Hiking Through the Fog
Distance: 3.2 Miles (7.1 miles total for the day) Elevation Gain/Loss: 785 feet/300 feet
The official map of this section combines it with the segment just north, Skyline College to Pacifica. We decided to also combine them into a single hike. For this post I’ll just focus on the one segment, but that explains where the total of 7.1 miles comes from. We started by parking a car in downtown Pacifica and taking a Lyft to the trailhead at Sneath Lane. The trail up from Sneath is 1.7 miles of steep climbing. On a clear day the views are fantastic but there is full sun exposure. Today was not a clear day. Instead it was cold, foggy and windy. We were forced to fight our way up the hill with the wind using the fog as a sideways rainstorm soaking us through. But we persisted knowing this was a temporary state. Although we would have to miss the amazing views from the top of Sweeney Ridge today, we knew that the fog would burn in the afternoon off as it usually does leaving behind a comfortable coolness and moisture in the air.
And this was exactly what we encountered as we descended the stairway of Notch Trail, a mile north of the intersection of Sneath Lane and Sweeney Ridge trails. The stairs were absolutely surrounded by greenery. That same fog that had soaked us through as we fought our way up Sneath Lane, was also responsible for creating the most beautifully lush garden that we were now descending through. Notch Trail is a hidden gem in the bay area and easily my early favorite of this circumnavigation.
As we continued to descend, we eventually arrived in Skyline College to start the next section of the ridge trail. Stay tuned for the next post covering that section.
Next segments:
Clockwise: Skyline College to Pacifica via Milagra Ridge
Counterclockwise: Fifield-Cahill Trail (coming soon, next available: Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve)
You must be logged in to post a comment.