Norn Hill
Peak 3,065ft
Nipomo Mesa

My wife and I headed to Pismo Beach for a short vacation during her Easter break from school. We stayed a night in Paso Robles and several more in Pismo Beach. Between the two, I took her on a Jeep ride into the Santa Lucia Range above Santa Margarita and Pozo. Once in Pismo Beach, I went on a bike ride to tag a third summit in Nipomo while she went outlet shopping.

Norn Hill

This small hill with little prominence is found on the northwest side of Paso Robles, on private property. Julie Ann Gregg had pioneered a route from the east starting at the end of 21st St. A gate here blocks vehicle traffic, the road continuing up a short distance before it ends short of Norn Hill. Not shown in the satellite view, and probably not there when Julie visited in 2017, is a trailer parked up at a clearing. The fence is now more formidable, designed to keep deer and people out. Rather than go over the fence, I discovered an alternate in the drainage just left of the gate. Careful to avoid poison oak lurking in the oak forest understory, I hiked up the grassy drainage just outside the property boundary. I reached the point where the property fence turns a corner and hiked directly up to the highpoint of Norn Hill - no need to cross any fences, no signs of any kind. The top is terribly uninteresting, weak views and mostly surrounded by rural homesteads.

Peak 3,065ft

This was the unnamed summit on the miles-long ridgeline that is Garcia Mountain in the Santa Lucia Range. The wife and I drove Pozo Rd through Santa Margarita and then another 12mi to the Forest Service's Hi Mtn Lookout Rd. The road is in good shape all the way to Hi Mtn. We turned off before this, at a junction with the Garcia Mtn Trail. This is a pretty rough Jeep trail (though brush is well-groomed) that made for some great fun, with great views. It was the first time my wife had been in the Jeep off the pavement and made for an exciting introduction. The road is quite steep in places, rocky in a few, and definitely required 4WD and all the high-clearance I could muster (I bottomed out lightly a few times). We drove the first three miles of this road to the top of unnamed Peak 3,065ft where we parked and claimed the summit. The views were somewhat hazy, typical for the area. One can see the Pacific Ocean to the southwest along with the Pismo Dunes. Most of the views take in the chaparral-covered hills of the surrounding Santa Lucia Range, some of the densest such terrain found in the state. The road continues for another couple of miles before ending at the Wilderness boundary, but we didn't drive this extra distance. My wife said she enjoyed the adventure, but her stomach would be ready for a break by the time we got back to the junction with Hi Mtn Road. Once there, we turned left and drove the road across the range into Arroyo Grande and then Pismo Beach.

Nipomo Mesa

This is a minor summit near the small town of Nipomo along US101. The summit is part of a large avocado orchard. Due to the high value of the crop, the orchard is mostly surrounded by high fences. My first effort to reach the highpoint some years back was stopped when I reached the locked gates along Chesapeake Pl to the northwest. More study of the satellite view found that the summit is close to the edge of the property, so a second effort a few years later approached from the west via Pomeroy Rd. I had hoped the old homestead found on this side of the farm was abandoned, but that wasn't the case and I retreated, foiled a second time. More study was needed. This third effort approached from the south through the Blacklake Golf Resort, though probably not necessary. I rode the bike from Augusta Dr along the golf path, about a quarter mile until I was at the border with the adjacent homestead property to the north. Where the path comes close to an old ranch road, I walked the bike onto the ranch road and followed it west down a drainage to a locked gate, long abandoned. I left the bike here and continued walking down the old road another quarter mile. It appears this is part of the farm property not under cultivation. When I reached the beginning of the orchards, I turned north and followed the edge of the trees along another old road, also abandoned. The large trees were heavy with haas avocados, each holding many hundreds. Many others were lying about the ground. The route led nicely to the highpoint found near the intersection of the old road with a newer one. Here there were signs of recent and continuing work and I wouldn't have been surprised to see someone working nearby or driving through on an ATV. I paused only briefly to take a picture of the highpoint under the trees, then beat a retreat. On the way back I discovered I didn't need to go through the golf course at all. I followed the old abandoned road back out to Pomeroy Rd where it shares the same entrance as the adjacent homestead (currently being sold). Even though it was hardly a memorable summit, I rather enjoyed the effort it took me to finally reach it...

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