Day 91.

School day at Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos & mini walking day at Castle Rock after school – 5 miles!

I’m a quote junkie, and this one pretty much sums up today:

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.
It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing;
it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it

- Margaret Thatcher

When planning the walk while juggling work as a consultant and planning our college reunion, I would have these amazing days that were just packed to the brim with checklists and meetings.  I remember that same immense satisfaction at having accomplished it all.  Today was like that.

We started off at 6am and made it to school for a zero-period class (of normal size).  Then we had two 1.5 hr classes of 190 & 140 students each (aka HUGE).  We’ve done large classes before, but we’ve never done large classes for 1.5 hour all at once!  That’s a long time to ask someone to be attentive, let alone to ask a 12-year old to be attentive.

We played around with different approaches between the two big classes.  In the first, we had a pretty disastrous attempt at a vegetable game that does not scale up well at all.  But, by the second, we had wised up, and at the suggestion of the PE teacher, we included a break midway through the class.  It was small, but so, so effective.  Plus, we got the kids more involved with drawing and helping demonstrate different statistics, which is inevitably WAY more memorable than me alone.

By noon, we were done with classes, and after a rejuvenating midday coffee & lunch, Ma and I made our way back into the mountains for a bit of afternoon hiking at Castle Rock.  Our host recommended the route, and it did not disappoint!

As we entered the park, a guy was leaving with giant foam pads strapped to his back.  Ma made some comment about it must be good if people were carrying in their sofas.  Turns out, the “sofa” was some sort of rock-climbing accessory, and we saw loads more at the different rocky outcroppings.

It was gorgeous.  I snapped more photos in our half day at Castle Rock than in the previous full days of walking!!!  I’ll spare the excruciating detail, but it was a fantastic hike.  I only wish we had more time to explore that entire area.

Then we returned home to a lovely evening with our hosts.

Pretty fantastic, if you ask me.

Miles walked: 415 | Miles to go: 335

Day 90.

Wilder Ranch – 11 miles.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is my picture of the day.

The highlight of today was exploring a cave under the bluffs overlooking the ocean.  A freshwater spring drips water through the cave and ferns grow hanging from the ceiling.  The entire smells and feels like a cellar (or how I would imagine those caves from Pirates of the Caribbean would feel!)

Very, very cool.

Also cool was that we broke 400 miles today.  Years ago, I never would have imagined I would walk that far or have such an amazing journey, but I feel very lucky right now to be doing this.

School day tomorrow in Los Gatos.

Miles Walked: 410 | Miles to go: 340

Day 89.

Santa Cruz - Twelve miles!!!

More specifically, today Ma & I walked 12.25 miles through Santa Cruz.

To start, we made our way down to the beach and the uber-touristy boardwark.  There the air was heavy with the overpowering stench of frying oil.  You could choose from fried dough, fried donuts, fried corndogs, or just plain fries.  So many choices, so little desire to have any of them!

Today had a little of everything – sand, boardwalk, rides (viewed from a distance), bluffs, surfers (also viewed from a distance), boutiques, and neighborhoods.  Twelve miles covered a lot, and I can say that I am fully exhausted and very happy now.

Plus!  I’ve just posted loads of photos from the last several weeks!  Enjoy!

Miles walked: 399 | Miles to go: 351

Day 88.

Walked 6 miles in Aptos/Rio Del Mar.

I spent most of today hobbling around like a little old lady in need of a walker.  My back was killing me today.  Perhaps it was too much asphalt yesterday or simply sleeping at a funny angle, but regardless, I was not a happy camper.

The major distraction was a really bizarre/awesome ship out at the end of the pier.  It was such a surprise as we climbed off the 150th stair down to the beach and found a half-sunk ship just off the shore.  Curious, I dug out the history on Epinions:

“This is not a wreck, but is the remains of the Palo Alto… built as a tanker during World War I. The war ended before construction was completed and she never saw sea duty. A developer purchased her and had her towed to Aptos where she was allowed to settle on the ocean floor… and she became the focal point of a resort area with a restaurant, large dance floor, swimming pool and amusement rides adorning the deck. In time, the venture failed and the beach, pier and ship were later acquired by the state.”

Now the Palo Alto is a barnacle-encrusted, decaying mass at the end of a pier filled with fishermen (& women) – certainly the most interesting pier feature we’ve seen so far!

Very, very cool.

Miles walked: 387 | Miles to go: 363

Days 85-87.

Walking, working & more walking – total of 15 miles.  15 miles that puts us over the half-way mark of the walking!!!

Day 85.

Last day with Jolinta & Yelena, my friends from college.  We had grand plans of hiking around the SFB Morse Botanical Researve near Pebble Beach.  Everytrail described it as a “nice, easy Sunday afternoon trail” and even included a nice detailed trail map.  Jolinta had been talking all week about seeing a Redwood, and according to Trails.com there was a grove of creekside redwoods to explore.

