20. Peaks 1740 and 1800 (12/31/23)

Hikers (3): Manfred, Mihail, Steve
Distance: 12 miles
Rating: 2 difficulty, 8 beauty
Park info: Mt. Madonna County Park near Gilroy

Steve owes a writeup! -- Pictures by Mihail and Steve

Enjoyed an unusual loop that hit two 450+ feet prominence peaks. The area is "across the street" from from Mt. Madonna. Mt. Madonna itself only has 188 feet of prominence. That's why we needed to do better.

Used two cars to cut out 0.7 miles of road hiking and tagged two additional minor ridge high points along the way. Nice views of Watsonville and Monterey Bay closed out 2023.

Mossy rock near the start of the hike

Old cabin along the way

Easy going trail

Heading up to the main ridge after Peak 1740 (assessed in 2024 to be 1760)

Took a short detour to Bald Ridge high point. . .

. . .and Casserly Ridge high point

Heading back to complete the loop with Watsonville in the distance

Some minor bushwhacking to reach the final road back to the car

Post-party in Gilroy parking lot

Mihail and Steve did a bonus peak (Peak 634) afterwards

Milestones:
Steve's 20^th leaf

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