Locomotoring

We followed the recommendations from POST. It was a surprisingly quiet hike. For the first 5 miles, we saw only five other people. Right at the end, there was a large group of 20-30 people on a docent led tour. Portions of the Pescadero county park were still closed due to the 2020 fires. The coyote ridge trail looked neglected. The creek had dried up. The Pomponio trail was perhaps my favorite with its forest of sorrels.

Starting at the Higgins Road Trailhead southeast of Half Moon Bay, we climbed the Purisma trail all the way to Skyline trailhead (nearly) and then climbed back, a total distance of about 7 miles and net elevation gain of about 1000 ft. As promised, the Higgins Road Trailhead parking lot was busy, we ended up parking illegally and picked up a parking fine. The first mile is relatively flat and simply glorious for the senses, with the gentle sound of water and dappled sunlight. And I simply love walking under the redwoods, the layers of fallen needles on the ground form a gentle cushion for the foot. Over a decade ago, we had tried this trail from the skyline trailhead and perhaps never made it all the way to the to the creek.

Huddart is the closest park to us with second growth redwoods. It offers cool trails in the summers, is well marked and is welcoming with its numerous picnic spaces. This Fourth of July weekend, it continued to be cold and foggy, so we chose an unexpected summer hike through its service roads. From Zwierlein Picnic Area to Richards Road Trail to Toyon Group Camps and down back on Campground Trail. On the Huddart Park map, it is trail junctions 21 to 26 to 6 to 19 to 17 to 21. We had intended to climb all the way to Skyline Blvd on Richards Road, but the path was closed due to flood damage.

Mindego Hill is a POST recommended hike for month of June. As one of the highest points in the area, Mindego Hill has amazing 360-degree views (see hiking photos by Hiking Shenandoah). We spent our hike with Karl the Fog. It also meant we had the trail to ourselves – more or less. It is an out and back trail. The parking lot on Alpine road and the Mindego Summit are about the same height. The first half a mile is a steep downhill. The last mile is a gentle climb on a narrow path on cow pasture. Apparently, Mindego Hill is underlain by basalt, Miocene-age volcanic rock. The basalt has high water holding capacity and stable structure which supports good forage.