Author Topic: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013  (Read 95718 times)

Skyline35

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Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« on: December 31, 2013, 01:45:07 PM »
“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:




mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2013, 08:34:30 PM »
How do you find this stuff?
Here's to sweat in your eye

Skyline35

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2014, 12:30:41 PM »
How do you find this stuff?
You know, one hears things around town...

I first heard of RCdT on the old ROMP list a few years ago.

This could turn out to be a somewhat local mtn biking option for you and Meí.

mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2014, 01:27:11 PM »
yep, want to check it out, moved it high up on the list.  Did not even know it existed.  I guess I need to hang with you around town more since your friends seem to have an in on where to find the goods.  Tampas grass is nasty.  Maybe someday that can get rid of it but it is somewhat like Scotch Bloom.
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Skyline35

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #4 on: January 02, 2014, 06:20:28 PM »
Amazingly, The Cave downhill

http://app.strava.com/segments/1081577

is on the official RCdT map! I recently saw a pretty good vid of this but now I can't find it. Oh well, quite a few pov vids on Youtube or Vimeo.

Let me know if you guys want to ride there with me or if you'd like my .gpx files …

Edit: Ah, here it is, this is the video I was remembering…


Skyline35

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra January 15, 2014
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2014, 09:55:32 AM »
Rancho Corral de Tierra January 15, 2014

To pick-up where I left off....

Today I'm making another attempt at the Rancho Corral de Tierra loop. As far as I've ever gotten with a bike is the top of Spine Trail. So up Spine Trail and here I am:





Next off to the triple power pole with the bike. It's difficult to say the least!





…but I made it:



Very windy up here. I couldn't do slow, granny-gear climbing sometimes because I was getting blown around too much.



From here I go to the next big ridge:





The rollers are big with push-the-bike steep uphills:



…but they diminish towards the far end



It is about 2 miles from Spine Trail to the gate at El Granada Boulevard:



A little while later I came upon a National Park trail work crew. We had a nice chat about RCdT. The lead guy told me that there is a Free Right of Passage on El Granada Boulevard through the private land up there. Good to know.



This is called Gods Trail on Strava:







The weather was awesome. Clear, mid-70ºs, and the wind was much calmer. I was in no hurry to get home so I JRA'ed around Quarry Park/Wicklow Eucalyptus forest:





…and along the coastline/wharf:





Very calm waters in the harbor:





Over to Pillar Point Bluffs:





No one following me:





Mavericks interpretive sign:





Seals on the rocks below:





Couldn't help taking one final little break here:



I should of stayed here for the sunset but I still needed to find my way back to where I had parked my car.



Here is the completed route:




Start at Etheldore Street » Rancho Corral de Tierra » Spine Trail » PG&E powerpoles » El Granada Boulevard » Gods Trail » Harbor Drive » Palm Beach Avenue » Bridgeport Drive » Coral Reef Avenue » Sonora Avenue » Carmel Avenue » Valencia Avenue » Columbus Street » Balboa Avenue » Francisco Street » Del Oro Avenue » Palma Street » Santa Maria Avenue » Quarry Park » Wicklow POST property » Quarry Park » Coronado Avenue » The Crossways » Santiago Avenue » Coronado Street » Coast Paths » Ride on pier » Various paths - Princeton By The Sea » Capistrano Road » Prospect Way » Broadway » Princeton Avenue » West Point Avenue » Various paths - Pillar Point Bluffs » Jean Lauer Trail » Ocean Boulevard » San Lucas Avenue » Le Grande Avenue » Park Avenue » Los Banos Avenue » Airport Street » Cypress Avenue » Hwy 1 » Marine Boulevard » Etheldore Street.  19.50/3:30/5:39/3,152'


Half Moon Bay:




mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2014, 12:33:02 PM »
I am interested in riding this and it would be fun to do it together.  Not sure what the plan is for this weekend.  I would like to ride and I am just getting over the flu so breathing as well as normal.  Will stay in touch.  There is a new guy in town that is looking to find new trails as he just started to ride but seems fairly fit he may be interested.
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KenZ

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra January 15, 2014
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2014, 11:04:23 PM »
Rancho Corral de Tierra January 15, 2014

To pick-up where I left off....

Today I'm making another attempt at the Rancho Corral de Tierra loop. As far as I've ever gotten with a bike is the top of Spine Trail. So up Spine Trail and here I am:


A little while later I came upon a National Park trail work crew. We had a nice chat about RCdT. The lead guy told me that there is a Free Right of Passage on El Granada Boulevard through the private land up there. Good to know.


Sweet.   Interesting to know you can loop that without a fine....

Last Saturday I linked montara to this area on foot (trail run).  At the top of montara, there's a trail that follows the power lines with purple flagging.   This brings you over two smaller ridges and then down a STEEP hill to  (different) triple power poles.  At this point it become unpassable by bike for now- it's a bushwack along the old abandoned road that eventually hits the top of the spine trail.    

