Completed: March 25, 2023 | Elevation: 3,486′ | Trail: n/a | Distance: < 1 mile
From the Bald Mountain parking lot it was a quick 15-minute drive up Mt. Umunhum Road to the summit parking lot. There were plenty of spaces. (I had worried that the lot would be full and we’d have to go back to Bald Mountain and hike to the summit of Mount Umunhum from down there.)
We had just finished walking to Bald Mountain, and before that, hiking to Mt. El Sombroso so when we were presented with two options to reach the summit – the stairs, which would entail 159 steps, or via the last section of Mt. Umunhum Trail – we chose the more direct route. It was the difference between 0.1 or 0.3 of a mile, so not much, but neither of us felt like doing more walking than absolutely needed.
The summit used to be off limits and only opened in 2017 to the public after an extensive clean up that started in 2009. It had previously been occupied by the Almaden Air Force Station. I thought the Midpen Regional Open Space District did a really nice job of converting the federal site into a public space. Surrounding the actual peak is a curved walkway, lined with informational signs, that leads around a ceremonial area, before reaching the top. Landscaping was still in progress but I can imagine that once everything grows in this would be a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. From the top it was possible to see the trail we had taken to Mt. El Sombroso.
We wandered around the site and perused another exhibit close to the radar station that provided more information on the history of the mountain. I learned that “umunhum” means “resting place of the hummingbird” in the language of the Amah Mutsun, people for whom this mountain was sacred. Too bad I did not see any hummingbirds, but according to the exhibit, they are up there.
It was just after 2:30 P.M. when we got back to the car and made the drive back down the mountain with still lots of time left to enjoy the rest of our day.
Find an overview of our Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve hikes here.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
This was a quick drive-and-walk to the summit, which suited our purposes. Under other circumstances I would have enjoyed doing the hike to the summit from the Bald Mountain parking lot, something that we’ll save for another time.