Take a Hike

My plan for this morning was not to stay indoors and write this article.  My plan was to hike seven miles roundtrip from my house in Cambria, along Moonstone Beach boardwalk, down to Shamel Park, through Seaclift Estates and the Fiscalini Ranch Preserve  to tiny Lampton Cliffs Park.  And, of course, back again.  It would have been my third such trip in about a week, preparation for my next big hike:  My front door to the Ragged Point Inn.  (And not back again.  I have someone meet me there and drive me home.  I'm active, I'm not completely insane.)

Instead I changed course last night by dislocating a toe in a stubbing incident, and having to pop it back into place.  Lest I feel sorry for myself, I had just finished watching the movie 127 Hours,  which puts a dislocated toe nicely in perspective. 

Now I'm sitting in my easy chair with my laptop, foot elevated, toes carefully taped together, realizing all I get from the outdoors, and how much I'll miss it for the next few weeks. I may not be able to squeeze into a boot without yelping, but I can dream.

So here's some information about great hiking trails on the Central Coast. 

Physical exercise is a funny thing.  It shares something in common with eating my vegetables.  Once I get in the habit of doing it, I can't imagine not doing it.  But no matter how much I love the hobby of hiking, if I stop, I tend to stay stopped.  It takes a strong push to roll-start my motor again.

As indicated in my first paragraph, it's easy to get outdoors and take a good walk close to home—particularly here on the Central Coast, where beautiful vistas are not hard to find.  But a walk we take every day often becomes a grind.  Discovering great trails is the best way I've found to keep my love of hiking strong and fresh.

There are two kinds of hikers, in my observation.  Flat hikers and peak hikers.  I'll try to address both.  And maybe, just maybe, if you're a flat hiker, I can make a peak hiker out of you.  At least let me try.

Let me begin by singing the praises of Montana de Oro State Park.  No matter how you hike, you will be happy there.  Most trails are maintained, and there's something for all skill levels.  Plus, summer is coming fast and trails by the sea offer relief from the summer heat.

If you're a flat hiker, you can't do much better than the Bluff Trail at Montana de Oro.  The view is spectacular, it's cool, and you can tailor the length of hike to suit yourself. 

If you drive all the way to the end of Pecho Road, you'll also find the trailhead for Coon Creek trail, a shady five-mile out-and-back with about 300 feet of elevation gain (essentially a flat hike with a bit of rolling and the occasional short climb).  It's a good way to bridge the gap if you're looking to take on just a little elevation.

A word to flat hikers about peak hiking.  If you think you hate it, it's probably because you don't feel good at it.  Sounds overly simple, but many true things in life are, and this is one of them.  The things we're good at are the things we like.  With a bit of practice, you'll feel quite capable puffing up a steep trail, especially if you go slowly and steadily, and remain upright.  Maybe even pause between steps at first.  The more you do it, the more you'll be able to do it, and the more that feeling will make the climb worthwhile.

If you can do Coon Creek a couple of times, you can take on Black Hill in Morro Bay State Park, which gains 500-600 feet.  Black Hill is an odd trail, in that it has several start points.  On the Sierra Club hiking trails website, it shows as a one-half mile round trip. This, of course, assumes you have driven up to the parking lot at nearly the top of the hill.  I'm not suggesting that.  I'm suggesting you park at the campground across the road from the marina and pick up the trail from there, for a 3-mile round trip.   But of course it's your option.

Either route will net you a terrific view of the town, Morro Rock, the estuary and the tidal flats.  The difference is how much you'll feel you earned it. 

Did you know the view is prettier when you've struggled a long way to get to the top?  If you're a peak hiker, you do.  If you're not, it's there in your future, a little treasure to be discovered.   

For example, if you take my suggestion and hike the Bluff Trail at Montana de Oro a few times, you'll likely be parking right across the road from the trailhead to Valencia Peak.  You'll watch people start up and come down.  Ask them if it was worth it.  I'm confident of what you'll hear. 

Valencia Peak is one of my favorite relatively short (four miles roundtrip) hikes with elevation (1300 feet). The view from the top will take your breath away—as will the trail if you're not used to steep hiking.  The ocean views are stellar all the way along, but when you trudge up to the very cap of this little mountain, you'll have a 360-degree vista.  Ocean behind you, rolling hills before you.  It's a little extra for those who keep puffing.  And, yes.  It's worth it.

Now we're talking about more serious elevation hiking.  So let's take the gloves off and talk about it.

Oats Peak is a neighbor to Valencia.  It's a tad higher, and the two can be done back-to-back.  You can take the Valencia Peak Trail to the top, backtrack to the first diverging trail to the right, join up with the Oats Peak Trail, summit Oats Peak and even go on to Alan Peak before retracing your steps over Oats Peak to the visitor's center (a very short walk from the Valencia trailhead) via the Oats Peak and Reservoir Flats trails.  I can't tell you the exact distance and elevation of this semi-loop, but I can tell you I used it to test my level of training before day-hiking roundtrip from Yosemite Valley to Clouds Rest (22 miles and 5,900 feet of gain).  I'd estimate the loop I just described at Montana de Oro is about half that.  So I feel this qualifies as serious hiking.

