Hike Up to Cone Peak on December 20th, 2008

For the last couple of years I have been enticed to go to Cone Peak, but never had the chance to hike up to the peak itself. Well on Saturday the 20th I saw a temporary clearing in the forecast. And as a bonus, the snow that fell as low as 2000' just four days ago and the freeze afterward must have been well preserved above 4000', making the some of the San Lucia Mountains look like the Seirra Nevada. This also provided the rare opportunity to see snow right next to the California coast line, a sight I could not resist. It was also about the shortest day of the year and I didn't leave Cupertino until 9AM, which is unacceptably late for a venture like this, but I went for it anyways.

Cone Peak lies deep in the wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest, just a few miles inland from the coast, but nearly a mile high! It is one of the highest coastal mountains in the lower 48 states. Below is a chronological photo log of my 12 mile round trip hike. Click on the images for a larger view.

The Nacimiento-Ferguson Rd. That's Cone Peak in the distance, I was wondering if it was possible to get to and back before dark (11:15AM).

Part of the first 4 miles of Central Coast Ridge Rd. The temperature was around 42ºF most of the day, perfect for hiking.

Not too glamorous.. ehh, well self portrait.

A coastal lookout from about 3400'.

The final 2 miles up the mountain begins!

Ocean vista from Cone Peak Trail, around 4100' elev.

Haulted on the western slope - There was a fork in the trail and I took the seemingly easier side, until I realized it was nearly impassible due to the slippery snow.

Here's why.. that thin line of snow was the "trail", only about 20" wide, and slanted towards a very long drop down the mountain. I was hiking alone and decided the risk of falling was too high.

I set back to the fork in the trail and went for the crazy steep side.. you can see it approach to the left where that white line of snow is.

Snow and the ocean! I botched the exposure of one of the pictures I wanted to get the most. But you can still see it ok. It was a remarkable sight!

Almost there... my sorry ass is so out of shape..

The final ascent! At this point I had hiked nearly 6 miles. I was fatigued, running out of daylight to make it back by dark, and my sorry leg muscles were giving out, resulting in a few comical falls.

This was good enough for me, even though the building was still about 300' away.. yes I was within 300' of the official peak but was content with this spot given that I was seriously out of time to make it back by dark. According to Google topographic maps, I was closer to 4900', but the altimeter was close, hard to say.

Yaayy.

Junipero Serra Peak, as seen from Cone Peak.

SSE view

SSW view

Here's the SW view of the Pacific from Cone Peak.

Now it's time to head back down.

Sun setting on the Junipero Serra Mountains.

Late sunset and the ocean after nearly getting back to Nacimiento-Ferguson Rd.