Joe's trail at Saratoga de Anza 2015-06-08

The forecast for today called for the hottest day of this year yet, with the high near 100 degrees. I decided to do an easy hike earlier in the day and chose Joe's Trail at Saratoga de Anza. In the city of Saratoga, this 1.6 mile trail runs by the Union Pacific Railroad. I parked at the huge parking lot off Glen Brae Dr., opposite Congress Springs Park. 

The trail is in two segments. One segment runs from Saratoga Ave & Hwy 85 to Cox Ave. The other segment runs from the other side of Cox Ave. to Sunnyvale - Saratoga Rd. Crossing Glen Brae Dr., Apollo and I headed towards Cox Ave first. 

The dirt trail is really wide, well-maintained with a wooden fence keeping people out of the railroad. The trail is bordered by high voltage lines on one side and the railroad on the other. Before we knew it, we reached Cox Ave, behind the fire station. While the trail ends here, it is possible to walk by the railroad and cross Cox to join the second segment. 

Like the previous segment, the second is also a wide, well-maintained, and short dirt trail. We had reached Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd where this segment ends. I could see that beyond the official trail segment, there was a good pathway and decided to check it out. 

I am glad I did. While it is not an official trail, there were also no signs that asked people to stay off of it. The dirt trail was used by runners, bicyclists and dog-walkers. We continued ahead, crossing Arroyo de Arguelo first and Prospect Rd. next. 

Running parallel to Sterling Rd for a while, the railroad and the trail continued into Cupertino. It was already in the high 70s, so we soon turned around and made our way back to the trail head at Glen Brae Dr. The trail is predominantly exposed, but there is a segment after Prospect Rd that provides some shade.

Apollo was quite ready to call it a day when we came to the parking lot. After a water break, with Apollo waiting in the car, I quickly made my way to the end of the trail at Saratoga and returned. 

This walk was more enjoyable than I expected it to be. Walking by Union Pacific tracks took me back to my childhood in India when I used to walk by a railroad on my way to school every day. If a walk by a railroad was what the doctor ordered, then Joe's Trail at Saratoga de Anza and our excursion beyond fit the bill nicely.

By the time we completed the 5.3 mile hike in about 100 minutes, it was already in the mid-80s. 

Google map and some more pictures from the hike today.
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