It was perfect right up until we got there.  We followed the sign off of Rte 68 with “SFB Morse Botanical Reserve” thinking it was a sure shot to getting there, but instead it turned us right into a tollbooth for entry onto 17-mile drive.  $9 to drive a road through mansion country was not my cup of tea (especially when I thought we would be led to what was supposed to be a gorgeous nature preserve), and to make matters worse, the tollbooth man just stared at us blankly when we mentioned the hiking and kept repeating in halting English with a thick European accent, “No hiking, private property.  No hiking.”

We pulled to the side of the road and he was very helpful to come give us multiple copies of the brochure that outlines the local golf courses.  Again, though, that wasn’t exactly my cup of tea…

As a last-minute solution, we returned to Point Lobos to explore a different cove in the always stunning park.  Point Lobos didn’t disappoint, but Jolinta still hadn’t seen her Redwood, so with legs already tired from the stairs along the coves, we piled into the car yet again, this time bound for Pfeiffer Big Sur.

I shared one of my favorite areas with the girls – the lower portion of Buzzards Roost.  It’s all gigantic Redwoods towering into the sky.  Jolinta was as camera happy as ever (this time with her cell phone since she had exhausted her regular camera’s battery) and we were all content to be among the giant trees.

It was disappointing to not be able to explore Morse Reserve as planned, but it was a small bonus to be able to explore more of Point Lobos and return to Buzzards Roost.  - 5 miles walking total

Day 86.

Not much to say other than sleep, work, eat, work, pa brought ma back, eat well, work, sleep, sleep, sleep.

Day 87.

Both me and Ma were dragging our feet from the beginning.  I kept checking to see how far we had gone, and each time it seemed like we had barely inched forward according to the distance counter.  Meanwhile ominous grey clouds covered the entire sky and we kept debating whether we should really risk getting wet and cold.  I was all ready to make excuses for a short day when we came to the end of our trail and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to turn tail and return home.

But we didn’t.

Instead, with a bit of will power that I didn’t know we possessed, we kept going, and going, and going.  In the end, we walked 10 miles along the Monterey Recreation Trail from northern Monterey to Seaside and back again, staying rain free all but the last two miles…

We also managed to do all of this in record time with only stopping twice along the route to sit and recover.  This compares to other days that include two stops just for snacks.  Instead, today we trundled on despite our tired limbs and managed a full 10 miles after all.

I’m happy. Tired, but happy.

Miles walked: 381 | Miles to go: 369

PS: I managed to accidentally shift the days by one after our camping nights.  That doesn’t mean anything other than the numbering for days 80-83 is off by a day in the previous postings.

Day 83.

Walking day – Pacific Beach – 8 miles walking (Leg 1, Leg 2) & 2 miles running – 10 miles total

Third walking day with Jolinta the slave driver.  I do not know where she gets her energy.  It’s amazing to see her hopping up and down even after 8 miles.  It’s less amazing when she quietly ramps up her pace and manages to get me jogging to keep up!

The Monterey Peninsula continues to impress.  We thought the waves were big along the bay were big, but then once we were out against the open waters of the Pacific Ocean, they were MASSIVE.  We kept taking (much needed) rest breaks to stare out at the water.  It was stunning!

My absolute favorite moment of the day was on the rocks at Lovers Point. Jolinta & I made our way out onto the boxy rocks at the Point’s point.  Jolinta snapped photos and kept repeating “so pretty” every couple of minutes, and I found the most perfect little ledge to curl into.  It was the perfect sitting spot – I have short little legs (sadly disproportionately short for my already mini height), and this ledge was THE perfect width for my legs to hang comfortably over the edge with my back flat against the rock behind me.  Now imagine all of this being 20 feet above the water with the waves crashing below my hanging feet.  It was awesome.

Miles walked: 366 | Miles to go: 384

Day 82.

“Rest” day – 7 miles.

My friend Jolinta is in town, so we played tourists today in the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  It was supposed to be a rest day, but when all was said and done, we managed 5 miles of walking around Monterey and I added another 2 miles by treadmill! (Jolinta was always a good influence, and she actually got me to go run & lift after our full day!!)

It goes without saying that the Aquarium was AWESOME!  My hands down favorite part was the orange jelly fish against the deepest blue background.  I swear it looked just like a screen saver – and they were real!  I took more photos than I know what to do with, and I’m realizing just how far behind I’m getting on my photo posting… Bad Melissa, I know.

Today I ended up doing a fair amount of running.  First, we did a bit of jogging along the beautifully kept Monterey Rec Trail.  Then, we did a mini-sprint when it started pouring in our last half-mile of the day.  Finally, Jolinta held me to my word and made sure we hit the gym in the evening where I ran 2 miles!  I can definitely feel the changes in my muscles & breathing!!  Success!!

Great day, and now I’m beat.  Time for bed…

Miles walked: 356 | Miles to go: 394

Day 82.

Monterey walking – 10 miles.