In other words, if you went up the spine trail but at the top went left instead of right, eventually following that old road you pop out at a triple power pole that then goes up a steep, but cleared trail eventually to the top of montara.  No trespassing into water district at all.  It's just not bikeable yet, and is a hell of a bushwack on foot for about 1/3 mile.  


mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2014, 06:37:59 AM »
Hi, KenZ and welcome to the forum

We did the Spine Trail and looped over and down God's Trail on Sunday.  Skyline35 and another Coe regular were talking about the purple flagged trail and how it went to Montera Mountain. Turns out the Coe regular and his wife had ridden down that years ago.  They did say it was fairly epic and not enjoyable by most people.

The weather out there on Sunday was really nice.  Watching the fog bank roll in was pretty cool.  It was my first time to ride in the area and I really liked it.  The various vista are a nice feature.

There was some kind of "Gun Club" that somewhat harassed some riders that were coming into the parking lot as we left but we did not see them.

Do you ride or are you primarily a runner?
Here's to sweat in your eye

Skyline35

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Rancho Corral de Tierra January 26, 2014
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2014, 09:06:55 AM »
We did the Spine Trail and looped over and down God's Trail on Sunday…The weather out there on Sunday was really nice.  Watching the fog bank roll in was pretty cool.  It was my first time to ride in the area and I really liked it.  The various vista are a nice feature.
That was a fun ride with a great group, here's my ride report…

Rancho Corral de Tierra January 26, 2014

Today I'm showing a few riders the trails I have found at Rancho Corral de Tierra. Problematic when most are faster than me and disappearing into small dots in the distance:



…but actually the ride went really well.



What It Was Like Out There™



No coastside fog right now. That's Chris, by the way.



At the top; these folks have been up at the triple power poles for a while using big words to describe the exact state of decomposition that the granite is in:



l to r, Erik, Meí, Paul



Perfect group for this ride, no complaints about the big, steep dips in the road:


Photo Meí



Another big dip in the road:



Meí and Paul down there.




On a level bit, Chris again, and Paul and Erik:







Paul ID's a wrecked pick-up truck:





It's not a real mountain bike ride unless there is some climbing over gates:   





Following Paul down Gods Trail:





At the bottom is a little neighborhood park (with a drinking fountain). We take a lunch break:



Meí, Erik, Mike



Next we cross El Granada...



and I show them the fun Quarry Park downhill. That is Mike right behind me in the photo.



By the time we get back to the coast, Fogzilla has rolled in:



2 days before, further out a couple miles, was the 2014 Mavericks surf contest.



We JRA'ed around the harbor and Pillar Point Bluffs:







Afterwards, we drove to a little taqueria ( El Gran Amigo Taqueria ) for a yummy dinner.


photo Yelp



A little amazing story; since we were going to a restaurant, I locked my bike to the rack with a cable and padlock. When I got home, I found that I had left the padlock key on my rear bumper and it was still there!!!!




Start on Etheldore Street » Rancho Corral de Tierra » Spine Trail » PG&E powerpoles » El Granada Boulevard » Gods Trail » Bridgeport Drive » Coral Reef Avenue » Sonora Avenue » Presidio Avenue » Avenue Alhambra » Avenue Cabrillo » Columbus Street » Santa Maria Avenue » Quarry Park » Coronado Avenue » The Crossways » Santiago Avenue » Coronado Street » Coast Path » Ride on pier » Various paths - Princeton By The Sea » Capistrano Road » Prospect Way » Broadway » Princeton Avenue » West Point Avenue » Various paths - Pillar Point Bluffs » Jean Lauer Trail » Ocean Boulevard » Beach Way » Marine Boulevard » Airport Street » Cypress Avenue » Hwy 1 » Marine Boulevard » Etheldore Street. 19.10 / 3:01 / 4:57 / 3,121'



Half Moon Bay:







ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø,¸.¸,ø¤º°*°º¤ø

Edit to add photos from Mike’s camera…


The view down to HMB harbor:





Up on the PG&E access road:

Meí and Skyline35:





Chris and me:





Descending Gods Trail:


KenZ

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2014, 09:26:12 AM »
They rode the purple flag trail?  Holy crap, that thing is epicly steep right before it hits the north side triple power poles. And then for bikes, it's a dead end; I was literally belly crawling over and under branches to get through to the spine trail along that contour road (does that contour road have a name?).  Below are some pics from the trail that is in GOOD condition coming from Montara before the going gets rough

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/RnZL8BO1o7-GzkET5lcIwnSxBtyci7zL47blLVfstQ=w345-h259-p-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MIy2EiVyokkA9Ci5rFyyf5uc_rMfKzdVQjqeqc1eQw=w194-h259-p-no

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/7AtM2k3t1a3rKamSas3ItTe-8nabOt34RQ8SRwVCHw=w448-h259-p-no

I'm mostly a runner although I do have a sweet SC Blur hanging in the garage... need to get out more!


KenZ

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2014, 09:28:34 AM »
PS-  the last link is a hand drawn map of the linkup trail overview. 

