This weekend me and 8 others from the Northern CA Hikers group got together to go on a 3-day backpacking trip at Henry Coe State Park. Henry Coe is the largest state park in northern California and it is located in the coast range just east of Gilroy. It is over 80,000 acres in size with about ¼ of the land is designated wilderness. There are over 250 miles of trails that roam throughout the varied topography of the park. For ambitious backpackers there are many multi-day loops that can be done on trails that rise and fall thousands of feet. Hardly anyplace in the park is flat and a lot of the trails are incredibly steep.
On Saturday rain and possible thunderstorms were predicted, but we headed out in high spirits. In the group were Paigefalk and her hubby Dave, Nazdarovye, Snusmumriken, Jason L, Calipidder and her hubby Drunken Marmot, Jeffrey Z, and myself. We started out hiking the 1.8 miles on a paved road from Hunting Hollow where we parked our cars to the Coyote Creek Trailhead. Don’t know why they don’t have parking at Coyote Creek… It started raining when we got about a mile in and it rained lightly but steadily until lunchtime. We took the Coit Road north to the Woodchopper Road where we began to steadily climb to a ridgeline. It stopped raining for a short spell and we took a break and ate lunch next to a lively creek. Just when we were finishing lunch it began raining and so on we went up to the Anza Trail then the Jackson Trail... And the rain would not let up for about 3 hours. I fell behind the others on the steep uphill climb but I had a nice time walking by myself in the rain and fog. And I even saw a bobcat! That is one bonus of hiking by yourself, you tend to be quieter and see more wildlife.
The Jackson Trail led to the Jackson Road then the Kelly Lake Trail. That first day we hiked about 8 miles with 2,600’ of elevation gain and 1,700’ loss. Most of the loss was in the last mile on the Kelly Lake Trail and it was very steep and my knees were very thankful when I spotted the others at the lake. I set up my tent and thankfully the rain let off here and there so we could cook dinner. It was chilly that night but we cheered up as we gathered around Jeffrey’s lantern and Drunken Marmot’s XGK expedition stove which we used as a sort of campfire. That thing was a very loud and powerful stove!
The next day we woke up and dried out our gear and clothing and packed up slowly. Calipidder, Drunken Marmot, and Nazdarovye headed back to the trailhead as they were only doing an overnighter as me and the others hiked north up the Coit Road to the Willow Ridge Road. We planned on an easier day, this time only going 6 miles and climbing 1,100’ and losing 500’ or so. But we couldn’t find Willow Ridge Spring so we pressed on to Los Cruzeros for the night. Again, the last mile or so was an exceedingly steep descent and my knees were yet again happy to find myself at our campsite for the night. The 2nd day ended up being about 7 miles with 1,100’ elevation gain and 1,700’ loss.
Los Cruzeros is where Coyote Creek and Kelly Cabin Creek join. There are many nice campsites here near both creeks. And this time of year there is plenty of water in the creeks and the water bubbling around the rocks sung me to sleep that night. And it was a cold night, I think the low temp reading was in the upper 20’s.
The 3rd and final day I woke up early and was greeted with a rainbow (or maybe it was a moonbow?). Soon everybody was up and we got started early. The first mile or so was a very steep uphill climb up the Mahoney Meadows Road to Mahoney Ridge. But once up on the ridge it was a nice hike. I heard lots of meadowlarks singing and the sun came out to keep us warm. But soon enough we had to go downhill again and we turned on the Coit Road and made good time back to Coyote Creek. The third day we did about 7 miles with 1,600’ gain and 1,900’ loss.
It was overall a good weekend. The route was tough, especially since I haven't been backpacking since October. And the weather was pretty nasty the first day. But it felt good to push myself and plus I got to see a new place and meet some new friends :)
Naz’s Photos
Calipidder’s Photos
Paige's Photos
More info on Henry Coe State Park
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