By haiku:

Coastal walk for hours

Began with fog, sun by noon

So, so many seals

Miles walked: 349 | Miles to go: 401

Day 81.

Walking day – Point Lobos to Carmel (via beaches, river-y things, and bluff walking) – 10 miles (8.5 in Carmel & 1.5 around Monterey)

We started off the day by dropping Ma off at the Amtrak station in Salinas.  She’s off to another visit home for the week, while I have MIT friends visiting!!!  I’m not sure who was more excited – Ma to be at home or me to see Jolinta & Laura…

Then, in a classic move, I got us lost on the way back from the station (”Sorry, did I say left? I actually meant left…”), but it magically worked out and we found an awesome roadside hut selling strawberries – red, red strawberries that smelled heavenly!

From there we returned to Point Lobos (mostly to show off the stunning views to Jolinta & Laura) and ventured into Carmel from there.  For the record, the sandy beaches that you see from Whaler’s Cove in Point Lobos aren’t actually sand.  Instead they’re billions of tiny little rocks that make a work-out a thousand times harder than we expected.  We only had maybe a half mile on that beach, but I was huffing and puffing the whole way!

The highlight of my day involved a stream crossing the beach.  I foolishly tried to hop the water onto the rocks on the opposite side, misjudged the height of said rocks and found myself knee-deep in the water.  Whoops!

Laura took the much more conservative route closer to the shoreline (but still walked away with a wet shoe).

Jolinta (and her much longer legs) attempted the same path I failed and came dangerously close to an epic wipe out of her own.  Unlike me, she made it to the rock, or I should say, her feet made it to the rock, but the rest of her nearly fell backwards into the water!!!  It took a quick grab to yank her back onto the rock again, and all three of us walked away with a jolt of adrenaline!!!

I may have spent half the day with wet shoes and mini pebbly sand grating against my toes, but it was an awesome day!!!

Miles walked: 339 | Miles to go: 411

Days 79-80.

More camping!!!

I’m writing from “civilization” again.  We had a lovely time in the woods (with a campsite that was nestled between redwoods and a stream… life’s tough, right?)  Ma and I successfully set up our tent, made campfires, climbed mountains and had an all-around good time – except for the small detail of Ma being completely allergic to the outdoors and devolving into sneezing fits.

Here’s the breakdown:

Day 77: Hiking along Hwy 1 and then in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (specifically along the Pine Ridge Trail) – 5 miles.  Ma and I went exploring with our day packs and streams upon streams of backpackers were crossing in both directions on the Pine Ridge Trail.  The trail was reasonably wide, but that didn’t stop my mom from anxiously clutching at the side and letting the backpackers pass us at every opportunity.  Clutching at the sides brought its own dangers, and I’m truly amazed that we haven’t gotten any poison oak yet!

Day 78: Hiking in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park (around camp, Buzzard’s Roost Trail, Pfeiffer Falls and Scenic Loop Trails) – 9 miles.  We climbed a mountain!  We followed the directions in our day hike book (courtesy of our very generous hosts back in Atascadero), and we made our way through the towering redwoods along the river up into the poison oak-y chaparral on the mountain top.  The last stretch to the summit weaved through Manzanita before depositing us on a rocky clearing with views out to the ocean.  We broke out our PB & banana sandwiches and savored the view before heading back down again and attacking the falls area.

Day 79: Hiking Julia Pfeiffer Burns, a little of Andrew Molera and again around camp along the river in Pfeiffer Big Sur – 5 miles.  Soooo… remember the aforementioned Day Hike Book?  It mentioned something about “seasonal” footbridges at Andrew Molera, but I neglected to notice that.  We were all ready to go out on what was supposed to be the gorgeous Creamery Meadow/Ridge loops at Molera, but there was a river standing between us and the start!  At first I thought we were just at the wrong place, but no, the park ranger informed us that the only option to access the remainder of the park was to hitch up our pants and wade across the (FREEZING) water.  Ma was very quick to say no thank you.  Instead we explored another area of the park (the Bobcat Trail) but also turned back after running into a prodigious amount of mud.  I have no doubt that both areas would be wonderful with the right clothing/preparation, but we did not have either.  The remainder of the day was spent exploring Pfeiffer Burns and a bit along Hwy 1 again.

Day 80: Indulged in Point Lobos again – 3 miles.  Ma was feeling pretty rotten, so we walked around Point Lobos (with Ma carrying a full bag devoted to kleenex).  Short day of walking, but she’s heading home tomorrow for another much-needed rest so hopefully she’ll get a chance to rest and recover.

It’s been a fantastic time camping though, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Big Sur!  The terrain along Hwy 1 is phenomenal.  On multiple occasions, Ma and I would just stare out at the ocean/rocks/mountains and be completely transfixed.  I’m very grateful that someone had the foresight to preserve these areas against development, and I am very grateful that we have had this opportunity to explore them for ourselves.  Without a doubt, these are going on my “return again” list.

Miles walked: 329 | Miles to go: 421