High Meadow Trail, Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Santa Clara County, CA, 4/7/2012
Here is the view east from High Meadow Trail in Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve in Santa Clara County, California. We're at an elevation of 520 feet above sea level looking down a very steep and rugged hillside covered in poison oak. Through the tangled wood of oak, bay, and willow trees we see Rogue Valley and another hill partially bathed in the receding glow of late afternoon sunlight. I had hiked past this view a number of times, admiring the tangled and intricate arrangement of tree trunks and branches against a soft green background. On this breezeless spring afternoon the timing was perfect for a photograph. Thanks to the moss, lichens, shrubs, leaves, and lighting there is an enormous variety of shades of green to be enjoyed in this forest scene! The 3,800 acre Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains by the town of Los Altos Hills, CA.
