May 2011 Monthly Trail Run

 Portola Redwoods State Park

 Saturday May 7, 2011

In May the Monthly Trail Run ventures deep into the Santa Cruz Mountains directly over the 'hill' from Palo Alto. Its very likely that water will be flowing in the creeks, even in May. We last ran Portola in '08. Dense Redwood forest, perpetually cool temperatures, soft trails, perfect late Spring running. Mapped runs of  5 or 11 miles.

 

Geocaching - some of us are going to try out the combination of trail running & Geocaching. Even in this remote park, there are a lot of caches in the park (each square marks a cache).

I've selected several caches (see codes below) that you can preload into your trail GPS (or Smartphone?) and join in the hunt. These are not necessarily in the order that we will find them on the trail (if they are indeed 'on' the trail at all).

Old Haul Junction (GCNQDM)
Above the little black rock falls (GC1WCKK)
Pescadero Park Sawmill (GC1ADM6)
The Beverly Hillbillies (GC1AKF5)
Saguaro Sempervirens (GC1BX8P)
Mosquito City (GC1V516)

Even if not interested in Geocaching, the info on these cache pages provide glimpses into the history and geology of this unusual area.

Not everyone needs a GPS to participate as Geocaching works great in small groups that form spontaneously. Nothing competitive here...

Whether interested in Geocaching or in 'just' trail running, join us for a terrific trail experience.,

 

When   Saturday May 7, 2011. Meet at 8:15am for an 8:30am start. Carpool will leave at 7:40am from the Park&Ride lot at 280 and Page Mill Road.

Where   Portola Redwoods State Park, 9000 Portola State Park Rd. #F, La Honda, CA 94020-9717 Bring $10 per vehicle for the parking fee (carpool to save money). More park info can be found here.
How to get there.... Take Page Mill Road all the way up to Skyline Boulevard (8.6 miles from 280) and cross Skyline. Continue down for 3.4 miles on Alpine Road. Turn left onto Portola State Park Road for another 2.5 miles. Pay the fee at the Park Headquarters and continue across the bridge to the Ramada Group Day Use Area, where we will meet. Google Map
What   A long (about 11.1 miles, 2000 feet vertical) and an intermediate run (about 5.2 miles, 1000 feet vertical).
This is a remote trail run and each runner must carry at least one water bottle.
To avoid having to search for lost runners we ask every runner to find other runners of approximately the same running ability to form a group. The runners in each group must be able to account for their partners to make sure nobody is left behind.
As usual, there will be a potluck after the run, so please bring food or drink to share.

Trail Directions

A PDF map is available here, but you need not worry about printing one, as your trail run leader will have readable printed maps to hand out before the run. As usual The Google Maps Terrain View of the park is also illuminating. All distances are approximate.


Intermediate Run: 5.2 miles, about 1,000' vertical
SEGMENT MILES TOTAL
Service Rd. towards Iverson's cabin 0.8  0.8  
cross Old Haul Rd. 0.0  0.8  
Continue on Portola Trail 1.4  2.2  
R on Ridge Trail 0.8  3.0  
L on Old Haul Rd. 0.1  3.1  
R on Bridge Trail 0.6  3.7  
short and long runs part ways here
R on Pomponio Trail 1.0  4.7  
L on Iverson Trail 0.2  4.9  
R on State Park Rd to Start 0.3  5.2  
Long Run: 11.1 miles, about 2,000' vertical
SEGMENT MILES TOTAL
Service Rd. towards Iverson's cabin 0.8  0.8  
cross Old Haul Rd. 0.0  0.8  
Continue on Portola Trail 1.4  2.2  
R on Ridge Trail 0.8  3.0  
L on Old Haul Rd. 0.1  3.1  
R on Bridge Trail 0.6  3.7  
short and long runs part ways here
C on Bridge Trail 0.4  4.1  
R on 2nd Tarwater Loop Trail 2.3  6.4  
L on Upper Coyote Ridge Trail 1.1  7.5  
L on Coyote Ridge Trail 1.0  8.5  
L on Upper Escape Rd. 0.3  8.8  
L on connector to Slate Creek Trail 0.2  9.0  
L on Slate Creek Trail 0.9  9.9  
R on Summit Trail 0.8  10.7  
R on Service Rd to Start 0.4  11.1  

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