Big Basin and Mt. Abee

Yesterday I hiked in a park that I visited often when I was younger, but where I have hiked infrequently in recent years. When I was a kid my family would often go to Big Basin State Park between (what was not yet known as) Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz, often to picnic and play in the creek. On occasion we would also do some hiking.

I'm almost embarrassed to say that I started my morning by spending the better part of an hour hiking half of the little Redwood Trail loop by the parking lot. My excuse is that I was carrying my photo gear, and I ended up spending a bunch of time photographing some old redwoods.

Having finished with this I started hiking with a vague plan to hike out on part of the Skyline to the Sea Trail. However, some of the trail junctions are a bit confusing and I wasn't carrying a map, and I ended up sort of inventing the hike as I did it. (Regarding the confusing trail signs... I ran into one group of backpackers four times during my hike. They had gotten confused and backtracked several times.) Eventually I ended up on a steep road that joined a fire road heading to Mt. Abee.

The route was steadily uphill with the exception of a few more or less level spots near the top. "Mt. Abee" turns out to be an open spot along the trail where there is a bench from which one can see all the way down Waddell Creek to the ocean. Looking closely you can spot cars on the coast highway and even kites flying on the beach.

All in all, not the world's most spectacular hike but pleasant enough and a good way to spend a few morning hours at Big Basin.