Coming Down from Cone Peak
We turned around from the summit of Cone Peak at 3 on Sunday. On the one hand we were eager to get down so we could see other sights on the way home before dark. McWay Falls, in particular, is always stunning. We also wanted get home before too, too late; we both had work the next day. On the other hand we tried to take care not to let the trek back become a matter of simply one-foot-in-front-of-the-other. We'd need to pause occasionally to enjoy the sights!
Among the sights we saw was the fog layer coming back in more closely over the coast. During the day it never completely went away but it did peel back far enough that we could make out the beaches and rocky cliffs a vertical mile below us. Now... well, maybe McWay Falls wouldn't be such a great sight.
Alas the hike down did become mostly a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other matter. That was mostly because I was nursing an injured leg from a fall on the way up. With all those raw scratches I took care not to rub my leg against undergrowth on the side of the narrow trail. And I was looking down a lot to watch my footing in the loose sections!
Once back at the car I cleaned up the wound and assessed it. I had done some immediate first aid on the trail but didn't have the materials to clean it up properly; not enough water or clean rags. Here it looked both better and worse than when my leg was still covered in dirt. Scabs were already forming, and they tugged painfully when I flexed my leg fully. I eased myself up into a sitting position for the drive home.
As I mentioned in my blog about the drive to Cone Peak we planned to take a different route home. Instead of retracing our route back east from the paved road crossing the ridge we drove west, down a tightly switch-backed road to the coast. The fog ceiling was about 2,000' up from sea level, making an interesting view as we decended the mountainside.
Beyond and below this we found that the fog floor was a few hundred feet above sea level. That created an interesting set of views where the coast and ocean was relatively clear to see from the coast itself, although the whole area was dimmed because of the fog layer far overhead.
The adventure continues... at McWay Falls!
Among the sights we saw was the fog layer coming back in more closely over the coast. During the day it never completely went away but it did peel back far enough that we could make out the beaches and rocky cliffs a vertical mile below us. Now... well, maybe McWay Falls wouldn't be such a great sight.
Alas the hike down did become mostly a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other matter. That was mostly because I was nursing an injured leg from a fall on the way up. With all those raw scratches I took care not to rub my leg against undergrowth on the side of the narrow trail. And I was looking down a lot to watch my footing in the loose sections!
Once back at the car I cleaned up the wound and assessed it. I had done some immediate first aid on the trail but didn't have the materials to clean it up properly; not enough water or clean rags. Here it looked both better and worse than when my leg was still covered in dirt. Scabs were already forming, and they tugged painfully when I flexed my leg fully. I eased myself up into a sitting position for the drive home.
As I mentioned in my blog about the drive to Cone Peak we planned to take a different route home. Instead of retracing our route back east from the paved road crossing the ridge we drove west, down a tightly switch-backed road to the coast. The fog ceiling was about 2,000' up from sea level, making an interesting view as we decended the mountainside.
Beyond and below this we found that the fog floor was a few hundred feet above sea level. That created an interesting set of views where the coast and ocean was relatively clear to see from the coast itself, although the whole area was dimmed because of the fog layer far overhead.
The adventure continues... at McWay Falls!