Skyline to the Sea (Santa Cruz County, California)

 

Late last fall, a friend planned a trip to an area in the Santa Cruz Mountains called the Skyline to the Sea. The trip ended up cancelled due to some health issues he was having, but the trail intrigued me and I looked into it further. A couple of months ago, I put a plan together and got the necessary permits to backpack the trail. My friend, Gen, joined me for the adventure.

Leaving Reno after work on Thursday, we drove separately across Donner Pass and all the way down to Santa Cruz, California. Driving two different cars was necessary as this is a shuttle style or point-to-point hike. Rising the next morning, we drove to Waddle Beach along Highway 1 on the Pacific Coast and left my jeep there. We then loaded all the gear into the Subaru and head back up into the Santa Cruz Mountains to the starting trail head at Castle Rock State Park. 

It was raining lightly when we arrived, but having driven all this way, we were not to be deterred. After checking in with the park ranger, we strapped on our packs and headed into the forest for what would become a three day and two night excursion from the Redwoods Skyline of Castle Rock all the back to Waddle Beach on the Pacific Ocean. The trail is appropriately named for such a trek.

The trail itself was well marked and well groomed, but the near constant rains over the last few days have made it quite muddy, especially in areas near trail heads that see more foot traffic. The weather forecast suggested a small chance of rain over the next couple of days, but having made all of the arrangements previously, we were willing to risk it. As we would find out over the next three days, the forecast was not very accurate.

The first stop of note was to Castle Rock Falls, which required a hike along a short side trail to a wooden observation deck. While not offering a great view due to the topography of the canyon, the waterfall itself is quite magnificent. It's difficult to see the exact height, but I would guess it to be at least eighty or a hundred feet, and with the wet weather, it's flowing with fury.

Pushing on, the trail follows along a mountainside and offers a few open views of the lush coastal forest. In a few areas, we are forced to climb over challenging rock formations. As we soon learn, this entire area is a favorite place for rock climbers. A specific rock face called Goat Rock shows promise for a great climbing destination and a number of signs asking climbers to care for the site and not climb when its wet. 

We take the rangers advice and take a slightly different path called the Travertine Springs Trail to avoid some wash outs along the main trail. The namesake of this alternative route is difficult to see. The spring is covered in thick vegetation including some green cane. We never quite see the water, but given the water-loving flora growing in the area, it's obviously there. 

As we return to the planned route, the trail begins to run parallel the road, which twists and turns some distance above us on the hillside. As we take note of a couple of abandoned wrecks in the forest below us, it's obvious that some drivers do not take the curves slowly enough. The apparently slid off the road and rolled down this hillside. It's hard to know how long ago these accidents happened, but the vehicles, while vandalized, appear to be less than ten years old judging by the models.

Finally arriving at Watermans Gap, we take advantage of a break in the rain to put up our tents and fix some dinner. It's cold and muddy, and with the temperature hovering in the mid to high thirties, I suspect we are going to be in for a cold night. As dark approaches, we decide to turn in and head towards our respective tents. No sooner do I crawl in my sleeping bag than the rain cuts loose. My tent provides me adequate protection, but the rains intensifies and sits in for the night. I awaken a few times to toss and turn in my bag. The air temperature is even colder now, but I'm warm enough in these accommodations.

Day 2

Waking shortly after sunrise, the rain has let up a bit, but continues to fall. We rise and quickly break camp, doing our best to keep our gear as dry as possible. I had been looking forward to a nice warm breakfast and a cup of hot tea, but given the wet conditions, I settle for a cliff bar and a chug of water.

While the first day of the trip was a bit wet, the second day, will prove to be even more so. Given the conditions, we push our pace pretty hard with few breaks as we make our way into Big Bend State Park and the bulk of the coastal redwoods in this area. Early on, the trees are relatively young and lack the girth of some of the other specimen I have seen, but as the day progresses and the miles are put behind us, some of the trees become true giants. 

In addition to the amazing flora, we also encounter a few fauna in the wet muck. Banana Slugs and California Newts seem to be coming out of all over the place. Gen was hoping to see some slugs on the trip and they didn't disappoint.

Many sections, most in fact, are a slippery muddy mess. Man-made steps constructed of timbers seem to only act to hold the water in standing pools. While I'm loving being out here in the wilderness, the trail conditions and we weather make the day very unpleasant. 

Finally arriving at the park headquarters, we take advantage of a break in the weather to get some food and decide a course of action for the night. Given how soaked we are and the likelihood of temperatures again dipping down to near freezing overnight, I'm reluctant to camp, as planned, at Jay Campground. We discuss bailing on the trip and catching an Uber or cab back to the cars. Eventually, we decide to rent a tent cabin for the night, complete with a wood-burning stove. 

The accommodations are not luxurious, but given the alternative, a thin mattress, a dry room, and a fire are extremely welcome. We quickly get a fire going and do our best to spread out our drenched gear. Unfortunately, wood is a bit damp and we spend far too much time and effort trying to keep the fire going, eventually surrendering and settling to just be happy for a dry room.

The rain again continues throughout the night and while it's not exactly warm inside the tent cabin, it's far more comfortable than the inside of my tent would have been. I'm able to get a decent nights sleep.

Day 3

The clock change to daylight savings time happened overnight and we wake at about 7:15 AM. As the rain is still pounding down on the tent roof above us, we don't hurry ourselves to pack, but do start getting stuff together. I take a few minutes to cook some mango sticky rice, a gift from my wife, for breakfast - quite tasty. I'll have to get that one again.

We toss on our packs, do our best to waterproof ourselves (for what little its' worth), and head out into the downpour. It's a mile-and-a-half back to the trail from where we spent the night and it's mostly along paved road, but at least the rain hasn't puddled up on the blacktop. 

Arriving back at the trail, we start a significant uphill along Hinh Hammond Road, a muddy dirt pathway carved through the forest. The road eventually reaches an overlook and clouds part just long enough for us to get a clear view of the ocean, some ten miles in the distance. It's actually a marvelous view and in a way, summarizes the trail. With mighty redwoods in the foreground and the sea in the distance, it's truly a Skyline to the Sea view.

As yesterday, we encounter a number of forest floor dwellers scurrying about at our feet. In total, we will see fifteen California newts and eleven banana slugs along our path, most of them on this our final day.

Our decent, takes us down a slippery sandstone wash that follows the ridge of the mountainside. It's touch and go for a while, but we make it without injury. The small streams of run off build merge to form larger and larger streams, until finally, we are walking alongside Waddle Creek, which is nearly as large as a small river like the Truckee, back home. The waters rush towards the ocean just a few more miles beyond.

Eventually, the trail widens and becomes more traveled by visitors to the park from the downstream entrance. We speak with a few mountain bikers and trail runners as we continue our push towards the sea. The rains seem to come and go during these last few miles, but are never falling very hard, which is a nice change of pace.

We finally reach my jeep and do a high-five in celebration of our feat. It's been a wet and muddy mess of a backpacking trip, but I'm still glad to have done the trail and to have had such great company with me. Our total distance is right about 35.6 miles, with a pretty even split each day. While I don't know that I will ever do this trail again (simply because there are so many others I want to explore), it is worthy of a visit for anyone interested, but do it later in the year when its not so damn wet.