Montana de Oro trails are, for the most part, well-marked.  There's also a trail map posted outside the visitor's center (across from Spooner's Cove).  Better yet, download a map off the web and take it with you.  The interconnected trails create nearly limitless possibilities.    

Now that we know we're serious, let's talk about Cerro Alto.  Its trailhead is located in the national forest campground of the same name, about eight miles east of Morro Bay on Highway 41.  There are two lower trail portions.  The trailhead most obvious from the parking area is longer, taking 1.7 miles to join up with the summit trail.  A shorter—and more consistently steep—trail can be accessed by walking a few yards back down the road toward the highway, watching on your left for a trail marker and a wooden footbridge over a small creek.  This segment joins the summit trail in just a mile, cutting the full roundtrip distance to something like 4.4 miles.  (Note: I'm basing these numbers on signage.  Google any of these trails and you'll find at least three sets of statistics on length and elevation.  No two will be quite the same.)  In the 2.2 miles up, you'll gain about 1650 feet.  It's a steep trail.  It's also excellent training for bigger hikes.  Planning to hike Half Dome or the Grand Canyon?  I'm not claiming it's every inch of training you'll need, but if you can bite off Cerro Alto every fourth or fifth day for a few weeks, you can step up to just about anything.

So far I'm covering the area in or around Morro Bay.   But, living in Cambria, I like to head both north and south to find great hikes.  Even if you live far south of me, don't forget the trails off Highway 1 on the lower Big Sur coast.  Even the drive to the trailhead is worth the price of admission.

One of my favorites is the Salmon Creek Trail.  Most people just take the short, obvious trail to the waterfall, and that's an attraction in itself.  If you haven't, you must.  But for the more serious hiker with a free morning, the real Salmon Creek trail branches right partway to the falls, and winds up the hill, eventually leading to Estrella and Spruce camps, far from the ocean views.

Another current favorite of mine appears to have no name.  It's just referred to as the Ragged Point Fire Road.  It's a dirt road with a gated entrance—pick it up about a hundred yards south of the parking lot of the Ragged Point Inn.  It climbs relentlessly for 1,700 feet of jaw-dropping views before ending in a "T" at what I think (but haven't yet determined for myself) is a trail portion leading to the Coast Ridge Road.

Speaking of the Coast Ridge Road, if you have a high-clearance vehicle, try this.  Drive north up Highway 1 to Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, turn right (trust me, you won't want to turn left) and drive seven or eight twisting, scenic miles to the Coast Ridge Road.  Turn left and drive six miles on dirt to the Cone Peak trailhead, then take off on foot for the old lookout tower on Cone Peak summit. If the weather is—or has been—wet, Coast Ridge road will be impassable and the gate will be locked.  Being a complete lunatic (I said I wasn't insane, but I have my moments) this is my favorite time to hike Cone Peak.  I hike the six miles each way on the Coast Ridge Road, for a 17-mile grand total.  Most people don't.

One more.  This one is not for the faint of heart.

If you keep driving up Nacimiento-Fergusson Road into Hunter Liggett territory (Note: you'll need your driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance) you can make your way up to Memorial Camp. This is where the Indians Fire wreaked such devastation a few years back.  This is also the trailhead for the Santa Lucia trail to Junipero Serra Peak.   I'm not going to give directions to the trailhead, because it's a type of road anarchy, and I don't want you blaming me when you get lost.  I suggest you grab a map of the Los Padres National Forest and blame that.

You can also take the 101 north to Jolon Road and get lost from there.

The Junipero Serra hike is six miles each way, but will feel much longer.  You'll gain nearly 4,000 feet of elevation and find yourself on the highest peak in the Santa Lucia range.  The drive and the hike will take all day.  But when you're done, I wonder if you'll be able to think of any better way the day could have been spent.

If you're new at this, a brief nod to hiking safely:  Bring plenty of water and snacks, dress in layers, wear new socks and old (broken in) hiking shoes or boots, use sunscreen and/or protective clothing.   

On all but the best-marked trails, be careful to make observations that will help you retrace your steps to the trailhead.  I personally feel this is important even for those who use GPS.  You never know when you'll lose battery or signal.

And don't go on my trail descriptions alone.  Google these hikes and get all the directions and details, check current road and trail conditions, and know, as much as it's possible to know, what the weather is going to do next.

And let's take a lesson from the aforementioned movie (based on a true story), 127 Hours.  Tell someone where you're going.

Other than that, nothing can—or should—hold us back.  We live on the Central Coast.  Why waste time indoors?

Great Blue Heron Image on Banner by Greg Smith