North Coast - February 2007

February 2007
Gazos Creek – Table Rock – Again!
9 miles
Super Bowl Sunday
Graciela, Barbara, Tim, Julie

We decided to repeat the same hike as the week before- which is not like me. I wanted coastal views and it had been such an empty and wonderful hike. I figured on Super Bowl Sunday it would be really deserted. Not so.

When we got to the Gazos Creek parking lot, it was already crowded. There was what we suspected was a Sierra Club hike with about 20 people heading out. We let them pass.

Even though we had done the same hike the week before – we couldn’t find the same trails. Again we ended up bushwhacking through the brush, grasses and possible poison oak until we reached Franklin Point. It was hotter then the previous week and slightly humid. We were stripped down to sleeveless tops in no time.

At Franklin Point, Tim pointed out a murre nesting in the sand. Tim led us onto an “illegal route” that came out back on the main trail. The beach where the elephant seals were the week before was filled with families with babies. Babies seemed to be everywhere on this hike.

We lunched a little further down the bluff from the cypress trees. Lovely view of the coast. We continued on to Ano Nuevo. We walked past the many “No Trespassing – Entering Ano Nuevo” signs until we couldn’t go any further.

I found a very unusual rock – a big blonde quartz with unusual formations. It was fairly heavy – probably about five pounds. Walking back I alternately carried it in my backpack or did bicep curls with it. Everyone laughed at me – but I’m glad I brought it. It’s a rock that looks special even

On the way back we came across two different kinds of clay in the cliffs one earthy and one black. We joked up taking a mud bath and dip in the ocean. We shortly came across two seal carcasses with their heads bit off and giant bites taken out of their sides, which convinced us we wouldn’t be going into the ocean after all.

We also ended up seeing another Elephant Seal. He was lying up in the sand dunes and it would have been easy to walk by thinking he was a log. Tim spotted him. He wiggled a bit at us and we moved on quickly.

We found even more heart shaped rocks on the beach. We figured they would make lovely Valentines Day gifts (or Anniversary gifts as the case may be). Barbara and I came back on Bonny Doon road. We stopped at Bonny Doon Winery – but although the lights were on and people were still tasting it was after 5:00 and the door was locked. Oh well. We tried. Another great hike.

Lesson Learned: The hike on Super Bowl Sunday because it will be empty, doesn’t always hold true.