Hikes Beyond The South Bay (non-Local)
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posted by Kerch @ 10:13 PM
Friday, July 21, 2006
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7 Comments:
July 6th and 7th -
Lasson National Park.
Having heard from a friend in Santa Cruz that the camping at Juniper Lake is heaven and needing a place to stay on our way down from Bend, Oregon to San Jose I decided to make a quick overnight at Lasson. Unfortunately the web site said the camp was opening on July 15, in ten days, so we had to look elsewhere. I like to make reservations at camp sites when possible. The camping area that had opened two weeks earlier was Butte Lake which is on the northeast side of the park. Half the sites are reservable, but they only took reservations for 5 days out and more. We needed the site for the next day. It was after the 4th and mid-week so we figured we'd be okay. As it turned out there were only a handful of campers at the 120 or so sites.
The 6 mile dirt road down to the sites from Rt 44 was somewhat of a washboard and I had to keep the car weaving from one side of the road to the other which helped avoid being shook up too much. The dust was pretty bad too. The reward is a gentle lake with shady pines and spectacular lava formations. The most dramatic is a cinder cone two miles to the south.
After pitching the tent, eating dinner and stowing food in the well kept bear boxes (necessary, I didn't see a bear but saw bear droppings) we dropped off to sleep -- a really quiet camping area. The next morning I ventured off by myself to cozy up to the cone and left Rebecca to relax and play with the aggressive squirrels. Walking starts off pretty easy then gets harder and harder as you reach the cinder cone. The footing is basically like walking in very soft sand. Plus the black "sand" is very warm. On my way back to the tent I decided to just venture off the trail and go through the woods, ala, J. Muir style. The open forest floor was covered with pine needles and made walking very easy. I happened on a deer in a glade. We gave eachother a look and I walked around leaving the animal to eat in peace.
Rebecca went in swimming after I got back. The water was cold but not as cold as the moutain lakes we'd been to near Bend. Driving back we went through the park. We were in the first wave of cars allowed through that season. The park service had just gotten done clearing up the road -- they'd received 29 feet of snow, mostly late in the winter season.
Kerch
I have visited Lassen several times and would say it is a 'must see'. There are some active geothermal areas in the park that are worth seeing. A great place to camp is the Warner Valley primitive camp in the southeast part of the park. There is a fantastic meadow just a few minutes hike away. Also, you can get to terminal geyser in a short time. You can tell when you get near as it sounds like a jet engine. There are also some small pools that have warm water in them - but I won't suggest you take a dip, wink, wink. Along the route to the geyser is a greenish lake known as Boiling Springs Lake that gets its color from geothermal activity. DO NOT TRY TO SWIM IN IT. IT IS DANGEROUS TO DO SO. There are signs that also state it is dangerous. It is an interesting view though. Along another path you can get to Devil's Kitchen. This is an active, bubbling area with mud pots and boiling water and a strong smell of sulfer. A unique area to visit. This hike is about 2.5 hours round trip from Warner Valley. There are many other great places to visit in this park. The Sierra Club also has a service trip in Lassen every year. I have been on it and had a great time. Check it out at the Sierra Club home page our contact me for more info.
24-27 March 2008: Spent a couple of days at a hostel on hwy 140 near Yosemite. There was still snow around Crane Flat and hwy 120 (Tioga Pass) is still closed but the snow is fading fast. After our Crane Flat hike, we headed back to the valley floor and hiked about 1/2 way up Yosemite Falls trail. A lot of switch backs and climbing on this one. If you are not in shape expect to stop several time on the way up. The views of the falls and the valley are worth it though. The next day we headed back towards Yosemite but stopped near the old Savage Trading Post sign for a hike to Hite Cove. A bit of a narrow trail but well worth it for the wild flowers. The slide that closed hwy 140 about a year ago has been bypassed by routing traffic to the other side of the river but it is single lane and can cause up to a 15 minute wait. The road work in Yosemite is still going on and holds up a lot more traffic. You can expect delays in Yosemite to get worse as the season picks up. Some wait times have hit 30 minutes or more.
7-10 April, 2008
Point Reyes National Seashore
Less than two hours north of San Jose, Point Reyes has some great hiking and backpacking.
