Surprise point and Bow falls trail - Banff National Park

The previous post on this series is here..

After dinner, we drove to the surprise point outlook and took a walk. You get a beautiful view of the historic Fairmont Hotel while hearing the roaring sound of the water going between the view point and the hotel.

we had purple skies!

It was us and another asian couple there at the vista point. We were happy to see someone else there as they were! we took photos for each other and off we went to the Bow falls trail. 

This is an amazing trail. Well maintained, just gorgeous attention to detail.. 

then there is the falls.. it is wide and the water flow is something to see! The setting sun (at 10PM) made for interesting hues. By the time we went up the trail and took the photo on the bench (at the top of this post) and got back down, the rest of the folks were gone. We had spent an hour and a half here without realizing it. The walk was not tiring and we were smiling from ear to ear! This place was just beautiful and fresh and inspiring! 

It started getting a little chilly at that point and we decided we had spent good time here. We got back to the hotel and it was still bright out. The sunlight finally went down at 10:30 PM and I could make out the light through the shades even at 11! We had to get some sleep as there was a long full day planned for Saturday. Banff is one hour ahead in time compared to California, so it was still early for us to sleep, but we closed all the blinds (reminded us of Alaska!) and got some shut eye!

This video shows you bow falls and the beautiful trail..

Had I known it was going to be this pretty, would have rushed to the hotel to grab the SLR as well.. after this, had the SLR on me throught the rest of the trip!

If you visit Banff, check sunset timings and dress accordingly to see bow falls at sunset time or golden hour.. just breathtaking!

Not to be missed!

Soberanes Canyon and Doud peak - the best of trails so far

After the quick visit to Garrapata to see the Lillies, we drove back just a few miles back north and stopped right in front of the bridge view on this park. Then we started hiking up the hills facing the ocean.

This is the Soberanes canyon trail and most of it was closed for a long time because the fire had started in this very canyon a few years ago. Most of this area is still closed and you hike at your own risk. Given we had a group of folks, we decided to take this on. You cross creeks and go through many distinctly different landscapes.. first there is a bunch of creeks, then there is an area full of catcus and before you know it, you are walking through redwoods.. and just like that, an open area with wild flowers!

There is a section of this hike, which is the steepest we have climbed in two years. It is almost going up 1500+ feet in just over a mile. You also have to bend your knees and take tall steps. We took our time to go over this stretch but surprisingly, didn't feel the strain, as we were in the clouds for this part and the wild flowers were just amazing!

There was every type of California wild flower up there, in full bloom. It was a feast for the eyes the entire way up and down.

We had an amazing view of all the hills from above the clouds..

On the way down we took the longer route with a ocean view and the lupines make for amazing scenes!

once we got down, we ate a nice lunch, had our chai(for once we didn't carry chai to the top as we knew this was the hardest hike) and crossed the freeway to the bridge view points!

That kalandha saadham feast made sure that any calories burnt during the strenuous hike were instantly replenished and doubled in one tenth the time.. hiking is hard.. eating is easy.. there is a fundamental imbalance in the way we were designed, no?!

Took this one with the iPhone using my buddies sunglasses as a filter..

Again, beautiful views of the ocean. Not many lillies on this creek though.  The walkway was nice and after spending a good 15 minutes here, we raced back to beat the traffic! 

A gallery of the scenic photos.. 

This hike is not for novices. If you are not in decent shape, don't attempt this. There are parts where there is no trail.. the trail has been turned into a mini canyon by running water.. so you literally jump side to side and that does a number on your inner thighs! You can see it towards the end of the video..

After that hike and the drive back, it took a nice day to recover the legs!

Calla Lillies at Garrapata State park

Three weeks ago we drove an hour and a half all the way to Garrapata State park area. The main goal was to go to Doud peak, which will be the subject of a separate post. We also wanted to leave early enough and take pictures among the white lillies that grow on either side of the creek as it goes into the ocean.

It is a local seasonal favorite, but we have never made it before. We saw posts on the net that said the lillies are already starting to turn brown, so before the window closed we visited.

We were not disappointed.. 

it was a misty walk to the beach among the lillies..

The new iPhone was put to test and it passed with flying colors..

especially the macro mode..

Nice beach. There were a lot of kids making their way to the beach as we were walking back. Given it is just a short walk from the freeway, this place would probably be crowded once the sun is out. It was good we finished this first!

had the beach mostly to ourselves..

We climbed up to the top and got a beautiful view of the coastline. Then we drove a few miles to go on our planned hike..

Strongly recommend this place, for a mid March or even early March trip. It is a beautiful sight!

A sense of completion

We have hiked multiple local peaks and hills and points around Cupertino area since COVID and the resolution to hike every weekend. We had however, not covered the Fremont Older and Stevens Creek preserve in its entireity!

We got a chance to do just that this morning. We covered 10+ miles in 4 hours and went up 1800 feet, all around this local loop.. from our local Regnart Road all the way to Tony Lookout Trail loop. We started before sunrise and went at a decent pace. Came back in 4+ hours including a chai and photo breaks. Definitely one of the long ones this year, but totally worth the effort. 

We got an amazing sunrise view ..

watch the valley still enveloped by fog

and more fog..

this entire area was lush green and the trails were clean and well maintained!

Loving the macro mode on the new iPhone.. this entire thing with the buds and flowers,  is smaller than my thumbnail! 

we went along the reservoir for a nice chai break!

There are a lot of cute little bridges we get to cross on this trail. Everyone of them was beautiful!

when we got back, the fog was still there.. and beautiful

A morning well spent.. and we will do this again someday when we feel like going on another 10+ mile hike. My legs felt the effort from the morning that I took a long nap after! 

A beautiful hike for spring or winter! 

Santa Teresa County Park Loop trail

There is this absolute beauty of a trail right in Santa Teresa area. It is the hills next to IBM Almaden. There is a loop trail that starts from Joice trail and goes through Mine trail and Coyote trail, Hidden springs and Bernal Hill to the Vista loop trail. 

It is 8+ mile and pretty steep at places and takes around 4+ hours (by our standards). It is also ~2000 feet elevation gain. A decent workout and a "moderate" trail if you listen to the internet.. if you pace yourself! 

There is a part of this trail at the end that has zero cover. So it is best to do this as a very early morning or late evening hike. The sun setting over the valley is beautiful to watch from the ridge!

The flowers have started blooming across the hillsides.. the poppies should be there in a week or two to add a ton of orange to the yellows.. 

Strongly recommend this provided you have the right hiking shoes!

There is a one mile stretch on the way back where you are just walking on rocks and gravel. Not much of a path and the feet don't land evenly. Many of us almost twisted our ankles, but would still recommend it. 

Here are more pictures.. 

Thoroughly enjoyed this hike.. and the chai at the top of the summit! That is one good thing that has become tradition already over a year and a half of hiking! 

COVID got us started on hiking every weekend to a new trail in the local area. The fact that we have plenty of unexplored trails for months to come says a lot about the natural beauty of this area, the resources used to maintain these places and our luck in ending up in a place like this, in a time like this!

More trails to follow...