I hiked the historic Quiksilver Trail in Almaden Quiksilver Park in San José on Saturday. Boy Scout Troop 2xx compiled the historical information about this hike as an Eagle project. The highlighted trail takes you past the ruins of the first economic boom of San José—the New Almaden Quiksilver Mine.
The New Almaden Mine, named by its Spanish founders for the Almaden mine in Spain, pumped out millions of tons of quicksilver (mercury) in the 1800s, a critical component of gold production during the gold rush. During its heydey, the town of New Alamden at the base of the mountains housed 1800 residents. It was a bustling manufacturing town, much more so than the farming center of San José twelve miles to the north.
Last Sunday I had a fantastic twelve mile hike staying just ahead of the fog through the urban/rural environment of San Francisco.
I met with 18 other members of the Sierra Club Black Mountain Hiking group, plus a couple of people from the San Jose Hiking Meetup group at the (free!) parking lot at Fort Mason. Most of us had come from the South Bay where temperatures were expected to reach 95, so we happily donned light jackets in the fog-threatened air. We headed west along Marina Boulevard, ogling the gorgeous homes fronting the yacht harbor. Of course, we all pulled out our PDAs to Zillow the prices of such desirable real estate (FYI, 3–4 mil).
I hiked the historic Quiksilver Trail in Almaden Quiksilver Park in San José on Saturday. Boy Scout Troop 2xx compiled the historical information about this hike as an Eagle project. The highlighted trail takes you past the ruins of the first economic boom of San José—the New Almaden Quiksilver Mine.
Last Sunday I had a fantastic twelve mile hike staying just ahead of the fog through the urban/rural environment of San Francisco.