I'm on the Peninsula side, but my wife's mother lives in El Granada just below quarry park, so I'm always looking for long epic adventures on roads less traveled....

mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2014, 12:56:08 PM »
Paul has a well earned reputation.

We are in La Honda, next time we are thinking of riding in that area we can drop a line or if you are looking you can post on the forum.  We (well at least I do not) always plan ahead very well.  But we can try :)

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F4?

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2014, 07:20:47 PM »
Nice pictures and a cool location. I had heard of riding up there, but never knew where.


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mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #14 on: January 29, 2014, 08:28:34 AM »
they make me faster.
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Skyline35

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra
« Reply #15 on: January 29, 2014, 09:01:29 AM »
Sweet.   Interesting to know you can loop that without a fine....

It is possible to go up through Quarry Park » Wicklow » El Granada Blvd » RCdT.



Last Saturday I linked montara to this area on foot (trail run).  At the top of montara, there's a trail that follows the power lines with purple flagging.   This brings you over two smaller ridges and then down a STEEP hill to  (different) triple power poles.  At this point it become unpassable by bike for now- it's a bushwack along the old abandoned road that eventually hits the top of the spine trail.   

Awesome! Not too many people willing to do such things. (I'm guessing you're not too bothered by Poison Oak?)



PS-  the last link is a hand drawn map of the linkup trail overview. 

That map is pretty interesting. I hope you don't mind me direct-linking it in (650 wide seems to be as big as it will go):




mynameismud

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #16 on: January 30, 2014, 12:02:40 PM »
I wonder if the trail Paul was thinking of is the trail that comes down from Montero then goes right?
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squiddo

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #17 on: January 30, 2014, 02:31:43 PM »
looks like fun
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Every climb gets 3 stars from me until I climb it.
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Skyline35

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Rancho Corral de Tierra February 1, 2014
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2014, 12:52:09 PM »
Rancho Corral de Tierra February 1, 2014

Today we set out to explore the north side of Rancho Corral de Tierra and beyond. We started up the Seton Hospital side on a trail which has been named on Strava as Horselaugh. On a whim, we ride all the way up to the dead-end which looked it had been prepared for someone's dead-end:





Going back, we found a gate on to Alamo Street and rode through the town of Montera over to the south end of historic Old San Pedro Mountain Road:







After a wrong turn and ending up at Hwy 1, it was time for a big climb. Paul had full rigid single-speed today:





It is a long, steep dirt road climb up North Peak Service Road, Chris & Erik:





We take a break here before trying the first of my list of trails to explore, the switchback alternative to Crack. The downhillers here were dismissive of it but it was awesome:





The next item on my list was the Old Colma Bike Road so over to the San Pedro Mountain area, What It Was Like Out There™





Old Colma Bike Road, ca 1895:





Opps, going the wrong way at this point:





…but we eventually got to the stairs:



(which were a pretty big pain with bikes.)


A few days after our ride, a friend took this video of the Old Colma Bike Road:



Pretty great trail, huh?



The trail and staircase are right over the new Tom Lantos Tunnel:





We cross an open land stabilization field and end up in a riparian corridor with some heroic brushing; someone cut through walls of poison oak. The trail empties out on to a service road:





…which takes us to the Gray Whale Cove Beach:



That pillbox on the bluff is the Little Devil's Slide Military Reservation site, google that sometime.



Paul & Erik:





It’s now 3:30pm and we realize that with a ~5:30 sunset, the last trail on my list (Alta Vista) will have to wait for another day. One last look back at the coastline before heading home:





…on the Old San Pedro Mountain Road:





A little mischief along the way, Erik @ the Farallone View Elementary School:





Riding through Montara:





We were back to the cars at 4:30pm which gave us time for 2 post-ride stops, beers at Hop Dogma Brewing Co and dinner at Mezzaluna Italian.


Start at Etheldore Street » Horselaugh Trail » Alamo Street » Harte Street » Sunshine Valley Road » East Montera Boulevard » George Street » Birch Street » Old San Pedro Mountian Road » North Peak Access Road » Crack - switchback alternative » Trail to peak of San Pedro Mountain » Old Colma Bike Road » Gray Whale Cove Trail » Old San Pedro Mountian Road » Farallone Trail » Farallone View Elementary School » Le Conte Avenue » Aracia Street » 4th Street » George Street » East Montera Boulevard » Sunshine Valley Road » Harte Street » Alamo Street » Horselaugh Trail » Etheldore Street. 19.40 / 3:12 / 5:36 / 3,086'


Half Moon Bay:




JC w KC redux

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Re: Rancho Corral de Tierra December 30, 2013
« Reply #19 on: February 02, 2014, 01:19:33 PM »
Looks like you had a beautiful clear day. I like the views of Olema Trough and Pedro Rock. They seriously need to open that stretch of closed hwy 1 associated with the tunnel to hikers and bikers - I don't get what the holdup is - wtf are they doing in there? Great geologic features up there if you know what to look for - ancient faults and the mighty San Andreas :)
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