National Geographic says one major travel trend that has emerged in this pandemic is people's appetite for the outdoors. I couldn't agree more. I personally have started paying so much attention to all things outdoors since last year. Last year we hiked about 65 miles and this year my goal is to double it and blog about every single one of them.
Have you ever wondered how is life in a forest? When we were driving to get there my mind kept racing trying to find an answer. The drive was beautiful as we passed through Capitola and the town of Aptos with a quaint downtown. Cell phone signal gets choppy as you leave downtown as you are very close to the forest. The last call I received was from A at quarter past 10 that they were at the park entrance and there were a few more parking spots left. We were about 10 minutes away so assumed we will make it. By the time we reached, the park ranger had already started turning cars around since parking was full. Park Map
We drove a mile and found parking near Aptos downtown. It's a 20 minutes walk to the park entrance. At the entrance, we spoke to the park ranger we realized there are 3 parking lots spread out 2 miles. Since we hadn't found any of ours friends at the entrance parking lot, we started walking inwards. The road was paved and drivable. We finally met our friends at the 2nd parking lot.
We had already spent over an hour finding everyone and it was close to lunchtime so decided to eat first and then hike. Our themed lunch continued this time with the east meets west bowls - greens, paneer, kidney beans (rajma), rice, cashews, peanuts, sev, and chutneys configurable in your preference of a bowl.
After a delicious lunch followed by gulab jamun for dessert, we started hiking. Since it was almost 1 o'clock we decided to hike the Historic Loop Trail which ends at Maple Falls.
The hike begins after you pass the 3rd parking lot. As you start the hike you are surrounded by redwood trees all around. The sheer size of the trees makes you realize how minuscule you are in comparison. Nature at its best display with fallen trees, dried branches, trees racing to reach the sun, new growth near the forest floor, ferns, and moss all in perfect harmony. What a sight!! The circle of life in full display. The hike continued with some intermittent elevation. We were walking at a leisurely pace and enjoying all the beauty nature had to offer.
Along the trail, markers were placed, showing historical facts, and pictures of the place.
After nearly 3 miles, we were tired and ready for a break. We reached a spot that had a lot of wood collected from fallen trees. A perfect spot for a little snack break.
We continued after 15 mins and wow-what a change. The trail turned rugged and changed to a challenge-course including walking through a narrow path, rock climbing, crossing over fallen logs, and passing through water running downstream. It was breathtaking to experience this drastic change. It took us the longest to walk this last one mile as we had to make sure each kid was able to cross safely. The last quarter felt the longest as we were so close and could feel it but couldn't see the falls.
And after much nervousness, we finally reached the falls!! Nervousness instantly changed to excitement and victory ✌️ . The falls are astounding!! In the middle of nowhere and nestled among redwood trees, is Maple Falls 😁
The kids immediately took their shoes off and rushed to play in the water. We started soaking in the beauty and enjoying the view. We spent close to 30 minutes at the falls and took countless pictures. Ideally, you could bring your lunch here and enjoy the views. As it was close to 4:30 we couldn't spend much time and had to start the hike back to make it to the parking lot before dark.
The walk back passes through the same rugged pathway for the first mile, though we crossed it much faster this time. We were on a mission so had to pick up the pace. Unfortunately, that also meant no breaks and no slowing down. We played music but the pace kept slowing down as some of us were more tired than the others. Some coffee would have been perfect at this time to get the energy levels back up.
We did make the trek back in record time but got divided into the leaders and laggers. As the distance between the groups increased, the leaders would wait and cheer to get the laggers closer. What a perfect group of friends!!
All in all, we made it to the parking lot when it was pitch dark. Our return hike was at an average pace of 25 minutes/mile in comparison to our usual leisurely pace.
In summary, the hike was memorable, totally worth it, and breathtaking - both literally and figuratively, and I would definitely go again!!
Key highlights:
1. No cell phone coverage
2. Parking fees is 8$ per car
3. Finding everyone
4. 2-mile walk before you start the trail
5. 3 parking lots about 2 miles apart
6. Rugged Trail
7. Waterfalls
Picture credits: V, Food credits - MAPP
Metrics:
Hike Count: 5
Total Miles Count ~39
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