Ollason Peak - Toro Regional Park

Last weekend, my spouse and I had quite an adventure - and I'm not just referring to hiking with two misbehaving dogs.

Every time we go to Toro Regional Park outside Salinas, we get lost. Never fails. The first time was the first time I tried to make it to Seamas Peak and came across a locked gate along Cougar Ridge, had to double back and try going up Gibson Gap in the heat and ran out of water. The second time was trying to find the cave run trail, which was not marked at all. This time, it was after we took the Black Mountain Trail and ended up in some farmer's pasture instead of back at the parking lot, had to jump a fence, and call someone to pick us up in the back of some ritzy neighborhood. But, that was towards the end of our hike.

The day started early, with one of our younger dogs and a friend's shepherd mix heading up to Ollason Trail. At first it followed a dried up creek bed, then we had to go through some cattle gates. There were a couple places where the trail diverged, and there were no markers to say which way to go - but thankfully some local mountain bikers came by and told us which way to go. The only real difficult pitch on the way up to Ollason Peak was just after it crisscrossed with Gilson Gap. Just a quarter mile from the peak, we noticed a canine type creature between a couple oak trees. It was taller but skinnier than the Shepherd Mix we had with us, and had big pointy ears. Coyote? If I didn't know that we don't have wolves in California, I would have sworn it was a wolf.

Finally, we reached Ollason Peak (1800 ft) by noon, and took a short break and some pictures. We could see all the way from Santa Cruz to Lover's Point in Pacific Grove, and out over the Pacific. The only thing detracting from the beauty was the stinky cow patties atop the grassy hill top. Yuck!

Then, it was time to try to make it to Seamas Peak. First, we had to descend a steep hill side with loose silt to a saddle point where Coyote Spring Trail intersects with Ollason Loop. Then, we saw the awful pitch we had to go up to make it to Seamas Peak. By the way, hiking on slippery terrain with a dog is a real pain in the @$$. Mostly because, at the worst possible moment our dogs would want to lounge one way or the other and almost knock us off balance. Not that we'd fall to our deaths, but we would probably get really scratched up and be in major pain AND THEN have to hike 6 miles out of there. Not my idea of fun. Halfway up the really awful pitch to the Seamas Peak Trail, I had to sit down and collect myself, but then it was just that much harder to get back up. Eventually I did, and really, I thought this awful patch would just go on forever and ever, but it was less than 100m long. After that, it was a real gentle rise and fall until we reached Valley View.

There, we could see all the way down the Salinas valley, from the Ocean to King City. Amazing! 2030 ft in the air. We also thought we had reached Seamas Peak, but as it turns out we were ~.25-.5 miles away from Seamas Peak - not to mention the steep ascents and descents we'd have to make in between to get there. My hips hurt so bad, so we decided to bag it and head home and try to reach it another day. So, we went down the Black Mountain Trail, which was clearly marked at the beginning, but it was heavily forested, thick brush, and tons and tons of false trails which eventually lead us out into someone's cow pasture.

We hiked from 8 AM until 5 PM, and didn't get to summit Seamas Peak nor did we even end back up in the right place. But, at least we got to summit something - Ollason Peak - and we learned more about the trails that lead up to Seamas. I'll get there eventually.

The Black Mountain trail was really cool, but it sucked getting lost, and that there were several places that the trail diverged with no markings. How were we supposed to know which way to go if the entire trial is not even on the map? Gah!

Toro Park - Cave Run Trail

My trusty dog, husband, and I just returned from an adventure trying to find the Cave Run Trail at Toro Park. First of all, the trail is NOT marked, so when we initially walked passed it I thought it was just a trail from some yahoos out bushwhacking (which is against the rules) and not a designated trail.

We arrived at the parking lot just outside Toro Park around 8:45ish possibly as late as 9:00 and did our usual confused meander looking for a trail head. REI and Toro Park were holding a special event for kids to learn mountain bikers. My puppy for some reason thinks that she must chase anything on wheels, no matter how many times we tell her to "leave it."

The trail up to the Caves begins at the East Ridge Trail trail head, near the Buckeye Picnic area. Conveniently there are some bathrooms near the trail head and a couple of swing sets etc. Up the trail we went, and we kept climbing and climbing and climbing until we eventually asked another hiker if she came up this way often, and if she knew where this trail head was. She gave a bunch of meaningless information, and ultimately was wrong ... but at least she was nice enough to chat with us.

Since it was 80+ degrees out and I didn't feel like climbing up East Ridge Trail to East Toyon Ridge or any of that, we decided to just turn around in failure. We tried walking down some trails that went through a couple of brush piles, but most of them led to look outs over the cliffs.

 Eventually, we found something that looked like a more substantial trail and had a bunch more foot prints! AHA! This must be it! Even though we probably passed it on the way up, it is only 50 -100 feet from the trailhead itself.

It was a heavily eroded trail, with a steep-ish embankment and loose dirt, which I wasn't prepared for since I was only in sneakers. After slipping and sliding,  I really really really wished I had better traction on my shoes -  but I survived. The trail itself was in no way 1.2 miles long like the Toro Park trail map might lead you to believe. Instead, it was maybe .25 miles at the very most. We arrived at the first cave, and it was covered in graffiti and had tons of litter. We stopped to take some pictures, saw some quail hiding in the bushes. One of the caves reaked of urine. Perhaps some bums like to camp there, who knows. My husband said there was something of a "goat trail" that might of kept going, but it was going to require better shoes than what we had on, and we didn't feel like accidentally sliding down the hill or twisting an ankle. So, we turned around.

The entire hike took us an hour, maybe and hour and a half and we spent most of that just being lost and confused about where the trail actually was. I left a very very small dolomite rock cairn at the base of the trail for the next shmuck like me who visits the park and wants to check it out.

Let me know if you have ever been out there. If I ever go again, I am going to have better shoes and bring my trekking poles with me.