Henry COe Photo Excursions
Directions: From 101 at Morgan Hill, take the East Dunne Avenue exit going east. Eventually East Dunne will come to a fork at the Holiday Lake Estates. Take the right fork and follow it for about 10 miles into the hills and you will come to the park headquarters. The park is open 24/7.
Parking fee: $5.00
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On three consecutive weekends, Nov 17, Nov 24, and Dec 2, 2007, I hiked short 5.5 mile loops in a photographic excursion at the main entrance to Henry Coe State Park.
Trails: Monument Trail, Ponderosa Loop, Hobbs Road, Manzanita Point Road, Springs Trail and the Corral Trail with a short hop on the Forest Trail.
National Geographic TOPO! software website:
I have been interested in photography for a couple of years now and for the last year, I have had in my mind the idea that one day I would haul myself and some gear into Henry Coe to see what I could capture. In fact it has become a mission. I believe that Henry Coe is a beautiful park and I am out to prove it in pictures.
Well, over the last few years I have been slowly acquiring equipment and when the Canon 40D digital SLR came out a few months ago, I plunked down my card and bought it, my first digital SLR. I also went overboard and bought a new Gitzo GT3540XLS tripod and a Really Right Stuff ball head. So together with my old Canon Elan 7ne 35 mm film camera, and three lenses, Canon 17-40, 28-135, and 70-200 mm, I headed into the park. Oh, and I took my little Canon Powershot A710 too.
Yeah, I was pretty weighed down and so I didn’t bother to hike far, maybe 5.5 miles altogether on each of the three outings.
And though the weather varied, I did luck out with some nice clouds on the last two weekends. I really liked the clouds on the 17th. They were the best.
Otherwise, each weekend I started my hike at about 1:00 PM. The first outing I headed up to the Ponderosa Loop straight away and tried to figure out a way to photograph it, to recreate the feeling I have when I am there. It was a bust. But I ended up with a shot or two up there that I sort of liked and it gave me ideas for a return trip.
And so the next two weekends I reversed my route with the idea of being at the Ponderosa Loop near sunset. That also gave me a chance to see things from the opposite direction. And on both of the last two weekends I had clouds, which also made at times for great drama in the sky.
And the last weekend I encountered a little fun and excitement in the park as a search and rescue squad from Contra Costa County was in the park for training and a chance to practice their craft without the bother of someone who really needed rescuing.
So as I was hiking down Manzanita Point Road, I would hear and periodically see a helicopter circling low around the park. I didn’t know what was going on until I got up to a point where one friendly fellow from the squad was holding up a couple of mountain bikers. A short distance down Manzanita Point Road from where they were standing was a group of emergency personal, the rescue squad, bunched up and waiting for the chopper. The chopper would come roaring in, hover over the area, winch one of them up, and then head off only to return shortly and do it again. I guess everyone in the group had the chance to get winched up.
I talked with the fellow holding us up and found out they had backpacked in the day before and spent the night camping out at Manzanita Point. He had a big smile on and was having a great time. And when they finally finished with the helicopter training I walked on down and talked briefly to some of them. They all had the biggest smiles on their faces too and were clearly having a blast.
Anyway, you don’t run into that sort of thing very often in the park and it was a fun diversion. Now, lets see the pictures, both of the rescue squad in action and my attempts so photograph the park!
