a day at the office

monday morning and it's time to go to work. my husband has an assignment to get the gps coordinates of hikes here on the central coast of california. here is today's hike:

Highlights:
Coastal bluff trail, (Sea) Lion Rock, incredible drop-offs and ocean view
Near: Santa Maria, CA
Scenery: 5 stars
Distance: 12.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 2500 ft
Hike Time: 6.5 hours
Difficulty: Strenuous
Trail Condition: OK, but a few difficult spots
HikeType: Out and Back


ready?

we began early in the morning, in dense fog...

drippy wet dense fog...




which rolled away briefly, making these mariposa lilys happy...

fog and sun make a peaceful landscape

the area we are in is owned by the military, we have to stay on the

designated trail and obey all signs...





you can just make out part of the trail to the far left...

the fog is rolling (actually very furiously blowing) back in...

here it is a bit confusing, the trail is behind the barbed wire...

so on we go...

here is the pacific ocean from high above,

i wish i could take photos of the best views, but that isn't allowed,

and the trail continues.

we are following this ridge up and down, we are exposed,

there are steep drop offs, there is wind, fog and cold....

see the ridge in the background? that is where we are headed,

Chuck thought it looked a bit like a serpent...

hiking, hiking, hiking...

up and down....

i had to put my camera away at times, the fog was like rain...

and the wind made it go sideways, for almost all 12 miles...

in a moment of brief sunshine, we found these two, asleep and cuddling.

we thought they were dead until she woke up, and looked at us. can you see her foot on his head? we had no idea what kind of lizard love was going on here...

we've left the single track and are back on the fire road heading down.

here, warming itself in the barely visible sun is a big snake.

he's wondering what we are doing out here in this isolated, blustery cold,

yet extremely beautiful place...

just enjoying the day like you, my slithery friend...

we're almost done, are you still with me?

late blooming wildflowers

these were so small and delicate, protected from the wind

if you look closely you can see our truck, still a couple miles away...

there he is, and it looks like he's made a friend, we were the only ones here this morning...

now the hike is officially over, chuck got all the coordinates he needs,

and i am glad,

it's quittin' time.

if you'd like more information on California State Parks

and the Point Sal Trail go here.
thank you for coming along :)

♥ lori