, and rises out of the trees, giving one an excellent view of Skyland Ridge and some of the more distant ridges and watersheds to the west. After a brief descent Loma Prieta Ave. regains pavement and intersects Mt. Bache Rd. and then continues steeply uphill to the left.

Just as one begins to tire of the 10-15% grade, Loma Prieta Ave. reaches a local summit from which one can enjoy an unobstructed view to the south, including the Gabilan and Santa Lucia Mountains on either side of Salinas. Years ago the pavement ended here and most road cyclists who come this way consider this the top of the “Mt. Bache climb”.

Loma Prieta Ave. continues along a ridge for a short distance before rising gradually again, returning to dirt for a tenth of a mile, and intersecting the northern end of Summit Rd. (south), or Old Mt. Madonna Rd., depending upon the age of one’s map.

Along this section I came upon a man crawling out of the brush on the left (downhill) side of the road. My quiet approach must have startled him while he was in an unlikely position, hunched over crawling out from the undergrowth, reminding me of when Basil Fawlty rose slowly and unexpectedly from behind the counter to the surprise of a newly-arrived guest. Smiling sheepishly he said, “Hi.”, and I returned the greeting. But, I couldn’t help but wonder what he might have been up to. His van was parked a hundred yards up the road. My thoughts turned to the recent marijuana drug busts in the area and that growers were tending illegal weed plots in these hills. Thinking about it further I realized that this was probably an ideal location, near the headwaters of Los Gatos Creek with relatively easy access to the road. Either that or maybe he was just taking a leak, or dumping a body.

Without further thought I continued up to the junction with Summit Rd. and bore left to climb the “new” asphalt on a hill that was informally called the “dirty bump”. The previously unpaved road was rough and steep, being dusty and rocky, and was a challenge to climb on thin, slick tires. I was riding in the area in June 2004 when the crews were laying down the new asphalt, so my expectations were primed. What I discovered this day was the roughest, dirtiest, most uneven asphalt job I had ever seen. It is as if the asphalt had been laid atop the un-graded dirt road surface, allowing all the bumps and pits to be recorded in fine detail. Yet, I would still prefer bumpy asphalt to bumpy dirt for the traction offered by the former.

I had taken my ride on Thanksgiving Day hoping that most people would be home enjoying a feast instead of driving through a remote part of the mountains, that I might come across little traffic. But, I discovered that traffic on this upper part of Loma Prieta Ave. was heavier than I can ever recall it being. A car passed me every couple of minutes in one direction or another. Sometimes it was the same car more than once! Someone must have been having a party in Loma Chiquita, a residential area on the ridge east of Loma Prieta.

At the junction of Loma Prieta Ave., Loma Ridge Rd., and Casa Loma Rd., I continued up the access road to the summit of Loma Prieta. The lower part of this access road is rough and rocky up to a junction. To the left the road continues past a gate into an area fully enclosed by a fence that is the true summit where, due to the surrounding vegetation, not much view can be seen. I continued straight up a rougher and steeper road to the northeast antenna farm where views to the north, east, and south were available.

From this view area I was able to see south to Summit Ridge and the Gabilan Mountains, nearby Mt. Chual and across the valley Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo and Mission Peak, Mt. Allison, and Monument Peak, and north to Mts. Thayer and Umunhum.

After descending from the summit of Loma Prieta I turned right and began the traverse of Loma Ridge Rd. The view to the northwest toward the Los Gatos Creek canyon, showing all the minor ridges between Loma Prieta and Ben Lomond Mountain, and north as far as Kings Mountain, was beautiful and dramatic.

Continuing a little further on Loma Ridge Rd. brought me to an old cistern fed from a spring that forms the headwater of Los Gatos Creek. I recall getting water from this cistern back in the mid-1970’s when I first rode my bike in the area.

Pressing on I came shortly to the road that goes to Mt. Chual, Loma Prieta’s neighbor to the northeast. I continued a bit further down the ridge before rousing a chorus of barking dogs. It was clear I was approaching a residence, and the dogs were loose! As I approached the driveway to the unseen dwelling I observed what could only be described as two obese Black Labrador Retrievers standing in the road barking. I passed them closely saying, “Nice doggy.” They quieted down as I passed, and appearing to know the boundary of their territory, they didn’t chase. With all that extra weight they were carrying, I was not surprised.

Maybe the bike surprised them, although I find that the surprise factor usually works best with people. One can only imagine the thoughts racing through a dog’s mind as it hears an odd combination of organic and mechanical sounds, smells a sweaty human, and sees a human head perched on an enormous body that glides over the ground without legs. I doubt any prior experience had prepared these dogs for their encounter.

