tow.com

The first time I heard about the Skyline to Sea trail was on Kevin Gong’s excellent hiking web page. Skyline to Sea weaves it way through the Castle Rock and Big Basin Redwood State Parks before concluding at the Pacific Ocean at Waddell Beach along Highway One. If you start at Castle Rock off of Highway 35, the total mileage for the trip will be about 35 miles.

Since the beginning part of the trail parallels Highways 9 and 236, Rae and I decided to start at the Big Basin Redwood State Park Headquarters, at the end of Highway 236. We weren’t really interested in hiking along the highway, nor hearing the cars racing by us in the evening. We drove two cars, parking one at Waddell Beach and taking the other one to Big Basin. If you’re planning on hiking Skyline to Sea, using two cars is a good idea.

The trail camps we stayed in had some of civilization’s amenities, like trash containers and shack-like bathrooms. It wasn’t quite like the wilderness backpacking I did in Desolation Wilderness or even on the Lost Coast. Still, the trail camps were nothing close to the paradisiacal car camping sites populating the periphery of the Big Basin HQ, with their 25-cent showers, fire rings, and picnic tables.

Starting from the HQ, we made our way along the Sunset Trail to our first campsite, Sunset Camp (campsites #1 and #2 are the best). This campsite is at an elevation of 900 feet. Unfortunately, the neighboring hills and valleys prevented us from getting a good view of the sunset. There are two trails that lead up to Sunset Camp, the aforementioned Sunset Trail and the Skyline to Sea Trail. Since the former was marked as a strenuous hike — I needed the exercise — we chose that one. Sunset Trail ended up not being very strenuous, in our opinion. Perhaps it’s more so for day-hikers when compared to the Skyline to Sea Trail.

A few months earlier, I had bought a scale from either the local WalMart so I was finally able to accurately weigh our backpacks prior to the trip. My backpack was nowhere near the beastly burden I carried on the Desolation trip, but it was still pretty heavy with all of my camera equipment, tipping the scales at 43 pounds (without the camera slung to my neck or water). I decided to bring along the 17-35mm, the 70-200mm, and the 50mm lenses with me, in addition to my Gitzo tripod and 420EX flash. All the equipment added up, but it wasn’t that bad in the long run (after all, I needed the exercise!) I ended up using the 17-35mm about 90% of the time, though it was handy having the 70-200mm available at times.

Hiking between the towering redwood trees is a humbling experience. You’re in the presence of beings that are hundreds of years older than you’ll ever be. These trees have been standing watch for centuries, unfazed by the events happening around the world. It’s refreshing to be able to disassociate yourself from the ills of the world and society only after a few days in the wilderness. More and more people should experience this feeling for themselves. I got an email today from the Redwood Outdoor Club at Stanford; they’re planning a trip to Big Basin two weekends from now! Go Cardinal!

No clean water sources meant we had to use water filters to get our fill of H2O. Luckily, there were plenty of streams and waterfalls from which to fill our water bottles for drinking and cooking. On Sunday, we replenished our supplies at Golden Cascade and Silver Falls, only a short hike from Sunset Camp. When filtering your water, remember that Giardia, the micro-organism that’s the bane of backpackers worldwide, is heavier than water. It’s best to filter from still, not running water.

There’s nothing like a hot meal to inhale after a long hike. Rae and I enjoyed a bag of Mountain House Chicken and Rice. Freeze-dried foods have come a long way since “space ice cream” from the 80’s. The stuff actually tastes pretty good! The vegetable lasagna that we brought along for the second night, alas, was not as good. It ended up being a soupy pasta dish than the delectable lasagna we were hoping for. Clif Bars, ramen, and water provided the remaining sustenance during our trip through the woods. We probably could have brought a few more snacks with us, like Wheat Things or gorp, but the ultra-light backpacker in me said, “Nah, we won’t need that.” I’ll have to remember to pack more next time.

Hiking with another person is obviously very different from hiking alone. When you’re on your own, you don’t have to worry about the hiking pace or how much food is being consumed. Like with any business or personal relationship, when the counter rises from one to two, you have to keep the other person in mind through reliance and sometimes compromise. It’s something that I need to work on, having been the ultra-light, solo backpacker for so long. In the long-run, though, it’ll be worth it! It’s much more fun to have someone around with whom to talk with and hike with than just yourself.

On Monday, Rae and I made our way down the Skyline to Sea Trail to the Twin Redwoods campsite (be sure to stay at campsite #4). Along the way, we stopped by Berry Creek Falls (Elevation 400 feet). At the falls is a platform for people to take pictures and to enjoy the scenery. Rae and I did our best Wonder Twins impression at Berry Creek!

It’s funny to note on Eric’s trip to Portland that Kenny, Oliver, and he went to see some waterfalls too. Setting up the tripod, I was able to do some slow shutter speed magic to get that smooth and foamy look from the falling water. Yes, that’s why we lug the heavy equipment for!

I was a little surprised at the number of bridges we had to cross during the trip. None of them was like the one that Indiana Jones had to cross from the Temple of Doom, but that didn’t stop Rae and I from recreating the whole, “Mola Ram! Prepare to meet Kali… in Hell!” scene for fun!

Along the Skyline to Sea Trail, we came across one of Santa Cruz’s famous creatures, the Banana Slug! The famed mascot of UC Santa Cruz is a banana-looking like slug that populates the forest moon of Endor… wait, wrong forest! I have to admit that it was a cute looking creature. Other than birds, it was probably the largest creature that we saw during the entire trip. In the evenings, we heard the rustling of some small rodents, probably raccoons, but we never saw anything during the day. In Big Basin, there’s no threat of bears, so there was no reason to hang the food. We kept it inside the tent, away from the hungry stomachs of those noisy rodents.

The hike down from Berry Creek Falls to the Twin Redwoods camp is a little boring, mainly because it’s along a dirt trail that hikers have to share with mountain bikers and horses. Still, the natural scenery is better than anything you can find in downtown Mountain View or Palo Alto! The trail went for about 5 miles until we reached the Twin Redwoods campsite, where there were already two groups setting up shop (and one in favored campsite #4!).

The next day was a short (less than two miles) trek down to Waddell Beach. Fortunately, there was a hiking trail available, so we didn’t have to walk along the boring dirt road to reach the ocean. Our car was exactly where we had parked it two days earlier, a little more dusty, but no less distinguishable from when we left it on Sunday.

After two nights and three days, Rae and I were happy to have completed part of the Skyline to Sea Trail. Great scenery and good company made it overall a fun and enjoyable trip. In the evening, we gorged ourselves at Hot Pot City at McCarthy Ranch in Milpitas. I’ve never been to that restaurant before — it’s a great way to fill the belly after backpacking for three days!

There are plenty more pictures from our Skyline to Sea trip. Click on the picture below to enter the photogallery!