We started out from Bear Valley Visitor Center around 2:30PM. The wind was up and it felt a bit chilly. Knowing we would be out of the wind in a couple of hundred yards we did not overdress. Make sure your water bottles are full as the next potable water is about 6 miles away. All the campgrounds have potable water. There are some creeks but you will need to filter that water. We took Bear Valley trail (a fire road of sorts actually) about 1.6 miles to Old Piney trail where we turned off and headed to Sky trail. Old Piney is a nice hike under a canopy of trees. There is a small meadow about 1/2 way down this trail where we have seen a few deer. After about 2 miles we connected up with Sky trail and turned north to meet up with Woodward Valley trailhead about 1/2 a mile away. Turning west, the last 2 miles to Coast Camp was filled with a lot of wildflowers in full bloom and hundreds of Ceanothus that have taken hold after the Mount Vision fire about 10 years ago. Once we reached the last ridge we had an expansive view of the coast and Drakes Bay. The switchbacks down to Coast trail are fairly exposed and if the wind is up it can almost knock one over. Once on Coast trail we turned northwest to Coast Camp which is, as the name suggests, on the coast. The wind was fairly strong but we were among the bushes which cut down on the force of the wind. It was nice to hear the waves hitting the shore and we slept well that night.
The next morning we packed up and headed southeast on Coast trail to Wildcat camp where we spent 2 nights. It is a nice 7 mile hike along the coast with only one 1/2 mile or so climb after Arch Rock. We stopped for a trail lunch near the top of the climb and had a nice view. The last 1/2 mile is on another fire road where Coast trail overlaps with Stewart trail. Most of the camp sites at Wildcat are fairly open and the wind was still with us. The views and being out in nature more than made up for any bother. After a nice dinner, we strolled over to the bluff and watched the sun set. Very calming. And again the waves breaking on the shore provided a good nice sleep. The wind dropped off around 10PM making it a quiet night. There are food lockers at all the camps and a lot of mice. The mice found a way into the locker but for some reason only went for the rice cakes. Seemed like an odd choice. After a few minues, it was obvious they were getting in through the handle. These food lockers are the same type they use in Yosemite. A bit of whittling on a small stick, we had a nice plug that blocked the mice from getting in. We had a good breakfast of pancakes and headed down to the beach for a couple of hours. We had lunch and watched the waves come in. In the afternoon we took a short hike to Ocean Lake Loop trail.
On our last day, the wind had totally dropped off and the sky was clear. It made for a hot morning so it lessened the blow that we were on our way out and it was good to get back under tree canopy. We doubled back on Coast trail to South Glen Spur trail. This trail looked different than most of the other trails we were on. It was a bit more moist and ferns abound. It was also very quiet and nice to stop and just take it in. The birds were in full voice which added to the moment. Glen trail hooks back up with Bear Valley trail and the last 3.2 miles back to the visitor center.
On the way home, after a bit of a clean-up and change of clothes, there is a great eatery in San Anselmo that has good food, friendly folks, and decent prices. Drop me a note if you would like more information on this trip.
Point Reyes is a great place and is a must see. It gets busy so if you are going to backpack, make your reservations early.
Bob
14-17 April 2008
Los Padres National Forest/Ventana Wilderness
On Monday, 14 April we headed off for Ventana Wilderness. We decided to car camp and do some day hikes. Part of the reason is we wanted to check out the area because David was going to lead a service trip here in just over a week. It took under 3 hours to get to the camp site. We had to drive through Fort Hunter Liggett to get to the campground, Santa Lucia. Everyone will need to show an ID, like a driver's license, if you want to drive through the fort. Note: There is no piped water at Santa Lucia campground but the Arroyo Seco river is close by to filter water from. There is a pit toilet available.
We had the camp pretty much to ourselves as there was only one other campsite out of the seven occupied. We set up and met the other campers. They are a retired couple out of Pacific Grove. Very nice folks who played music at fairs. After dinner we got together and they entertained us with some great music and conversation. They headed out the next morning so we had the whole place to ourselves. Over the weekend, the place was full.
