Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, CA

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
12/30/2016	6.5 miles	2 hours 16 minutes

Map: Park maps are available at the trailhead.
Parking: See book
Directions: Hike #21 in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles San Francisco. We included a quick stop to the cemetery at the end of the hike.

As we drove up to the parking area, we saw a herd of sheep on the steep hills next to the road. We stopped to look, and noticed a border collie moving them. Lucky dog! We also met a friendly man hiking with an elderly rescue border collie. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable hiking near cattle with my dogs.

We saw a few people on the trails near the parking lot, but once we got started, the trails were quieter. We did come across cattle on the trail again. None of them acted aggravated by us, but I still find it disconcerting to walk towards 1200 pound animals blocking the trail and staring at you. They also had their young. So we got off the trail and hiked around them to give them some space.

This hike had a variety of terrain, which is nice. It had great valley views. We saw some joggers jogging uphill (envious because I was panting hiking uphill). I didn’t take any Naproxen today and my hip was doing pretty good. I could feel some rubbing/inflammation on my outer hip, but it was mild. This park does have a number of unmarked trails. We did find some of the trails confusing (despite having a map), but did end up going the right way. I think we also added a loop (on purpose) to extend the hike. At one point, we were really confused about where we were and asked a couple of locals to confirm where we were on the map – they told us, but turns out they were completely wrong! Eventually came to a marked trail junction and figured out where we were - which is right where we were hoping to be.

We saw a lot of what I’m guessing are gophers on this hike. Fast moving animals which live in holes in the ground.

We've encountered a lot of muddy cow trails during this trip.