Starr Peak & Miramonte Mountain 06/01/2006

Another after-work adventure from Golden Gate State Park. Some time ago, I'd driven around looking for a way up Muiramonte via the network of roads surrounding its east flanks. I'd concluded the best approach would combine Miramonte from Starr Peak. Scouting around the north side of Starr Peak, I found no reasonable access through the multiple layers of private property. I had done Thorodin from about the same spot I started for this hike a little over a year earlier. Armed with a headlamp and water, I quickly made my way to the east slopes of Thordodin which became a deadfall maze. The building on the summit can be seen through the trees from here (photo on right). The remnants of the trail shown on the old topo surfaced once above the saddle between Thorodin and Starr.
	I quick push from the saddle attained the summit, and the current highest ground to the south of the structure is featured in the photo on the left. It appears the old lookout tower was hastily strewn about the upper reaches of the peak to make way for the new building rather than cleaned up first. I headed down the ridge toward Miramonte, well over a mile away. By the protesting noise of the domesticated organisms nearby, I could tell I'd have to reascend Starr rather than sidehill through someone's property. A well-developed trail showed up about halfway down, replete with rejected material from horse entrails. The rise that is Miramonte Mountain may not seem like much on a map, but it is distinctly a hill of its own (view of Starr Peak from Miramonte on right). Making my way back up the ridge to Starr, the sun disappeared and headlamp came out. It took a while to work my way back to the Golden Gate Road, and I drove out at 10:15 pm.