For the hike that day we headed up the fire road that paralleled the Arroyo Seco river. There were some good views and a lot of places to swim in the river but hiking on a fire road is not great fun. We stopped at Escondido campsite to have a look around and continued on the road for another 3 or so miles before breaking for lunch. We found a nice point that gave a good view of the valley and river. After lunch we headed back. The road was not too steep but did have a few long stretches of up and down. We got back to camp and filtered water for dinner. Being we were car camping rather then backpacking, our menu was rather plush. All in all though, I would rather be backpacking.
After a hearty breakfast, we headed out on the Arroyo Seco trail. In the first 1/2 mile we came to a water crossing. It wasn't too bad but if one isn't nimble on rocks expect a boot full of water. We were all nimble. The trail needed work as there were several trees across the trail and some spots were small streams of water were eroding it. The going was a bit slow but the wild flowers were out in force - as was the poison oak. We had a couple more water crossings and downed trees but for the most part the trail was in decent condition. We stopped at one of the backpack sites along the way for lunch and then headed up the trail about a mile more. With David and his crew doing work on the trails, Santa Lucia would make a good base camp for a backpack loop.
29 April - 1 May 2008
Back to Los Padres/Ventana Wilderness
Due to needing new boots we decided to do another car camping trip rather than a backpack trip. This time we chose the Arroyo Seco campground. When we pulled in there was only one other of 33 some sites occupied - we felt lucky again. This place did not really feel like camping. It has flush toilets, piped water, and hot showers. The folks in the other campsite had gotten there by bicycle from Salinas. This was kind of a shake down run for them as they are planning to ride across the country. We shared some good stories with them and wished them good tidings. They will be blogging their trip so we will be following along. During the night one of the local deer decided to pay us a visit. It got within about 10 feet of our tent before letting out a big snort. Hey, I had taken a shower!
We were up early and headed out for a day hike. The wild flowers were still in full bloom and the going was slow as we stopped to take pictures and enjoy the view. Part of the hike was on the other end of the road we hiked two weeks ago out of Santa Lucia. The views of the gorge are really worth the hike. We turned off on the Marble Creek trail which took us away from Arroyo Seco river and along Marble creek. It is a nice trail and other than the poison oak is in good shape. We passed a trail junction called Horse Pasture trail. There was a passing thought of taking it as it leads to Tassajara Hot Springs but gave it a miss and continued on. We got to Tassajara Creek backpack camp where we had lunch next to Marble creek. After lunch we headed down the trail for another 45 minutes before heading back. On returing to our campsite from our 12 mile trek, we found a group had moved in - right next to our site. The rest of the campsites were empty so we wondered why they wound up so close. Well, at least they were not blasting a radio.
We remembered why we much prefer backpacking to car camping. The group next to us were up partying until well after midnight. Not even the deer paid a visit that night. As we were off on another day hike today we were up early. I would not say we tried to make noise but we sure did not go out of our way to be quiet. We headed out on a trail towards Last Chance backpack camp. Being tired from lack of sleep, we got about 2 miles and came across a great little creek called the Santa Lucia. It was so inviting we dumped our packs and plans and decided to play in the creek. The water was a touch chilly but it was a warm day so no worries. We spent about 3 hours playing in the creek and just relaxing. When we got back to our camp, several more people had shown up at the group site next to us. We overheard that two dozen people were expected. The campground would be noisy tonight no matter where you set up camp. We took a shower and decided to spend the night in our own bed. We were packed up in about 10 minutes and headed back.
I guess we are just not cut out for car camping. We are too spoiled from our many backpack trips out in nature and had forgotten what car camping was like. At least we have scouted some good areas to do some backpacking. We will leave the car camping to the party folks who like to sleep in.
As the end of 2011 is around the corner, we decided 2012 would be a year of many backpack trips for us. We have somewhat of a rough idea of trips but have set aside 1 January, 2012 to formalize the list. On the rough list at the moment is a return to Ventana Wilderness, a return to the Russian Wilderness, a return to Lassen, Dinky Lakes (just because I like the name), a return to Sequoia/Kings Canyon, and a few others if we can fit them in. Got to get out there while we can still carry a pack.
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