With no meaningful rain in the the last four years, whatever color was in the oak leaves had drained away along with the water table, leaving wooded views so muted that you really began to wonder: just how much more will this landscape be able to stand? Then it...
Well, actually, you have to work a bit before you get to the fields of gold. Before that, there’s a 7 mile washboard road that’s a field of dust and gravel. Especially if you find yourself 50 yards behind another car that’s heading to the same place....
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...
This is about the fourth trip Susie and I have made to the trail along Arroyo Seco Gorge, which is about 45 minutes southeast of the ranch by Carmel Valley Road. Each time I like how easily we get to the action: This view is about 150 yards...
For the past few years I’ve been driving past Garland Ranch Regional Park a couple of times a week and have always wanted to hike up to the top just to see what it was like. Not a big bucket list item, just a minor fitness challenge, sort of like hiking...
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...