#1
|
|||
|
|||
Last Chance Road
Last Chance Road 25 APR 04
I haven't discovered how Last Chance Road got its name but I can imagine that in the days when it was a motor vehicle road, the cliffs in the narrows of West Waddell Creek looked as impassable as they do today. However, since my first encounter with the road, the Park Service has destroyed it so that only a single track between back-filled rock and debris remains of this once drivable ridable road. I can't imagine what the motivation for this expensive and destructive project was but it has been successful in dissuading people from seeing this beautiful scenic area because they don't want to climb over steep rocky slopes and debris or make a river crossing over boulders where once a vehicle ford offered a convenient route. In any event, this has been one of my favorite rides since the days of hippies who lived there in VW Buses and tended illegal agriculture. They are gone now but at the end of the road a large cemetery on Mud Gully Road, old VW's stand waiting for Godot to give them their 50,000 mile checkup. They've stood there for years, some with tattered tarpaulins and others just covered with leaves since the 1970's. Brian and I started from Palo Alto, riding up Alpine Road past the closure gate 4.2 miles from the top at Page Mill Road (2200ft). Where part of the road was lost to a never repaired land slide a few years ago, a steep trail that makes a shortcut around the cliff makes bicycling possible. Traction is still good now after winter mud has hardened so it is a good ride but it requires effort. The woods were rich and green with new foliage and roadside was decorated with paintbrush, wild iris and pretty but intrusive broom: http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_...3301+3807+0064 This is an area especially rich with song birds among which we heard black headed grosbeaks whose song contains the classic wolf whistle, and the Olive sided flycatcher that whistles McMinnville from the top of a high perch. We chose to go west today because summer seems to have arrived a few days ago with a bang and temperatures above 80F. The coast side of the Santa Cruz Mountains is generally cooled by on-shore breezes from the chilly waters that give this area fog and and with it the coast redwood forests. Heading south on SR5, Skyline Blvd, we climbed to Saratoga Gap (2603ft) where SR9 crosses from Saratoga to Santa Cruz 28 miles to the southwest. From here it was all downhill to the junction with Big Basin HWY SR236 (1267ft). Big Basin Way climbs through a dense redwood forest to China Grade (1824ft). The lush forest along this road is not accidental, the right-of-way plus 100ft to either side of the road being part of the park. At aptly named China Grade, that dives down toward Boulder Creek so steeply that is seems to want to penetrate the earth to China, we came out of the woods to descend to the Rear Escape Road, the old road into the park. With a bit of skill one can ride around the high side of the gate and blast down this paved but driveway width road into the dense redwood forest and along Opal Creek. Here the road is bounded by light blue forget-me-nots and Arelia Californica with its huge green leaves and pale yellow blossoms. http://tinyurl.com/36su2 http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_...0000+0304+0896 http://www.clunet.edu/wf/nca/flowers/fwr-709.htm After a snack at the park store, we rode toward Boulder Creek and turned off on Hinn Hammond Road that has a sign indicating Blooms Creek Campground. This paved road meanders along west Waddell creek to the park sewage treatment plant where, above the turnoff, it turns to gravel and gets steep. At the next junction, Last Chance Road, or what's left of it, dives down steeply back down to Waddell Creek. It was here that we heard the distinctive call of, but didn't see, a pileated woodpecker, our version of the ivory billed woodpecker. http://www.borealforest.org/birds/pi...woodpecker.htm http://tinyurl.com/oxab http://tinyurl.com/oxae After about a half mile, the trail crosses the creek with enough boulders that it can be done without getting feet. Here Waddell Creek flows over broad slabs of stone above and below the crossing before cascading over smooth bedrock where it has carved large swimming holes on a series of stone plateaus as it descends through the narrows. Meanwhile the trail hugs the south wall and reaches a broader part of the canyon, lush with vegetation and in the shade. As the creek curves northward and into another series of rapids, the trail climbs out of the canyon, partly ridable before connecting with the end of the vehicle road, most of which is in private property as it continues climbing gradually from 800ft to a little over 1000ft crossing Last Chance Creek. Although unpaved, the road is well maintained, albeit bumpier that one might like by the embedded rock. The road runs near the top of a ridge between Waddell and Scott Creeks that both seem amazingly far below whenever a view opens. At the more civilized part of the road, as it starts its descent to Swanton Road, pavement begins at a cattle guard but it is no bed of roses either. Although contiguous, this pavement is almost as rough as the dirt road as it descends through green expansive cow pastures as it passes a swamp, Laguna de Las Trancos, before its junction with