Toro County Park, dammit. It took two, seven-mile hikes to get it right. The first time I set out on foot at Toro County Park I parked right there at the front gate. I really should have driven up to the 3rd parking lot, which would have put me on the trail past all...

The thing is, from the road the hills don't look all that steep.  They look like hills of the 'gentle rolling' genre and seem relatively tame after a trip to Big Sur or Pinnacles. However, they suddenly get a lot steeper when I've lost whatever inertia I had...