Tales & Trails of a Traveling Wiseguy

On our hike at Devil's Slide last weekend we did more than marvel at the landscape. I noted that as amazing as this (old) stretch of road was when it was Highway 1, it's even more amazing now as a hiking/biking trail. That's because taking it slower than 35pmh, much slower, provides time to see things we'd miss from inside a car. For example, there were wildflowers; you saw some of those in my two previous blogs on this trip. But there were also birds and battlements.



One of the things we were able to see at walking speed was this pair of ravens perched just a few steps from the edge of a 200+ foot cliff. They're kind of playful. One is pecking at the other with its beak.



Except it's not exactly pecking. I believe it's grooming, picking small bits of debris out of another's feathers. It's a form of affection. The birds are likely a mated pair and they're doing the raven equivalent of holding hands on a nice day on the coast.

By the way, when I say they're just a few steps from the edge of a cliff, I mean this:



The birds were on the shoulder of the road you see in the upper left of the frame. This is a picture I took a few minutes before we saw the birds. The condition of the cliff immediately below the road is testament to why this is called Devil's Slide and why Highway 1 has been rerouted through a tunnel.

BTW, the grass covered granite knob in the center of the picture is called Egg Rock. You may notice a trail diagonalling up from the road to the top of the rock. That's actually an old, narrow paved road. At the top, under than small stand of trees, is a WWII battlement. The government built fortified gun batteries along the coast around San Francisco to watch for, and begin the fight back against, enemy assault. As with other batteries in the area, the guns were never fired in anger.

The well disguised battlement atop Egg Rock isn't the only one in the immediate area. Less than a mile south there's a fairly obvious one sitting another another knob:



This one's open to the public... or what's left of it is, anyway. Our friend Devlin remarked that there used to be sign at the edge of the road. "What did it say?" I asked. "NO PARKING FOR AXIS POWERS?" 🤣



We walked around the old fortification atop the cliff without going in. There is a path to scramble up into the concrete bunker around the right in the back. There's really nothing inside, though, except the reek of piss and weed. There are so many nicer things here; basically all the views.

Saturday we met up with our friends David and Devlin in Pacifica. Our stated goal was to go on a hike, an activity we've shared together a few times since the start of the pandemic. For the hike we agreed on Devil's Slide, an area just a little south of Pacifica.

Devil's Slide is a precarious cliff-side route that California's famous Highway 1 used to follow. The area was prone to slides that frequently closed the road (hence its name). Several years ago the state completed a tunnel bypass through the mountain for Highway 1. Now the old road bed is a trail for hikers, joggers, and cyclists.



I'll write more about the trail and the history of the area in another blog soon. For now I'll just share this picture of us— well, David, Devlin, and Hawk; I'm taking the picture— atop one of the cliffs.

At first we thought our hike would be about 2.6 miles, and our friends weren't sure if they could do all of it. Well, we got to the end of the trail (it's an out-and-back proposition) and everyone was feeling fine, so we decided to extend our trek. We hiked to another cliff where there was a historical WWII fortification. That extended our trip to nearly 4 miles all-in.

After the hike Devlin suggested we drive a bit further south to a great walk-up fish restaurant in Pillar Point. We piled into our convertible for the ~10 minute drive.

Yes, we fit 4 adults in our BMW 230i convertible! That's the first time we've even tried to do that since... ever... in this car, or its predecessor, or its grand-predecessor. The back seat accommodations were... cozy... for the two adults back there, but it all worked. And everyone enjoyed driving top-down in the phenomenal weather.



Speaking of phenomenal weather, lots of other people apparently had the same idea as we did on Saturday: do some outdoorsy stuff on the coast around mid-day, enjoying the sun and low-60s (16-17° C) weather, then stop by the Fishtrap for some freshly cooked seafood. Even the takeaway window had a line about 20 people deep.



We took turns between waiting in line and waiting at one of the outdoors tables. This picture (above) makes it look like we're just sitting next to a parking lot. The views are actually way more expansive. Beyond that lot is the town's marina; off to the right is a sandy bay. Behind the camera are coastal mountains. It was a beautiful way to top off a day outdoors.

After this late afternoon snack / early dinner we dropped David and Devlin off at their house and drove home ourselves. Devlin told us he and David fell asleep for naps pretty much right away. It wasn't even 5pm! Naptime wouldn't come that quickly for us. Our drive home was over an hour. W took a scenic route through Half Moon Bay to enjoy sunset over the coast. Then we stopped at a favorite donut shop near home for dessert.

Last week was a rainy one across much of California. Dry weather that ran through December and most of January finally broke. And break it did, with a veritable "Atmospheric River" dumping precipitation across the state. When heavy rain follows an extended dry period it creates risk of mud slides as parched ground is not as able to absorb the rain as well. The risk is especially severe in areas that have experienced wildfire recently. Fire kills the grasses, shrubs, and trees whose roots help hold the soil together; moreover it scorches the ground itself making it even more unable to absorb water.

All of these factors came together last week along California's remote central coast. Water gushing down a rain-swollen creek overwhelmed the land around it and washed away a section of California Highway.



Example coverage: CNN.com article, 30 Jan 2021 tells the basics; San Francisco Chronicle article 29 Jan 2021 has great, high-resolution pictures plus an explainer about what an "Atmospheric River" is.

Landslides are not uncommon on California's rugged Central Coast. In 2017 a massive slide covered almost a half mile of the road. Repairs were completed in 2018, routing the road around the new coastline. Just driving on Highway 1 you can see evidence in the roadway of numerous repairs to fix slides and washout damage. Because of the history of slides authorities closed the road to thru traffic last week— thus nobody was injured when a large section of road went crashing into the ocean.

BTW, why does anyone care about a narrow road in a remote place? Well, aside from the tiny number of people for whom it's the only way in or out of the places they live and work, the Central Coast is an amazing scenic tourist area. Check out some of my roadside pictures from a road trip in 2019 here and here.