Continued...
I had to be home in San Jose in the afternoon, leaving me only the morning for a couple
of
short hikes. All of these were on public lands, easily accessible. I had spent the night
sleeping in one of the parking lots at ,
part of Sonoma Coast State Park. A
paid me a visit around 7:30a while I was eating breakfast inside, shortly
after waking. While she was running my plates and driver's license to make sure I wasn't
wanted on any warrants, she reminded me that camping inside the park is forbidden
anywhere that's not an actual campground. Like-wise, parking along Hwy 1 is forbidden
anywhere inside Sonoma County. Without being asked, she explained that the purpose of
the ordinances were to deter homeless folks who would otherwise overrun the coastal
scenery, presumeably ruining the experience for more legitimate visitors. Assured I was
carrying no drugs, guns or other elements deemed dangerous, she let me off without
issuing a citation.
Peaked Hill
This oddly named summit is located within Goat Rock, less than five minutes off the
access road I had driven in on. It has little prominence, but it does have a
leading to its summit, , and a very fine view
of the coast, looking to . To , early
morning coastal fog was breaking up surprising early, revealing
Red Hill a few miles in that direction.
Red Hill
I had initially assumed Red Hill was on private ranch from the looks of it, but was
happy to find it is also part of the State Park system, just down the highway a short
distance from Goat Rock and Peaked Hill. I found by accident,
across the highway from the entrance to Shell Beach. I on the Shell
Beach access road, which
wasn't signed for No Parking, but my earlier visit had me worried I might be an unwitting
scofflaw. I later learned this was one of two access THs for Red Hill, the other from
the north via Willow Creek/Pomo Canyon. The trail follows along an old jeep road
initially, eventually and becoming a . A small
is located on the north side of the summit, the trail going
through it on one side, and then out another. It was a very abrupt change of ecosystem,
from open grassy slopes to . The itself is
a flat, open grass hill. There is a fine view of the Russian River delta to
. Behind to the east is the higher Kroeber
BM which I had visited the previous evening. Overall, a rather serene view spot.
Bodega Head
After returning to the van, I continued south on Hwy 1, taking in the beautiful
along the way. Ten miles south is Bodega Bay and Harbor, made
famous by Alfred
Hitchcock's
The Birds in 1963. Bodega Head is the small spit of land that helps
form the natural harbor. With a few hundred feet of prominence, it offers a good view
of the surrounding area. The San Andreas Rift Zone cuts across the harbor, making Bodega
Head part of the Pacific Plate.
I had no information on how to actually reach the highpoint,
whether there was any trail or even if it was on public land. Turns out there is a very
nice parking area at the end of the road on the west side of Bodega Head with an easy,
maintained trail leading to the summit. Not knowing this, I at a
turnout on the east side, and followed a of sorts through a jungly
grotto, to the mesa, and then northwest to the highpoint, discovering the
only moments before reaching the top. The are
pretty nice, but only as good as 265ft of elevation can get you. I was just happy that
the fog had cleared, providing a nice view of the and . On
the return, I used the , first south to , then
north towards a campground located north of the UC marine laboratory. Once I reached
the marine lab , I followed back to where I had
parked, getting back before 10:30a. Time to head home...