Los Gatos - Mt El Sombroso Loop

Instead of my standard mid-week out-and-back Kennedy Climb, I decided to go for a much longer Los Gatos loop and tag the summit of Mt. El Sombroso in the process.

Leaving the part from the center of Los Gatos to the Kennedy trailhead for the last part of the trip, the ride still started with the 3.9 climber up the Kennedy trail. No training ride, so I decide to take it easy with no intention of breaking any uphill climb records and stopping along the way if I felt like it.

At the intersection of the Kennedy trail and Priest Rock trail, the end of the climb, you simply go straight Instead of a steady uphill in the first part, you’ll now encounter a number of Really Steep uphill walls.

After 1.4 miles, you’ll reach the intersection: end of Kennedy and the start of the Woods trail and Limekiln trail. Go left for a short and easy out-and-back to the top of Mt. El Sombroso.

True to its name, the summit is a sad and somber affair: high voltage power lines and an impenetrable wall of thick prickly shrubs on the side of the road. The views aren’t all the spectacular either, but you have a great view of the summit of Mt. Umunhum.

On the way back, Limekiln a long stretch down, with a bit of light climbing when you get near the intersection with the Priest Rock trail. Just cross over and continue down: the trail becomes a slightly more technical single track, but nothing major.

At the bottom, go right on the paved road until you reach the parking lot at the Lexington Reservoir. Here I went right uphill onto St. Josephs Hill and down to Los Gatos Main Street, followed by the ride back to the Kennedy trail head.

The official Sierra Azul preserve website can be found here. (map)