Day 8 - Henry W. Coe State Park

Today's hike: Henry W. Coe SP - Flat Frog, Middle Ridge and Fish Tail Loop
Length: 8.1 miles
Elevation gain: 1,280'
Thoughts: Beautiful single-track hike with stunning views and varied terrain to mix it up and keep it interesting

In keeping with my goal to branch out and try some new trails, today I decided to venture down to Henry W. Coe State Park just east of Morgan Hill.  And this one was DEFINITELY worth the drive.  What a hidden gem this place is!  The park sits at the top of the hills just east of the valley, and it's a bit of a white-knuckle drive getting there on a windy road that narrows to maybe 1.5 car widths with no guardrails, but even the views from the parking lot are amazing:

 
Not a bad place for a picnic, huh? :-)  Don't let these pics fool you though - it was sunny, but a brisk 45 degrees up there when I started my hike.  But the cold weather and the fact that it was a Monday also meant I had the entire 86,000 sq. ft. park to myself.  SERIOUSLY!  Other than the park ranger manning the visitor center (who I checked in with so he knew which hike I was doing for safety reasons), I did not see one single other person the entire day.  Unreal.

This hike really lays out in 3 distinct sections: the Flat Frog trail through a very pretty wooded area ending at Frog Lake, Middle Ridge trail where a massive wildfire swept through a few years ago, and finally Fish Tail trail which is through a canyon and so is more wooded with streams.  Each section is roughly equal in length.  I definitely like this in a hike - I think it keeps it interesting.  The only unfortunate part is that the uphill on this one comes mostly at the end.  That usually makes me cranky, because by that point on an 8 mile hike I'm jonesing for a bathroom, my couch and a cocktail (in that order).  At least I'll know for next time to drink a little less water along the way and to take some booze with me for the ascent.  Here are some pics from the hike:

Flat Frog portion of the hike:

These trees were really cool - smooth, reddish-brown bark.  Anyone know what kind of trees they are? I was very intrigued (get it??? hint: say "intrigued" out loud.  Yes, I'm very punny).

Frog Lake:

Back in 2007, a massive wildfire swept through portions of this park.  The scars from that were very evident along the Middle Ridge trail: 

But I also thought it was cool to see the new growth around the old dead trees, like this one: 

At the end of a long hike, these cute little guys were around to say "Great to see you!  Hope you had a great hike.  Come again soon!"

After the hike I was starving, so I decided to get something I've been wanting to try for a while - a Doritos Locos Supreme Taco from Taco Bell.  I was disappointed in only one thing - that I purchased just one.  That is some true culinary genius right there.  Bravo, Taco Bell, bravo!!