Arroyo Seco

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Arroyo Seco, June 2004

Day 1

Michael Woods and I left our office in downtown San Francisco around 3 pm on Friday, June 25^th of 2004 and walked towards my car parked under the western abutment of the Bay Bridge. Soon we were on Highway 101 headed south towards Mani, the girlfriend of Mr. Woods, who works for Oracle in Belmont. Soon Mr. Woods began a long recitation of his recent reading of the first 5 chapters of Homer’s Odyssey; strike 1! Strike 3 would occur about 24 hours later and lead to “Grand Theft Auto”, among other things.

Shortly before 4 pm we reached the Ellison Empire, jammed everything in Mani’s car and once again were on the road. For some reason Mr. Woods insisted I ride in the passenger seat. During typical evening rush hour traffic Mani and I became acquainted, often at the expense of Mr. Woods. She drove like a maniac, which I appreciated since I hoped to start our hike while it was still light out. Somewhere around Salinas we stopped at McDonalds for a bathroom break and Mr. Woods took over as driver; I remained in the passenger seat. Upon reentering the freeway Mr. Woods was promptly run off of the road by an 18-wheeler. In our three years as co-workers this was the first time I was ever in a car with the man.

Before 8 pm we reached the Arroyo Seco Campground and to my delight we hit the trail around 8:15 pm. It was still light enough for Michael and Mani, henceforth referred to as M&M, to see the gorge that we would be walking above for the next 6 hours and at the bottom of the following day. To be more precise, we were currently walking along Indians Road from the Arroyo Seco Campground to the Escondido Campground, on an unpaved fire road that has been closed to auto traffic for many years due to landslides. Back in the day landslides were cleared by pushing the rubble down into the gorge, now however, due to endangered fish, this is no longer allowed, and the road has remained closed to all but foot and bike traffic. Based on tracing the route with TOPO! Software it appeared that we had about 13 miles to walk, and in that time would gain about 3,400 feet in elevation.

Here the author makes last minute preparations at the car camping area of Arroyo Seco.

Mike and Mani head off on Indians Road from the Arroyo Seco Campground towards Escondido Campground.

Say, that's some smile. Mike enjoys the hike along Indians Road with the fading sun and the Arroyo Seco (dry creek) to our right. This was their first good view of the gorge.

Three miles along Indians Road, according to this sign we arrived at Marble Peak Trail. Although we didn't know at the time, this is where we could exit the gorge.

Second (and last) sign along Indians Road, indicating the Santa Lucia Trail. We reached this point after about 2-1/2 hours. Unlike the Marble Peak Trail which was on our right and headed down towards the Arroyo Seco, this trail was on the left and headed towards a different watershed.

Mani walking one of the more rugged sections of Indians Road.

As the night grew darker the moon rose and reflected light on us from the west, and given that we were headed south and that the gorge was also to our west, illuminating the road to such and extent that lights were not required, even though it was only a quarter moon. At this point Mr. Woods felt it necessary, despite my vehement protests, to tell several “scary stories”; strike 2!

At several points we stopped for short breaks, and also for our no-cook dinners, but for the most part we walked, sometimes shoulder to shoulder, but more often than not with me out ahead and M&M 10 meters behind. Around 1 am the moon disappeared, the lights came on, and we began to wonder when we would arrive and I worried that we might walk right by the campsite without seeing it.

However, shortly after 2 am we came to a gate across the road and a few minutes later a large sign indicating the campground materialized. In short order I spread my 1.1 ounce per square yard silicone coated ripstop nylon ground sheet on a thick bed of Oak leaves and fell asleep under my down quilt.

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