Black Rock Falls, Uvas Canyon, California (Kyle Jones)
I took advantage of the nice weather last weekend to do some hiking in the Bay Area, which also gave me a chance to see how the rains we’ve gotten this year have affected some of our local waterfalls. On Saturday, Sandee and I hiked the waterfall loop in Uvas Canyon south of San Jose and on Sunday I hiked one of my favorite loops in the Sunol Regional Wilderness. There was definitely a lot more water in the creeks flowing through these parks than I saw last year.
Uvas Canyon is probably my favorite hike in the Bay Area. The waterfall loop is about 3-1/2 miles long and includes about 800 feet of climbing. On the way into the canyon it follows a creek with several waterfalls along the way. On the way back you get a view across the canyon. The photo above is the first waterfall we reached, Black Rock Falls. The small cascade in the foreground is actually very small, less than a foot or two high, but I set up the camera very close to fill the bottom part of the frame with it. I took three exposures at different distances and combined them in Photoshop to keep everything in focus.
Upper Falls, Uvas Canyon, California (Kyle Jones)
Upper Falls (above) is the largest fall along the loop, with additional cascades below it. Upper falls is a popular spot for people to play in the water so some patience may be required if you want to photograph it. Basin Falls (below) is the last of the main falls reached on the waterfall loop. Once again I combined three shots to keep everything in focus.
Basin Falls, Uvas Canyon, California (Kyle Jones)
On Sunday, I decided to skip the first half of the super bowl and hike my favorite loop in the Sunol Regional Wilderness. This is a 6-1/2 mile hike with over 1,000 feet of climbing, so my legs were sore after two days of exploring. The hills are green and the water is flowing. Later in the spring, lupine and poppies will make their appearance on the hillsides. I made a stop at the series of cascades known locally as “Little Yosemite” to take the shot below. I would have liked to be a little more to the right so I could have gotten a better view of the twin waterfalls in the middle, but the small travel tripod I chose to hike with wasn’t up to the task.
So, any favorites?
Little Yosemite, Sunol Regional Wilderness, California (Kyle Jones)