First part of day 2, on a 3 day hike.
Distance: 8.1 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 1280/665
We completed this section as part of a 3 day hike beginning in Russian Ridge. You can find details on that section here: Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves.
Elevation Gain/Loss above reflects the southbound direction of this hike. As noted on the Russian Ridge page, we chose this direction for our 3 day hike so that Sanborn County Park would be downhill. But on this day we would encounter a lot of uphill. The temperature was in the high nineties and our packs were loaded with water to get us through the day.
We got up before sunrise, ate breakfast, filtered water to refill our used water bottles, packed our tents and headed out as quickly as possible. Our hope was to get through as much of the days hike as possible before it got too hot, so we could take it easy in the afternoon.
Total hiking distance for the day included the 2.5 mile backtrack from our campsite, then the 8.1 miles for this section of the ridge trail, plus another 2 miles on the Castle Rock section of the ridge trail followed by another 1 mile to the Castle Rock Backpack Camp. 13.6 miles total, primarily uphill, carrying heavy packs in 95 degree heat. It was a rough day. We were loaded up with 5 liters of water each. It would turn out to be not enough.
But in the early morning the weather was perfect for hiking, and in under an hour we were back to Skyline Ridge parking and back on the ridge trail.
In spite of the difficulties, I really enjoyed this section of the hike. The trails and scenery changed frequently giving the impression of a journey rather than a hike. It dove in and out of forests, alongside farmland, through meadows and rolled up and down with a ridgeline. I’m looking forward to revisiting this section in the spring when it is greener.
A wide, sparsely wooded fire road took us from the Skyline parking lot to Horseshoe lake, our first resting point. From there, we turned onto the densely wooded single track, Fir Knoll Trail, which wound its way upward to eventually meet back with a fire road skirting the edge of the Skyline Ranch Christmas Tree Farm. A couple of farmers working along the edge of the tree farm were the only people we saw on this section. The trail stayed empty as it continued along creating a divider between the farmland on the east and heavy forest on the west. Eventually we turned into the forest along Chestnut Trail where we followed a wooded hillside to emerge at the Skyline Chestnut farm.
The farm store was unfortunately closed, we would have loved to buy a cold drink. But we took a break under the shade before continuing on Chestnut Trail. The trail from here is open, continuing to follow along the hillside, this time avoiding the forest. At Peters Creek Trail the forest reappears like a wall in front of you. In other seasons Peters Creek might be an area to filter and refill water, this July it was mostly dry. The trail was at least shady now as it followed alongside the creek all the way to Jikoji Pond, and the back entrance of the Jikoji Zen Center. From here, a short bridge brings you to switchbacks, which lift you out of the forest to return to another wide open fire road that rises and falls along the ridgeline with distant views to the west.
Eventually, the trail crosses Skyline Blvd and returns to the forest for a final 2 mile stretch to Saratoga Gap Parking. In the heat I was truly hoping Mr. Mustard would be there, the hot dog vendor that sold hotdogs for years at Saratoga Gap Parking Lot. He unfortunately no longer sells there. 🙁
Although we had finished this section of the ridge trail, we were not done for the day. The heat was intense and our feet were in pain caused in part by the extra weight of our packs. But we pressed on, there were another 3 miles to go before we would reach our second campsite in Castle Rock. See below for the rest of the story.
Next segments:
Clockwise: Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves
Counterclockwise: Sanborn County Park and Castle Rock State Park
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