Skyline to the Sea Trail Backpacking Trip.
The Skyline to the Sea Trail goes from Castle Rock State Park through Big Basin and on to Waddell Beach. At about 33 miles long the mostly easy trail is shaded and carpeted with needles and leaves making for an excellent introduction to 2 night backpacking trips.
The Skyline to the Sea Trail goes from the Castle Rock parking lot along California Highway 35 (Skyline Drive) to Highway 9, down 9 to State Route 236 (Big Basin Way) and follows that into Big Basin then on to Waddell Beach at Rancho Del Oso where kite boarders from Santa Cruz romp. The 9 and 35 junction is at Saratoga Gap while the 9 and 236 junction is in Waterman Gap. You can actually hike to Castle Rock Park from Sanborn-Skyline County Park just west of Saratoga Village if you want to add some altitude gain and length to the trip.
There are many other trails throughout Castle Rock Park. I choose them to keep farther away from the roads when possible as 9 is fairly busy. I headed past Goat Rock which is popular with rock climbers and frames the lower edge of the upper San Lorenzo Valley view photographed below. I saw an interesting rock formation visible in the center just above the rock and took a close-up. I discovered I also had a photo of a turkey vulture sitting on the bookshelf like rock formation.
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From Goat Rock I took the Ridge Trail to the Castle Rock backpacking camp. There I picked up the Saratoga Gap Trail to the Travertine Springs Trail to the Beekhuis connector to the official Skyline to the Sea (SttS) Trail and followed that down to the Waterman Gap trail camp. It sounds complicated but the trails are well maintained and clearly marked.
I easily found my way with no map but I have lots of experience and a good sense of direction. I stop at almost every trail junction, take off my pack and take a breather. I look at all sign posts and in all directions even walking down the wrong trails a bit just to explore. The route I took was mostly downhill except the steep 4/10ths of a mile climb up the Beekhuis connector. All in all that route is probably a bit under 10 miles so is similar in distance to taking the official SttS.
At the Waterman Gap camp there are 6 camp sites. I settled in the first one I saw because I was tired and nobody else was there. It was near the water and pit toilet and 3 other sites. While unpacking a ranger stopped by and mentioned a large party would be coming later on and I would be more comfortable moving on to site 5 or 6. They are actually a few hundred feet beyond the others. I moved and was very glad I did since they are much nicer, more remote sites.
The 2'nd day I crossed the road and followed the SttS for 5 miles or so. The trail wasn't as well marked as before especially as I passed 2 houses with barking dogs who thankfully respected the property boundaries they were defending. Eventually I came to a choice of heading for the North China Grade Road or the South China Grade side. The SttS goes North and so did I. South would work too, especially if you had a map. :) That last climb to the China Grade was indeed a climb but pretty short.
The descent into the park was steep. There were short exposed sections of trail across interesting slabs of rock. The views weren't as great as around the ridges of Castle Rock. The exposed areas remind you how powerful the sun can be. However anybody can stand a few hundred yards of intense sun. There are lots of trails in Big Basin. They are clear and well marked. I headed straight for Jay Camp at Park Headquarters along the SttS. I got there about 3 PM after another ~10 mile day.
Big Basin Park HQ has lots of tourists. If you bring money you can buy stuff, I guess. I didn't even enter the store because I was backpacking and it just didn't seem right. Besides I didn't even bring quarters for the shower. However I did take advantage of the evening campfire talk by the ranger and learned more about the Ohlone Indians. My daughter says I should say Native American but even the Muwekma (an Ohlone tribe) home page (www.muwekma.org) calls themselves the Muwekma Ohlone Indian Tribe.
The very biggest redwood trees are near HQ on the Redwood Loop Trail. I've never been able to capture the sheer size of these trees in a photo but I always try. At left below is the base of the 2'nd largest tree, The Father of the Forest. At right is a formation that looks like a face to me. It reminds me of the Ents in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Big Basin is an awesome place and a must visit no matter if you are making a day trip, car camping or backpacking.
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The following morning I was up early and headed out of the basin. Just past the Redwood Loop trail I learned the SttS was closed due to a bridge out or fallen tree. Both reasons were given on two different signs. Maybe a tree fell ruining a bridge? In any case I took a detour up the steep climb out of the basin to the Middle Ridge Fire Road. You can detour around the SttS on either side, no problems, but just a bit more walking.
The walk down along Kelly Creek is very nice. There was little water. At the Timms trail junction the Waddell creek joins up and there was more water. I was wondering if Berry Creek Falls would be flowing and was pleasantly surprised at the decent flow and how beautiful that spot is. There is a bench with a view of the falls right on the trail. Unless you were there early like I was there will likely be someone sitting there. I sat there for a good while and ate some food.
The trail from Middle Ridge Road to Berry Creek Falls is pretty steep, but it goes down which is fine with me since I wasn't going back to the camp. It has stairs and bridges. There are rocks and fallen redwoods to dodge under or climb over. All the while you are shaded by big trees and can hear the creek. This is probably the most exciting and wonderful section of the trip.
The photos below are low quality camera phone shots taken on an earlier trip. The falls were full at the end of July but not as full as in the photo which was taken in the spring of '08. There is also a banana slug photo. These are more common in the spring along with newts.
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I was at the falls at a bit before noon and my family was meeting me at Waddell Beach at 3. The falls are normally less than 5 miles from HQ (when all the trails are open) and the beach maybe 7 miles from the falls so I was thinking I would be late. My family knew to bring books but I missed them and didn't want to be too late.
About half a mile past the falls the trail widens and flattens out. It seems geared towards horse and bike riders. It was still shaded, pleasant and trending flat to slightly downhill. I was able to make the best time of the trip on that section. My food was eaten up and I dumped water I didn't need for the few hour walk so my pack was pretty light too! Though my muscles ached and my body hurt where it bore the burden of my pack I was in much better shape than when I started.
Near Waddell Beach hikers are directed off the trail, which is really a dirt road at that point, and up a ridge around the valley floor. There is a farm on the other (south) side of that valley. I sort of resented the climb and extra time but it was more interesting with better views than walking along the dirt road. You get your first views of the ocean from that ridge which are beautiful and welcome.
The maps I looked at online and at Big Basin HQ disagree with each other as to the length of this section. The signs disagree with each other and also with the maps. My estimate is I walked about 12 miles give or take a mile which is about a mile longer than normal because of the detour climbing out of Big Basin.
It was a great trip! I got to mark the SttS off my list of trails I wanted to hike. The best parts were in Castle Rock Park and Big Basin. If you are not a through hiker or don't have any inclination to cross the SttS from your list you can do better by backpacking to the Castle Rock trail camp the first night and after setting up camp do side hikes around there. The next day hike out, drive to Big Basin early and park there. Take the SttS to Berry Creek Falls and up along the falls trail which follows Berry Creek to the Sunset Trail Camp. There are pit toilets but no water there, bring your filter and get water from Berry Creek. The next day you can take the Sunset trail back to HQ or retrace your steps past the falls.
8/4/2009 (c) Copyright Carl Wohlforth
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