Gary-Summer: December 19, 2017 - Castle Rocks to Waterman Gap

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

December 19, 2017 - Castle Rocks to Waterman Gap

Title: December 19, 2017 - Castle Rocks to Waterman Gap
Hike Info : Description : Background : Menu : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Castle Rocks Parking Lot

Hike Info:

Type: Backpacking

Trail: Skyline to the Sea Trail, Saratogoa Gap Trail, Travertine Springs Trail,

Saratoga Toll Road, Beckhaus Road

Destination: Waterman Gap Camp

Distance: 9.47 miles

Start Time: 7:24

End Time: 3:14

Travel Time: 7:50 (1.21 mph)

Moving Time: 7:29 (1.27 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,119'

Descent: 2,540’

Maximum Elevation: 2,779'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Ready to hike

We leave Fresno Monday for an early take off. Still not completely sure about transportation. We will discuss this with David when we get there. Options include Uber, an early start with leaving Mom asleep, or variants of a later start with Mom riding up to Castle Rocks with us. We stop in Gilroy for lunch at Black Bear Diner. They are slow. But we get to Mountain View shortly after 2:00pm. David and I drive the RAV4 over to Waddell Beach and leave it there so we have a car to pick up then. I pay an extra $10 to make sure that parking it for the night will be OK-our permit definitely covers Tuesday and Wednesday nights. David fixes us a lasagna dinner.

Castle Rock Falls

I have been apprehensive about this trip for several reasons:

Cold-prediction is it will be close to freezing in the mornings. Also there is a chance of rain.
I did not get to backpack last year, so it is over a year and a half ago for my last trip.
Besides being heavy, my pack weighs about 40 pounds-pretty tough first outing.
Also generally, I have not been conditioning myself for this trip.
I should also add, I have been trying to keep a cold at bay as well.

Then as I was getting my pack ready for a final check, I noticed that parts of the pack were wet. My water bladder had leaked. Then while working through that, I looked at my new sleeping pad-how in the world do I pump this thing up? We figured out that we also had not brought along a pooper scooper shovel. During the water bladder deluge, my maps have gotten soaked. So it is time to make a trip to REI. We bought what we needed. What is going through my mind are the words: No plan survives the first contact with the enemy.

San Lorenzo Drainage from Castle Rock Fall Overview

We had decided that if we could leave early, we would. So Tuesday morning, I got up around 5:45, ate breakfast and was ready by 6:30. We were able to take off with David driving by 6:40 and well on our way to Castle Rock State Park. We go there at 7:05. David said bye and hurried back home before Mom got up. We got ready to leave and our feet touched the trail at 7:15am. Really early for us.

Goat Rock?

It was cold, which aided in not standing around too long. So off we go down the Saratoga Gap Trail. Down is the right word-just glad we do not need to go back up it. It is well shaded and this early, only enough light to walk by enters in. The first decision comes to us in 15 minutes or so. Take the ridge route which we have not done before? Or continue on around the Falls Overlook. The Falls Overlook it is. We get to that within 100 yards.

First glimpse of the sun

Caution: Old People Walking

The Falls, well trickle of water down the face of a rock, are an OK start. Nothing which I would hike a long ways for. But as a starting place on the STS, it is good. The route to the Castle Rock Campground gives us some good views of the San Lorenzo River Drainage. It is like which you see on Appalachian Trail photos of forests going on forevers, covering ridges. The difference? In certain spots you can see taller redwoods growing out of this cover.

Gary on the prowl

I am not sure I would want to do this route after a rain. There are several spots which you scramble over smooth rocks. After a rain, with it wet, not sure how slippery it would be. But we all make it over these and still are happy. A good place of mind to start our trip. When we come around one of the ridges, the sun starts to peek through some trees. Maybe it will warm up some.

