Fat Ass Skyline-to-Sea
For an adventure run, my brother and I had planned for a boys' weekend outing in Yosemite Valley. We planned a great ~30 mile run up both sides of the valley, but the heat wave and forest fires in the valley convinced us otherwise. Fortunately, the Skyline-to-Sea trail was a suitable distance and also 95% in the shade. Even though the daytime temps were easily 90F, we barely felt much heat except for the short sections in the sun.
My brother's friend, Stuart, joined us for this little adventure run, starting with a full pancake breakfast at Southern Kitchen in Los Gatos. We were soon on our way to Castle Rock state park to start our run.
Even though the first few miles are mostly downhill, the average pace is around 12 min/mi., as there are a lot of rocks to dance around and scramble up. There are a couple of short sections with chains to keep us from falling. Large parts of this section of trail are technically exposed, but in the early morning, the sun was behind the mountain, and we could feel the impending heat, but wasn't really threatening. It was 7AM and already nearly 70F.
The trail soon dances into the treeline, crossing Travertine Springs and the San Lorenzo river. We felt like we were far into a forest, far from civilization. And we were. Or we felt like we were, until Sonny got a FaceTime call on his phone from his kids.
Shortly after leaving Big Basin, we followed Waddell creek the rest of the day. The redwoods give way to deciduous trees lining the creek. The last 8 miles are pretty flat, slightly downhill on a fire road. The wind comes blowing in strong off the cold ocean here, Waddell Beach being a popular spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing. My wife was generous enough to meet us here, with food, to give us a ride back to our car at the trailhead.
My brother's friend, Stuart, joined us for this little adventure run, starting with a full pancake breakfast at Southern Kitchen in Los Gatos. We were soon on our way to Castle Rock state park to start our run.
Looking fresh at mile 0.
Hold on, Stuart!
While the heatwave didn't really affect us too much, it was still warm. It's September in California. Fortunately, the trail follows several creeks and gave us lots of opportunities to cool off. The water is pretty clean here, maybe not to drink directly, but clean enough to cool off in. I made the mistake of cooling myself in a creek in SoCal earlier.... ugh. I think we could have spent an afternoon in these creeks. Waterman Camp, around mile 13, has potable water in the summer.
At mile 20, we arrived at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The giant redwood trees here are really something to see. To have come from oaks, scramble over rocks, through a manzanita covered forest, and then through creeks and giant redwoods in one run makes for quite a day. If you make the trek here, there is potable water and a camp store.
Shortly after leaving Big Basin, we followed Waddell creek the rest of the day. The redwoods give way to deciduous trees lining the creek. The last 8 miles are pretty flat, slightly downhill on a fire road. The wind comes blowing in strong off the cold ocean here, Waddell Beach being a popular spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing. My wife was generous enough to meet us here, with food, to give us a ride back to our car at the trailhead.
Random waterfall shot on the trail.
Officially, this is a 50km. There is a sign at the trailhead at Castle Rock that says "Waddell Beach, 31 miles". Although I've done the official PCTR race before, I like this course better.
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