Bald Mountain

"Bald and Mount U out of the Bald Mountain PA. A little cool and breezy but still shorts weather for this east coast resident. A speedy saunter up Mt U provide all the warmth I needed especially in the shady sections of the trail. Some knucklehead, most likely a car ascender, left an empty disposable water bottle on the west summit so I packed it out it. I thought I left “stupid” back in NY state but apparently it’s running loose from coast to coast. Today was the busiest I’ve seen the trail/summit on a week day, I’m assuming it’s do to coming food fest this coming Thursday, everyone is home from work and school. Bald mountain was a nice leg stretcher after running down Mt U. " — Nimblefoot • Nov 20, 2023

"Original plan was to red line the Kennedy trail up to the Bay Area Ridge trail then head toward Mount U but the small parking area was already full. The hazards of sleeping in and getting a late start. Plan B became head over to Mount U road for a fast saunter up to the summit on the nicely graded and shady trail then saunter over to Bald Mtn after getting back to the car. This time I was able to hike the final 0.2 miles of the trail and visit the east summit. Last time the gate was closed as the trail was deemed unsafe so I had to head over to the parking lot then up to the west summit. There was construction on the Cube building going on with fences up so I couldn’t access the east summit. Nice view from Mt Hamilton to Mt Diablo but SF and Mt Tam were socked in. Bald mtn was an easy stroll out to a grassy hillock. " — Nimblefoot • Jul 24, 2023

"An easy twofer from Bald mountain PA. Mount U first on a nice wide trail with plenty of switchbacks. Unfortunately the final stretch of trail, access road, building and true summit were closed do to work being done on the building. Back to the PA and onto an easy stroll up to the little knob of Bald. Great view that was reduced a bit with the smog/haze from the toasty temps." — Nimblefoot • Jul 30, 2021

"Hot day in San Jose in the 90s. Dropped a car at the Umunhum summit around 11am, and shuttled the four of us down to Jacques parking lot. Lot was full, but we were able to park on a nearby street. Headed up the trail from there. Mixed shade and full sun exposure areas. Was much less hot up there compared to on the valley floor, and managed to get by without a sunburn. Took a detour for the Bald Mountain trail which was mostly flat, only about 2 miles and overall pretty relaxing. Apart from the lack of any breaks, our pace was fairly leisurely. We passed quite a few people (maybe 50 total). About half wearing masks for COVID. Views were better than expected. Great hike. We reached the Umunhum summit 4.5 hours after starting. 10.8 miles total, 2600ft elevation gain." — HolyBejeesus • May 24, 2020

"Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve Mt. Umunhum Trail 10.43 Miles Ascent 1,075 ft (-1,075) 12 Geocache(s) 1 BenchMark 1 WarkMark 2 Peaks 6:22 Total Time" — jminkema • Mar 11, 2018