Struggle to get over the rocks

Our trail

Signs of Danger

Unnamed Creek

Castle Rock Campground is about a quarter of the way to Waterman Gap. We stop and rest there because of three things: It has a table to sit at, a water faucet and an outhouse. Scenery is OK-just trees, shrubs and dirt. But at the camp there is an ominous sign warning of: rattlesnakes, poison oak, mountain lions and the dreaded raccoons. During our trip, we may have seen some poison oak twigs and there was a paw print which we have been wondering about-about a mile further. But other than that, I think all of these dangers must have thought leave the cold weather for the humans.

Whose Paw?

After the campground, we descend along a road following a gully until we hit an unnamed creek-one of many we will met along the STS. The leaves have fallen, carpeting the road, reminding me of the old Chowchilla Mtn Road in Yosemite during the Fall. The creek itself is small, but pleasant. A short ways later, we depart from the Saratoga Gap Road and start following the Travertine Trail.

Saratoga Gap Road

Unnamed Creek

Steven and Sherri speeding away

This is where a pattern in our three days develop. On level and downhill, I am able to outpace Sherri and I think keep pace with Steven. But on uphills, there is not much energy in the legs or breath in the lungs. Sherri and Steven get ahead of me and stay ahead of met till we reach the Travertine Springs where we have lunch. As I walk this trail alone, I spot some tracks-mountain lion? coyote? probably not enough there to make a determination. But the scenery is good. We pass under some power lines which seem out of place.

Leaves and the road

Lunch is PB&Nutella sandwiches from home. We missed elevneses by 25 minutes. We stay about 40 minutes, relaxing. No insects, so the only pressing thing is to make the other half of the journey to Waterman Gap before it gets dark. So we enjoy sitting by a big tree-maybe a sycamore. Eating our sandwich. The other two devour their whole sandwich, I eat half of mine. You don’t see the spring, but the area has lots of marshy plants so you know there is water.

Travertine Spring

Steven on the Berkhaus Road

Now for the rest of the hike. It is a short walk to the Saratoga Toll Road-or Troll Road since I am in a Tolkein mood. Not really special. We walk along the road for a mile until we reach the Beckhaus Road. This is a climb up to the STS proper. Before we had been doing the popular walk from Castle Rock. But in reality, the trail starts at Saratoga Gap and follows Highway 9. Before we had only seen one person-a trail runner at Castle Rock Campground. Now we start to hear traffic from Highway 9.

Don’t get the impression that the walk down the STS on this section is unpleasant. it is just a bit rattling to hear the sound of traffic above you after hearing nothing mechanical for the last six miles. The designers of this trail have done a good job of mitigating the noise. For the most part, we are way below the level of the road or there are berms between us and the road with a good screen of redwoods and brush.

Still in places we look down on the remains of cars which have gone over the edge. Sort of erie. Makes you look up at the road to see if anymore may be on their way.

It is pleasant walk with the trail rolling between ridges. Redwoods clump around the trail. There are only a few vistas. The light is dim, both because the afternoon sun is behind a ridge and the canopy overhead lets in only a little bit of light.

And then we see the sign post: Waterman Gap Campground. We are home for the night. It appears deserted except for Steven who has walked ahead. He says there is a group camped away from everyone. But we are the only ones here. We pick a nice large area with some seating and a sawed off tree as a table. Steven can pitch is hammock and we the tent. It is still light, so dinner is easy to make-just Mountain House freeze dried. We have a little more food than can fit into the bear canister. Steven suggests we put it into the container which usually holds garbage cans-works well. Looks like a modified bear box. Then it is time for bed-another group of five comes in as we are getting ready for bed. Did I say it is cold?

Background
No plan survives the first contact with the enemy. Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke

elevenses- The hobbits in JRR Tolkein's Lord of the Rings need to have their elevenses or they get out of sorts. It is like their mid-day meal, but at 11:00am. My oldest daughter infused this into Sherri's thinking. Also there is usually a call for oneses as well. But not on this trip.

STS - Skyline to the Sea Trail

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Breakfast in Mountain View	Peanut Butter & Nutella Sandwiches from Mountain View.	Mountain House Beef Stroganoff, Hot Choocolate and Girl Scout cookies	Clif Bar, GORP, Propel, CytoMax, Scratch, Coffee Candy, Jelly Belly