I took these pictures on 1/27/12. I started at the Mockingbird Hill Lane staging area of Almaden Quicksilver County Park. I hiked up the Hacienda Trail to the New Almaden Trail, went up the Buena Vista Trail to the Buena Vista Shaft site. I then followed the Randol Trail to the Day Tunnel. I continued on the Randol Trail to Capehorn Pass, then returned on the Hacienda Trail.

This is a view from the parking lot of the staging area looking up the Almaden Valley, showing what a clear day it was. In the background are the Santa Cruz Mountains along the Peninsula. The bare hills are the rock quarry west of Stevens Creek County Park.The residential neighborhoods of the Almaden Valley come right up to the eastern borders of the park. The Mockingbird Hill Lane Staging Area is the main entrance to the park from its most populated side. It has a large parking lot, restroom, drinking water, and picnic tables. The parking lot is gated, so is only open until sunset. Mockingbird Hill Lane leads to McKean Road and Harry Road and is a connector to the Calero Creek/Los Alamitos Creek Trails, which are part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail.

The Buena Vista Trail leads to the site of the Buena Vista Shaft. There is an interpretive sign here that talks about the site and the huge pumps that were here. The gigantic Cornish pumps were used to pump water out of the mine shafts, which were hundreds of feet below sea level. This is what it says: "A MASTERPIECE OF MASONRY & MECHANICS. The Buena Vista shaft commenced on July 5, 1882. It became the deepest sunk into the Quicksilver Mining Company's lands, eventually reaching a depth of 2,300 feet, 600 feet below sea level. Though not itself a significant source of ore, the Buena Vista's value was in pumping water out of neighboring flooded mine tunnels, thus allowing miners to follow veins of cinnabar ore deeper into the earth. Considered a masterpiece of masonry, the Buena Vista's pumphouse foundation was constructed using sandstone from New Almaden and immense blocks of granite from the Sierras. Abandoned in 1893, these foundation blocks are all that remain of the Buena Vista today." The picture on the upper left says, "The Cornish pump's flywheel measured 24 feet in diameter and weighed 25 tons. In 1887 the pump raised 86,000,000 gallons of water." The top center picture says, "Six coal-fed boilers in a brick-lined room supplied steam power for pumps, hoist, and air compressor engines." The top right picture says, "A dual-hoist system raised and lowered cages carrying miners and ore cars into the descending shaft." The large picture at the bottom says, "The Buena Vista pumphouse with its red paint and fancy cathedral windows was strategically placed to be visible from San Jose, 12 miles away. It was intended that this attractive building nestled in New Almaden's hillside would draw wealthy investors to the mining company."

This is the interpretive sign for the Day Tunnel, which is in the background. The sign says, "A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO NEW ALMADEN'S RICH MINING OPERATION. Toxic gases and underground water posed perils and problems for miners in search of valuable cinnabar ore. Under Sherman Day's suggestion, the "New Tunnel" was dug at the 800 foot level to help ventilate and drain the vast catacombs of underground tunnels and shafts. Later re-named the "Day Tunnel", this new passage into some of the mountain's hardest rock proved to be quite profitable. For much of the 1870's miners hauled nearly all of the company's cinnabar out through this one opening. It was also Sherman Day who suggested building a new road (now known as the Randol Trail) for easier access to the mine and tunnel. Although the Day Tunnel entrance and planilla are not visible today, evidence of the tons of rock that passed through them can be seen along and below the trail." The upper picture captions say, "left: Tunnel etrance 1860. below: Day Tunnel Planilla (ore sorting shed) ca late 1800s." The caption at the bottom says, "Sherman Day, an accomplished engineer and graduate of Yale's Sheffield School of Engineering, was hired as Superintendent and Surveyor of New Almaden's Quicksilver Mines in 1857. He conceived several ideas that added to the success of the mining operations."

Also seen from the trail junction is this antenna-topped hill in the center. It is part of Rancho San Vicente, the newest addition to Calero County Park, but not yet open to the public. Plans are in the works to open up trails to the public and eventually connect the park to Almaden Quicksilver. Guided tours of Rancho San Vicente are offered by the County Parks and the Peninsula Open Space Trust.

This is a view from the Capehorn Pass Trail, which is a short connector trail that leads to the Hacienda Trail. At the trail junction, you can take the Hacienda Trail to the right, which runs along the ridgetop seen in the picture above, leads to the Virl O. Norton Trail, and ends near the junction of the Mine Hill Trail and English Camp Trail. Alternatively, the Hacienda Trail can be taken back to the Mockingbird Hill Staging Area, which is what I did. The Mine Hill, Capehorn Pass, and Virl O. Norton Trails are part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail network.