As I rounded the next corner I came upon MROSD signs and a gate marking my entry into the Sierra Azul preserve. I continued past the gate, feeling that at least for the moment I could continue unchallenged by dogs or other creatures. In the distance I heard the sharp report of distant gunfire, and on that note I pressed on feeling far from civilization, sometimes along a bare ridge or through groves of Digger Pines.

About a 25 minutes after my encounter with the dogs I arrived at a low point along the ridge where Cathermole Rd. joins Loma Ridge Rd. Cathermole Rd. descends 1850 feet to the west to Los Gatos Creek at Lake Elsman.

Back in the 1986 shortly after the Aldercroft Heights fire I had hiked from Wrights Station to Lake Elsman and part way up Austrian Gulch on Cathermole Rd. and other jeep trails in the area on the south side of Mt. Umunhum. Nowadays the road from Wrights Station up to Lake Elsman is blocked by a high gate. Signs warn that the area is guarded by dogs, which is unlikely. Although it is tempting to try riding someday down Cathermole Rd., I would plan only to do so expecting that I’d have to ride back up the hill afterward.

After the junction with Cathermole Rd. Loma Ridge Rd. began a moderate climb to the north, and at the top of this climb I came upon a sign commanding one to stop, that the road entered private property. I wasn’t planning to return back over Loma Prieta, and I knew that Mt. Umunhum Rd. wasn’t more than a half of a mile away. Jobst had suggested that the dwellings to be found in this area were abandoned, and that in particular, Rick Estrada’s hovel at Mt. Umunhum Rd. was removed. I proceeded quietly intending not to awaken any sleeping dogs or other territorial creatures that may yet be about.

Around the next bend I came abruptly within view of a ramshackle encampment of old trailers, huts, tarps, and various and sundry discarded household objects and debris. I stopped and listened. I heard no sound. The main road proceeded to the left under the darkened windows of the encampment’s trailers. An alternate road that bore little evidence of use branched to the right to the east side of the ridge and entered the cover of trees. From my study of the map I knew that this road was also shorter than the main road by a couple tenths of a mile. I took the road to the right. I could make out the deep track of a road bike tire in the soft sand going this way and thought that someone else might have had the same idea.

One-tenth of a mile down this road I encountered a smaller encampment consisting of a similar assortment of old campers, tarps, and rubbish. It seemed that every dell and glade in this area hosted a shantytown or a place to store junk. I stopped and listened. Nothing. The occupants were either sleeping or gone. I rode by quietly as if I were passing Shelob’s Lair and came upon a locked gate. This time there was no easy walk-around. Barbed wire had been spread across all of the openings but one. I could get through, but the bike would have to be lifted over. Fortunately, the gate was not so high that I was unable to do this.

I reached Mt. Umunhum Rd. shortly afterward having seen no one the entire time since Loma Prieta. After taking a couple of pictures up and down the road, I proceeded to descend this steep, rough, poorly maintained, but paved road.

Jobst had warned me about some particularly nasty potholes on the downhill side of this road, so I was not surprised. Even though I was descending more slowly and carefully than I might usually have been inclined I was unable to avoid all of the potholes and debris on one turn, but I was able to avoid the worst of the potholes on a straightaway lower down.

Other unexpected and invisible hazards include sinkholes beneath the asphalt whose presence is only identified by circumferential cracking, not easily seen when descending fast.

I stopped briefly at Hicks Rd. to take a nature break and check the temperature of my rear rim. I proceeded down the Guadalupe side of Hicks only after my rim was cool enough to be grasped for more than a few seconds. I reached the bridge over Guadalupe Creek at the bottom of the steep descent without incident and kept moving so that the rims would cool in the cold air.

Further down the road I came from around a curve face to face with a group of wild turkeys. It felt good to see these magnificent creatures in the wild rather than bred and fattened to feed an overfed populace. My sudden arrival startled them to flight as they took off for the opposite bank of Guadalupe Creek. I wanted to catch a picture of them with their wing and tail feathers splayed in flight, but by the time my camera was ready they had already hidden themselves amongst the trees.

I continued down Hicks Rd. and turned left on Shannon, passing the faux chateau that stands vacantly and ill-suited to its surroundings in a field off to the left.

Although I usually prefer taking Kennedy Rd., I climbed Shannon over the summit this time. At Los Gatos Blvd. I turned left and then right on Saratoga-Los Gatos Rd. and returned home through Saratoga on Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd.

Ride stats:

distance: 66.7 miles

climbing: 5720 feet

Find the full picture gallery: here.

©2005, Bill Bushnell

Please do not publish or distribute for profit without permission.