Asilomar to Point Lobos

July 31: Monterey CountyAsilomar to Point Lobos. 9.1 miles Asilomar is a conference center administered now by the State Department of Parks and Recreation; formerly it was a YWCA conference site. Originally acquired with help from Phoebe Apperson Hearst in 1913, the original arts and crafts-style buildings were designed by Julia Morgan, distinguished California architect.…

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Marina State Beach to Asilomar

July 30: Monterey CountyMarina State Beach to Asilomar. 16.5 miles Ken Gray, Resource Planner with the State Department of Parks and Recreation, led the first half of our walk. Ken has been in charge of dune restoration at Marina State Beach and is currently on the City Council for the City of Marina. We began…

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Moss Landing to Marina State Beach.

July 29: Monterey CountyMoss Landing to Marina State Beach. 8.1 miles Our walk today was self-guided as we began at Moss Landing, a working harbor at the mouth of Elkhorn Slough. Across Highway One rise the stacks of a huge power plant owned by Duke Energy. We’ve been wonderfully out of the news loop for…

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Manresa to Moss Landing

July 28: Monterey CountyManresa to Moss Landing. 12.8 miles We met Margie and Greg Whitnah, today’s day hikers at the parking lot and were off on this day’s jaunt. Margie and Greg are associated with the Pelican Network, a remarkable consortium of non-profit and for-profit organizations and individuals that share common values. Having linked themselves…

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Downtown Santa Cruz to Manresa State Beach

July 27, Santa Cruz CountyDowntown Santa Cruz to Manresa State Beach 12.8 miles. Tattoo on the arm of our waitress at Santa Cruz’s vegetarian restaurant: “The journey is the destination.” Today we crossed a great divide. At some point just south of Santa Cruz, we reached the half-way point. Those of us from Northern California…

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Layover Day, Santa Cruz Hostel

July 26, Santa Cruz CountyLayover Day, Santa Cruz It’s fun to layover in towns or cities. We can easily do our laundry and sundry shopping as well as some sightseeing. So most of us went to what was billed as a new laundry/expresso/internet café place, not far from the hostel, and just around the corner…

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Laguna Creek (Wilder Ranch State Park) to Downtown Santa Cruz

July 25, Santa Cruz CountyLaguna Creek (Wilder Ranch State Park) to Downtown Santa Cruz. 14.2 miles Our night at Wilder was punctuated by the sounds of owls, coyotes, and Highway One. We awoke early and were soon greeted by Julie Hitchcock, our hiking friend from Sonoma County, and also by Jim Townsend, Acquisitions Manager for…

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Waddell Creek to Laguna Creek

July 24: Santa Cruz CountyWaddell Creek to Laguna Creek. 13 miles During the night some of us awoke to an unfamiliar sound on our tents – rain; our first for the trip. From inside the tent, it sounded like a deluge but it was really just a small shower. In the morning the ground was…

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Pigeon Point Lighthouse to Waddell Creek.

July 23, San Mateo CountyPigeon Point Lighthouse to Waddell Creek. 11.7 miles. We began in a wet fog at the lighthouse where we met Carl May and “J” who arrived with warm chocolate chip cookies in hand. Our first miles are again on the highway. This was somewhat of a disappointment as we have been…

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San Gregorio Store to Pigeon Point Lighthouse

July 22, San Mateo CountySan Gregorio Store to Pigeon Point Lighthouse. 11.8 miles Last night we celebrated Linda Hanes’s birthday. Boy did we celebrate! David Hanes arrived with a single-layer frosted birthday cake, our volunteer cooks for the night brought brownies, the wife of State Parks Maintenance Chief Jon Zaugg baked a chocolate cake and…

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