Black Mountain

In California, I traded my weekend hikes for other activities. I settled in, spent time running, trying different types of exercise, and generally found new ways to fill my weekends. Six months passed before I ventured out on my first hike—Yosemite—a trip I might have skipped altogether had it not been for the permit I’d already secured. Even that adventure felt like an exception rather than the norm. My friends would find that ironic, given how I used to spend every weekend in the mountains. I thought I’d explore the hills of the Bay Area eventually—I just needed the right push. Ironically, it came from another list. After Yosemite, I dove into John Muir’s writings and learned about the Sierra Club he founded. Among their projects was a recently published list of small mountains around San Francisco called the Nifty 90.

I start on a Saturday morning at Foothill College in Mountain View, as far as the local bus takes me. I walk the remaining 2 miles to the trailhead; destination Black Mountain.

At the gate, I find signs warning me about mountain lion encounters and how to proceed in such a scenario: Don’t approach, make yourself appear bigger, scare them off, and fight back if needed.

I pause momentarily, pushing aside thoughts of any unpleasant wildlife encounter, and march on.

The trail is a wide dirt road through the forest, soon climbing steeply up the hillside. It’s still a little cold in the shade of the trees, but I’m looking forward to reaching the parts of the trail more exposed to the warming morning sun.

The trail has no technical difficulties, but it’s a long walk. I’m quickly making progress as the various scents of the forest fill my lungs.

The trail rises above the forest cover for its final section, opening up expansive views down onto the Bay. The vegetation is mainly reduced to golden shrubs. Radio towers and a power line can be seen.

I soon reach the summit, a collection of grey rocks peeking out of a gentle slope in sharp contrast to the golden wheat-coloured vegetation. A gentle breeze now blows across.

Bicyclists arrive from the other side of the hill, where a dirt road leads all the way to the top. I sit on the ground, my back leaning against one of the boulders, gazing at the landscape, observing a few faint clouds floating across an otherwise blue sky. Maybe that’s tonight’s rain over the East Bay, I think.

I read a book for about half an hour. Then, as more cyclists start to break the solitude, I start my descent.

The absence of technically demanding terrain allows me to walk down at a swift and constant pace. I enjoy the views for which I had to turn around on the way up. Now, the blue of the Bay and the bustling life of Silicon Valley sit right in front of me.

Time flies, and I soon find myself back at the trailhead and the bus stop. In 4 hours, I’ve walked 21 km, the distance of a half marathon, up and down my first peak in the Bay Area. It’s a good start to the weekend. I’m tired but excited to grab some lunch.