Sierra Azul Trudge ‘Completes’ Bay Area Ridge Trail Odyssey

We began our Bay Area Ridge Trail adventure in April 2021 at Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Three years, 403 trail miles, 530 total miles and 13.7 miles of elevation gain later, we completed the last of the 73 segments listed in the 2019 Ridge Trail guide book with a difficult 12-mile tramp across Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve at Los Gatos.

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TRAIL MAP: Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and Lexington Reservoir (May 6, 2024)

Dan Fails Breakfast 101

The trail northbound across Sierra Azul begins easily enough, with a gently rising four-mile walk on a wide fire road through shady woods. But the trees thin as the trail steepens and a challenging two-mile push up Mount Sombroso begins. Unfortunately, Dan failed to eat enough of the hotel breakfast that morning and his energy flagged as the trail steepened.

Struggling to make up the caloric deficit with peanut-butter roll-ups and electrolytes, Dan finally took a seat in the dirt to let his body chemistry recalibrate. Dawn, who usually hikes a bit ahead on an ascent, came back to check on his lack of progress and joined him in the dirt. Dirt sitting has been a prelude to trouble on at least two other Ridge Trail hikes. But we were too close to finishing this thing to even broach the topic of turning back and trying another day.

The good news? It was still early. The weather was pleasant. And AllTrails and the guide book agreed the last six miles would be mostly downhill – Dan’s specialty. So we slowed the pace, rested at will and, about an hour later, reached the turn-off to the summit. We knew we had this thing licked. Maybe.

Dawn’s Elegant Tumble

But first we had to contend with a trek across a rocky ridgeline that undulates like a stone serpent high above the Silicon Valley. The trail dropped steeply and soared dramatically for two miles before we reached the home stretch – a four-mile, 1,800-foot descent to Lexington Reservoir.

Dawn is not fond of steep descents – particularly on gritty, slippery surfaces like the fire road at Sierra Azul. They require time and care to negotiate. So, trekking poles firmly in hand, we gingerly made our way toward the finish line, crisscrossing the trail looking for dirt washed clean of grit by heavy weekend rains and for larger stones we could use as footholds.

Dawn fell once – a slow, elegant backward tumble. Fortunately, she emerged with only minor knee tweakage. No Ace bandage required. Dan remained upright, but a short while later we both found ourselves sitting in the dirt again, this time to apply blister pads and pop ibuprofen – our trail med of choice.

The trail book’s promise of a bench – aka “the mythical bench” – beneath an “enormous” eucalyptus tree at the 10.7-mile mark helped keep us moving. But the only bench we spotted overlooked the reservoir at the end of the trail, about 100-feet from our parked car. We sat, finished our lunch, and reflected – but only briefly. We had to retrieve the shuttle car at the far end of the trail and beat rush hour traffic home.

What’s Next?

The projected 550-mile trail system across nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area remains a work in progress. More than 100 miles of trail have yet to be secured and/or dedicated. The route has changed more than once. But finishing the trails mapped in the most recent guidebook – plus at least a half dozen more that have opened since the book was published – gave us a sense of accomplishment. We plan to re-engage as new segments open. But finishing the book sure felt good.

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