Henry Coe State Park Backpacking

日本語は英語の後にあります。

I went backpacking at Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill.  It was interesting.

     This park is huge.   Actually this is the largest state park in Northern California.

     We hiked fourteen miles into Mississippi Lake, which was the far edge of the park.

     We really enjoyed a variety of scenery and trails.  Some portions were open, so we were able to see undulating mountains in the distance. Some hills were green with lush trees, others were brown and bald.  Some trails were in the forest and shady.  One part was the Narrows.  As the name Narrows indicates, you need to hike in the creek.  The water can be a knee-high after the rainy season.             

     However, it was completely dried up, so we just hiked on the rocks.  It was fun.   

     I really liked this park and enjoyed it, but I got exhausted at the same time.  One reason was that all the trails we hiked had continuous ups and downs.  Total elevation gain was over five thousand feet.  Usually when I hike mountains or canyons, I can tell where  the top or bottom is.  However, the terrain was unpredictable this time, it was psychologically tiring.  

     Another reason I got tired was the weather.  Saturday was sunny but it was snowing on Sunday.  It was totally unexpected.   Because it was just hour’s drive from San Jose and only a few thousand feet of altitude, I thought it would not have been snowing.  The freezing weather kept us moving, because our bodies got cold immediately when we stopped.  It was tiring, but being cold was more uncomfortable.  

 

     I might have been overconfident about my endurance capacity.  I have realized that I need to train more for long distance and multiple day backpacking. 

とある週末、ヘンリー・コー州立公園へバックパッキングへ行った。

この公園はサンノゼの南にある大きな州立公園だ。実際、北カリフォルニアの中で一番大きな州立公園なのだ。 このバックパッキングでは１４マイル、ミシシッピ湖まで歩いた。大きな山はないが、たくさんの丘があり１４マイルで上り下りは５０００フィートほどにもなる。１５００メートル程度の上り下り。ぎゃー。甘くみていると結構辛い。この公園は緑の木々に覆われた森林の中、そして景色を遠くまで見渡せるリッジ、茶色いハゲ山の部分、ひらけた草原部分、岩が連なる部分、などバラエティに富んだトレイルに溢れる。色々な景色があるので１４マイルあっても飽きない。そしてミシシッピ湖に到着。夕方から夜にかけてどんどん寒くなっていく。サンノゼは暑いことで有名だが、少し自然の中に行くだけでだいぶ温度が違うのだ。

夜も寒さと戦いながら寝て朝起きてみると雪が降っていた。えー、サンノゼで雪が！？どおりで寒いわけだ。。。この寒さのおかげで止まるとすぐ体が冷えるので１４マイルの道のりをほぼ休憩なしで歩き無事にトレイルヘッドに到着したのだった。