The Denver Trail Heads

Get your ocean fix satiated on this adventure to one of the most enchanting treasures in the Lower 48. On this trip, we scale a 5,000 foot peak that’s only three miles from the Pacific Ocean, the closest such 5,000-foot peak in the U.S. This is one of the steepest gradients from ocean to summit in the contiguous United States. The average gradient from sea level to summit is around 33%, which is steeper than the average gradient to the summit of the California 14er Mount Whitney. BUT we won’t be climbing it from the ocean. We’ll be driving around its backside to within about 1,500 feet of the summit, then taking a trail in thick forest with no views …. until we reach the peak, and (weather permitting) scan the California coast up and down for hundreds of miles. Then we’ll scamper down the trail almost everyone who does the peak walks up, hiking through redwoods, scanning jaw-dropping views of the the coast every minute, eventually landing on the beach, where we’ll camp and enjoy a campfire within yards of the ocean. Then the highlight: a two-day stay in a 6-bedroom mansion in the center of the Monterey Peninsula, from where we can explore beach hiking, take a boat ride, enjoy fab restaurants, drive the iconic 17-Mile Drive ( an enchanting world full of dramatic coastal cliffs, snow-white beaches and mystical forests), and soak up the California vibe more powerful here than anyone else in the state. Oh, and Clint Eastwood lives nearby, so there’s always hope…. for… who knows? Look your best!
DATES:
June 4-10
ITINERARY
THUR June 4 – Fly earliest flight DIA to San Jose, get rental cars, and drive two hours to Jolon, and then two hours on the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road to the 24-site developed Ponderosa Campground (picnic tables and fire-rings) in Los Padres National Forest (we have reservations), and camp.
FRI JUN 5: Drive cars one hour to Cone Peak Road. Start hiking on the road. Two drivers drive cars down to the Kirk Creek Campground, leave one car, and drive back to hikers on Cone Peak Road, then drive everyone to the end of the road. Start hiking again, climbing 1,500 and two miles to the peak. Hike down about seven miles . Camp at Vicente Flat campground.
SAT JUN 6 - Hike down to the backcountry Espinoza Campground and camp.
SUN JUN 7. Hike down to the coast and camp at the Kirk Creek Campground (I grabbed the last two available spots last December). Retrieve the car we left at the entry TH(about a two-hour drive). Camp.
MON JUNE 8 – Become one of the first to enjoy the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) through the reconstructed section that was closed five years ago after a nasty debris slide wiped out a section of the highway Drive one hour to the Monterey Peninsula. Play wherever we want, and then stay in our mansion in the middle of the peninsula. Shower. Get shiny. Take-out dinner? Fine dining?
TUE JUN 9 – Another full day to play and another night in our mansion.
WEDS JUN 10 – Drive to San Jose airport, drop of rental cars, and fly home.
COSTS
Airfare roundtrip Denver/San Jose/Denver: ($350-400)?
Trip fee payable to organizer to cover car rentals, campground fees and mansion rental: $600 (assumes 10 participants)
Your food and extra material pleasures.

WARNINGS
1). The organizer has never done this route, so it will be exploratory and participants will need to be flexible.
2). The wildfire season will be in full-swing, so we need to be careful and flexible if trouble develops.
3). Our route is not on maps or apps, so All-Trails is of limited help. Be prepared to adjust to conditions in the field.
4). Participants must be capable of backpacking 2 nights, six miles per day, 1,500 feet of gain, carrying 25-30 lbs including tent, sleeping bag, and pad, and essentials (water, etc) .
PLANNING MEETING
THUR MAY 28, 6 pm in downtown Denver. Attendance is required.

TO SIGN-UP
I'm recruiting from multiple places, first-come, first-serve. So to secure your place send me an email: mtnry@aol.com. $300 non-refundable down-payment required by 5/1/26.
ryan