Day Four: Garland Ranch Regional Park

I left Karen's cabin mid morning.  Zeke had an accident in her bedroom, with splattered diarrhea on her wood floor and partly on her rug.  What cause that?  And how embarrassing to have this happen.  He had the accident while I was showering.  He had another blowout at a vista view on my way back to Monterey.

I enjoyed my time with Karen but she likes her privacy.   I didn't want to impose any more. I took the opportunity to now do my own hike in the Monterey area.  After a quick walk around the old neighborhood off Ransford Avenue, I noticed that the Bagel bakery on CA 68, where I had many a toasted bagel and cappuccino, is now a Bagel Kitchen.  The McDonald's at the corner of CA 68 and Sunset Drives is now a Starbucks.

It was foggier today than yesterday.  After hanging too long in the area, I finally got moving and headed toward the Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley.  This park is dog friendly, has a waterfall, and a steep ridgeline.  This 7-mile loop was my hike for the day.  What a pretty hike it was!

I've been to Garland Ranch plenty of times but stayed mostly in the lower areas.   It's named after the former ranch owner who was killed in a car crash.  He left his ranch to the county.  More land keeps getting added to the park, with new trails adding to the over 50 miles of trail. Today I hiked a loop encompassing several trails.  The trails are mostly wide as most of the trails are horse friendly. This time the 15% steep grade was no issue for me.  I didn't even bring my water bottles, as there was plenty of fresh water along the route.  There is a water fountain at the two-mile mark at the end of the waterfall trail, then a full trough at the 3.8 mile mark.  Most of the steep trail was shaded by live oaks and other native vegetation here.  The Snively's Ridge tops out at 1850' and one can see the ocean from there.   This is a hike I would do again.  You are close to civilization and yet remote.

The near full moon had risen when I finished my hike.  It was 5:30ish, with an hour of day light left.  There were still plenty of park visitors but I wanted to get back to Monterey and try out the Alvarado Brewing Company, a new brewpub on Alvarado Street.  Reviews looked promising.  The marine layer was moving into the peninsula and it was getting chilly fast.

The brewpub lived up to its high reviews.  The place was busy for a Monday night.  I sat at the counter, had a pilsner and then a short porter, and enjoyed a mushroom pizza.  This meal was so much more enjoyable than the Whole Enchilada.