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This Saturday we decided to venture back to the Central Coast. Yes, we were just there a week ago. We even went back to basically the same place, Garrapata State Park. Our hike in Soberanes Canyon was a (partial) repeat of one we've done many times before, but our walk along the ocean bluffs opened our eyes to an area we'd overlooked on numerous previous visits. This time we made a beeline for a loop trail around another section of ocean bluffs and up over a low peak.
We had a few motivations for this trip. The biggest one was, "Because it's freakin' beautiful down there." The second was revenge. We were disappointed by the all-day fog last week and wanted to see it again in the sunshine. Alas, today the fog was even worse than one week ago. But we still enjoyed the beauty of the area. Certain colors of the wildflowers and native plants come out better in the dim light. You'll see that when I post pictures soon.
A third reason we did a return trip this weekend is the wildfire smoke that covers much of the state. We've been yearning to visit various places in the Sierra Nevada— especially the Gold Lakes Basin, which we haven't been to in.... [checks blog]... 3 years. But that area is deep in the smoke right now... and we know what that's like because it was smoky there from wildfires when we last visited 3 years ago! Hopefully the smoke will clear enough in that corner of the state soon that we can get back out there for a trip this season, perhaps over Labor Day weekend.
UPDATE: When I say "It's worse" I mean the weather. Despite that we had enjoyable hikes at two parks. I've written four blogs with pictures from these treks:
We had a few motivations for this trip. The biggest one was, "Because it's freakin' beautiful down there." The second was revenge. We were disappointed by the all-day fog last week and wanted to see it again in the sunshine. Alas, today the fog was even worse than one week ago. But we still enjoyed the beauty of the area. Certain colors of the wildflowers and native plants come out better in the dim light. You'll see that when I post pictures soon.
A third reason we did a return trip this weekend is the wildfire smoke that covers much of the state. We've been yearning to visit various places in the Sierra Nevada— especially the Gold Lakes Basin, which we haven't been to in.... [checks blog]... 3 years. But that area is deep in the smoke right now... and we know what that's like because it was smoky there from wildfires when we last visited 3 years ago! Hopefully the smoke will clear enough in that corner of the state soon that we can get back out there for a trip this season, perhaps over Labor Day weekend.
UPDATE: When I say "It's worse" I mean the weather. Despite that we had enjoyable hikes at two parks. I've written four blogs with pictures from these treks:
- Hiking the Whale Peak Loop
- A Beautiful, Harmful Plant (Whale Peak Loop, part 2)
- Atop Whale Peak
- McWay Falls
