Soberanes Canyon and Doud peak - the best of trails so far

After the quick visit to Garrapata to see the Lillies, we drove back just a few miles back north and stopped right in front of the bridge view on this park. Then we started hiking up the hills facing the ocean.

This is the Soberanes canyon trail and most of it was closed for a long time because the fire had started in this very canyon a few years ago. Most of this area is still closed and you hike at your own risk. Given we had a group of folks, we decided to take this on. You cross creeks and go through many distinctly different landscapes.. first there is a bunch of creeks, then there is an area full of catcus and before you know it, you are walking through redwoods.. and just like that, an open area with wild flowers!

There is a section of this hike, which is the steepest we have climbed in two years. It is almost going up 1500+ feet in just over a mile. You also have to bend your knees and take tall steps. We took our time to go over this stretch but surprisingly, didn't feel the strain, as we were in the clouds for this part and the wild flowers were just amazing!

There was every type of California wild flower up there, in full bloom. It was a feast for the eyes the entire way up and down.

We had an amazing view of all the hills from above the clouds..

On the way down we took the longer route with a ocean view and the lupines make for amazing scenes!

once we got down, we ate a nice lunch, had our chai(for once we didn't carry chai to the top as we knew this was the hardest hike) and crossed the freeway to the bridge view points!

That kalandha saadham feast made sure that any calories burnt during the strenuous hike were instantly replenished and doubled in one tenth the time.. hiking is hard.. eating is easy.. there is a fundamental imbalance in the way we were designed, no?!

Took this one with the iPhone using my buddies sunglasses as a filter..

Again, beautiful views of the ocean. Not many lillies on this creek though.  The walkway was nice and after spending a good 15 minutes here, we raced back to beat the traffic! 

A gallery of the scenic photos.. 

This hike is not for novices. If you are not in decent shape, don't attempt this. There are parts where there is no trail.. the trail has been turned into a mini canyon by running water.. so you literally jump side to side and that does a number on your inner thighs! You can see it towards the end of the video..

After that hike and the drive back, it took a nice day to recover the legs!

Calla Lillies at Garrapata State park

Three weeks ago we drove an hour and a half all the way to Garrapata State park area. The main goal was to go to Doud peak, which will be the subject of a separate post. We also wanted to leave early enough and take pictures among the white lillies that grow on either side of the creek as it goes into the ocean.

It is a local seasonal favorite, but we have never made it before. We saw posts on the net that said the lillies are already starting to turn brown, so before the window closed we visited.

We were not disappointed.. 

it was a misty walk to the beach among the lillies..

The new iPhone was put to test and it passed with flying colors..

especially the macro mode..

Nice beach. There were a lot of kids making their way to the beach as we were walking back. Given it is just a short walk from the freeway, this place would probably be crowded once the sun is out. It was good we finished this first!

had the beach mostly to ourselves..

We climbed up to the top and got a beautiful view of the coastline. Then we drove a few miles to go on our planned hike..

Strongly recommend this place, for a mid March or even early March trip. It is a beautiful sight!

John McLaren Park and the Philosophers walk

Having stared at the screen too much with powerpoint and also thanks to the blooming white stinky flowers all around Cupertino, the last week has been interesting. In short, the migraines were back. So here are a few overdue blog posts now that I can look at the screen and edit pictures for longer times.

Went with San to SFO for a morning. Had seen posts from a friend who had visited John McLaren park in SFO and taken some photos of the SFO skyline from this park. Wanted to put it on the list on the next visit. Most people in the park don't want to touch your phone to take a photo! COVID has put that fear in people in SFO to a higher level than in Cupertino! Finally a passing Chinese uncle obliged and took this photo for us! 

This park is awesome! They had a beautiful walkway, plenty of benches, manicured scenery, a nice pond with a large trees in the middle with birds, a decent restroom (very important), and trails that took us to a gorgeous view. 

Here are some pictures..

they had things for kids to play, but we saw almost Asian seniors as the only demographic. We stuck out like sore thumbs among the Tai-Chi folks. They knew were were tourists to this park and gave us a silent nod and a smile. Maybe they built this park to be so perfect for seniors? I loved it! 

On the way out we stopped at this cul-de-sac to take this photo of the ocean view! 

A lovely way to spend a few hours. The trail is across the street from the Philosophers walk..it is called Coyote trail and you get an amazing view from the top. If you happen to be in this area and have a few hours to spend, strongly recommend this.

It is one thing to have nice parks in the suburbs. Having something like this in the middle of a bustling city is just amazing!