Joseph D Grant County Park 2015-09-18

This was our 2nd outing at Joseph D Grant park. We'd been here earlier this month and hiked from Grant Lake staging area. Today, we drove another 3 miles or so on Mt. Hamilton Road to the Twin Gates parking lot. There was a Coyote Advisory, not the standard note but specific info on recent sightings with a cautionary tone. 

Bonhoff trail

We crossed Mt. Hamilton road and started our hike on Bonhoff trail. The double track dirt trail goes in a southerly direction gradually descending before coming up on a four way intersection in about a mile. Apollo and I turned right on Foothill trail.

Foothill trail

Foothill trail offered us more shade than Bonhoff trail both from the vegetation as well as shadows from the mountains to our left. This trail also gradually descends over the next mile before coming up on Eagle lake and Hotel trail intersection.

Eagle Lake

Eagle lake and the area surrounding it is closed for habitat restoration. The effects of the drought was definitely visible at this lake and in the vegetation around it. 

The segment of Hotel trail that we covered today was again little more than a mile. Our walk in the northerly direction provided expansive views of the park in all directions. About 3 miles into the hike, Apollo and I stopped for a breather and enjoyed the panoramic views of Halls Valley and the mountains. Clear skies with excellent visibility made the experience all the more dramatic.

Lick Observatory

We had gradually descended nearly 800 feet from the Twin Gates trail head. Our last 1.6 miles in Canada de Pala trail to where we started involved gaining that elevation. At several points in the hike, you will get to see the Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton.

We completed the 5+ mile hike in about 2 hours. One of our slower hikes but both Apollo and I are recovering from minor ailments and I didn't want to push ourselves today.

More pictures from our hike today.

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