“Rancho Corral de Tierra, where the trail shreds you!”
That was my impression after I rode up the Spine Trail on Feb 23, 2011. It was overgrown with razor edged pampas grass, spiky berry vines, poison oak, and chamise. I was a mess by the time I got back to the car.
Lately I've been reading that the trails at Rancho Corral de Tierra have improved. Yet another warm winter day provided an opportunity to go check it out. Happily, the National Park Service has cut back the foliage and it's pretty nice now (well, still steep). They've even done some of the transversing PG&E powerline access road. From the top of Spine, I walked a bit of this up to the triple power pole. Awesome view!
Rancho Corral de Tierra entrance at Etheldore Street:
Spine Trail sign/direction arrow in the Ember Ridge Stable:
Llamas are Dolly (left) and Sierra.
Ember Ridge Stable:
PSA, please walk your bike through Ember Ridge Stables (just like we do at Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz).
Seismic monitoring station, vandalized since last time:
The info sign is gone and a solar panel is bashed.
Going uphill, you pass through a Eucalyptus grove:
You turn left in here which I missed today and had to backtrack a little.
Out of the forest; my destination, the triple power poles, is visible in the distance:
Some plants that shred (you), Pampas grass:
…and spiky berry vines:
Over the summer of 2013, they've machine cut back the foliage, this would have been very overgrown before the work:
Very nice though the Pampas grass has grown back quickly (as you can see in the photo above).
Near the top, here is a section that goes over bare granite (or something):
The broken plywood on the ground is the traditional end-point of the Spine Trail. The triple power poles is up to the right and wow, they've brushed the trail leading there:
Also at this spot there are ribbons flagging the start of a trail to North Peak:
The work is very preliminary. It would be tough to just hike it.
The “trail” to North Peak would be a left turn but I went right (leaving the bike behind) and hiked up to the triple power pole. Wow they cut through this:
On my way back down, I stopped and chatted with an equestrian lady riding up the Spine. She mentioned that this is a barrier for her.
Yellow feathers on the ground here:
What kind of bird was this?
Old PG&E access road to triple power poles:
At the bottom of the little valley is Dennison Creek and I believe there is a culvert for it. That isolated pine tree is a landmark visible from space!
The old PG&E access road to triple power poles from the other side:
Why am I so focused on this spot? August 11, 2012 I tried to reach the Spine Trail from this direction. It was arduous just to get to here, so close but that valley was fully choked and there was a lot of poison oak. Very reluctantly, I turned back. Picture from that day:
For my August 11 ride report on the MIA mtbguru.com, I made this map. The green lines on the left was the track from Feb 23, 2011 (which is pretty much today's ride), and the red line is the track from August 11, 2012:
See the gap?
It is now passable. Yay! The work isn’t as complete as on the Spine Trail so you’ve got to watch and avoid some Poison Oak branches.
(To the left you can make out hints of the trail to North Peak.)
Photographic proof that I made it to the triple power poles:
Some old insulators lying on the ground:
The view from up there:
This ride was about 9 miles and 1,800’. Pretty short but I now know this piece is in place for a longer route, something like that August 11, 2012 ride.
Half Moon Bay:
