After doing a 16 mile bike ride the previous day I might have been tempted to do a smaller hike the next day, but I thought about doing a Mt Diablo hike or a big Mt Tam hike. But having done hikes at both of those mountains the previous 2 weekends, I set my eyes on a mountain I hadn’t climbed in a while (and have only climbed it twice before):

Mount Ununhum.

Yes, that’s a real name. It’s pronounced “um-un-um”.

It’s in the south bay, so climbing it in summer might be a bad idea, but we’ve been having a odd cycle of hot and cool days. With it still likely to be a somewhat cool day, I set off from the Woods Trailhead. This would make the one way mileage to the summit of Mt Umunhum a little over 8 miles. More of a challenge for me than the 3.7 mile Mt Umunhum trail that starts at Bald Mountain.

Making my way up the gentle slope of the Woods Trail and then onto Barlow Road, which is where you really start realizing you are climbing a very tall mountain.

After about 5 miles, I then joined the Mt Umunhum Trail for the final 3.5 mile push to the summit.

This trail isn’t that steep, but some of the switchbacks seemed to go on forever. As I got nearer to the summit, the large rectangular radar tower loomed ever larger (this used to be a military radar station).

Then… GOAL. I reached the summit at 3,486 feet.

I explored the Native America ceremonial circle that sits near the west peak, enjoyed the views, saw the east peak, and got some close up views of the radar tower (but not too close, since they have blocked the immediate areas around it off due to hazardous materials).

After enjoying a Diet Coke and lunch, I started down the Mt Umunhum Trail once again.

Only to be greeted by a rattlesnake coiled up in front of me on the trail. Backing off, I waved my arms and made some noises, took some pictures (priorities, right?), and it slithered off the trail and up the slope.

The excitement for the day over, I reached Barlow Road again and had to make a decision. The last time I did this hike from the Woods Trail Trailhead, I saved 3 miles of hiking by walking back to the trailhead along the Mt Umunhum road.

Always hoping to improve on past hikes, I decided to retrace my path back down Barlow Road and down Woods Trail.

I kind of regretted it about half way down, but I pushed forward and returned safely to my Jeep.

So about 17 miles hiked and 2,400 feet climbed altogether. A tiring day hike, but rewarding.

IMG_7955