Swanton Road. The Swanton road is smooth and well paved, levelling off as it crosses Scott Creek that flows out of Little Basin. Most of the Swanton Valley was owned by Al Smith, the originator of Orchard Supply hardware stores. He called it the Swanton Pacific Ranch that is today under th custody of Cal Poly Aggies, and Al's steam railway club that runs the 19" gauge steam railway, aptly called the SP or Swanton Pacific. The railroad is at home just south of Big Creek that adds more water to Scot creek than Scoot creek brings in. It's up a couple of short bumps to the junction with SR1 just north of Davenport, the end of the UP rail branch that hauls coal in and cement out of a large cement plant. Arro's grocery store makes a convenient stop for food before cruising downwind to Santa Cruz, although today there wasn't much wind. At Bonny Doon Road and the beach noted for its tanning capabilities for people who prefer sunning in the buff, the parking lot was nearly full. It's a great beach and well wind protectd. Santa Cruz was in fine form, there being nearly 100 surfers attending a class of the Santa Cruz Surfboarding School. The beaches were finally cleared of piles wood debris that came out of the San Lorenzo river. Beach volleyball was in full swing and the Roaring Camp and the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific was waiting to depart from the Giant Dipper roller coaster. We crossed the San Lorenzo on the footbridge attached to the railroad bridge and headed south toward Capitola and Aptos. Brian headed up Branciforte Road to get home a bit earlier than I had planned so I continued down the coast. http://www.roaringcamp.com/beach.html Valencia Road heads inland from Aptos to connect to Day Valley road and Freedom Blvd from which Hames Road climbs a short steep hill to Corralitos and the sausage factory/grocery store. I tanked up and took a spare 20oz soda pop along so I wouldn't run dry after I got to the top of Eureka Canyon Road (1850ft) at "four corners" the junction of Eureka Canyon Rd., Highland Way, Buzzard Lagoon Rd., and Ormsby Cutoff. I turned up Ormsby Cutoff, now known as Ormsby Trail and paved about half way to the top at Summit Road. Ormsby gives a beautiful view to Watsonville in the Pajaro Valley and Monterey in the back drop at the tip of the Santa Lucia mountains. Vegetation o this dry slope is mostly brush, manzanita, and digger pines. I was passed by only one pickup truck and no one gave me the "git offa my land" routine even though there are threatening signs at the lower end of the road where there is a permanently open gate, open by law after the claim to a private road was tested in court. There was no longer a gate at Summit Road (2860ft). The ride along Summit Road is an up and down event with great views to the coast and the Santa Clara Valley below the ridge. I met no traffic here except an MTB rider with whom I talked a bit and who lived on Ormsby. I met three road M/C riders parked at the junction with Loma Prieta Avenue and headed up the "dirty bump" that years ago we named it because for its steep and loose surface, a challenge to ride. Since then, because even cars had trouble climbing it, the short steep part was paved, it being the connection for people who live beyond there on Loma Chiquita road on the east side of the ridge. http://tinyurl.com/yw8xs http://tinyurl.com/2uxzj http://tinyurl.com/3f8bw I took Loma Ridge Road (3363ft) around the base of Loma Prieta Peak (3808ft), stopping at the spring to refill my bottle before traveling this road that has locked gates and practically no traffic judging from the lack of tire tracks. The road descends half way and climbs back up to about the same hight at Mt. Umunhum. With no users and no maintenance, the road has large ruts in places that mostly have one end that is easily ridable. At Mt Umunhum, I was surprised at the assembly of dead motor vehicles and other hardware on the knob just before the junction with Mt Umunhum road (3290ft), a paved road that served the Air Force station located there. I met no one on this stretch and didn't expect to because there isn't much up there to do and few people have keys to the locked gate below. I was impressed how steep the paved road is and that I rode up it about three years ago. It is a real brake burner and in the old days was a hazard for Tubulars, melting their glue. About 2/3 down, at a cattle guard and locked gate, cars of hiker were parked on a wide spot and turn-around and there were even more farther down near the junction with Hicks road (1400ft). I took Hicks down to Shannon and then Kennedy Road over to Los Gatos from where the ride on SR9 to Saratoga and Homestead Road and Foothill Expy was mostly a downhill cruise home. I missed getting too hot by doing my climbing on the coast side and by finishing late in the afternoon. 140miles and 10200ft of climbing filled my bill for the day. --------------------------------- Jobst Brandt |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Road or Sidewalk? | K-Man | General | 74 | June 19th 04 12:26 AM |
Sierra Nevada - Tioga/Sonora Pass | [email protected] | Rides | 1 | November 3rd 03 07:52 AM |
Tour of the Alps 2003 | [email protected] | Rides | 2 | September 15th 03 04:52 AM |
Considering a Road bike for commuting... good idea? | Mike Beauchamp | General | 116 | August 18th 03 11:44 PM |