Garrapata Bluff Trail (Big Sur)

Although I’ve done this hike before, years ago, I haven’t done a post about it. Eliza (2nd grader) is still at home doing distance learning and she’s having a hard time with it now that her sisters are back on campus part-time and full-time. Even though it’s impossible to maintain any semblance of consistency with the way the school sites operate independently of each other, I thought it would be best that Eliza at least stick with the teacher she’s had all year, who happens to have been assigned to stay with the DL schedule. I’m wrestling with thinking I made a mistake and thinking that there’s no good solution and either way, my decision would feel like a mistake. So, chins up and we keep moving forward. Since she was begging for attention while I was at work, I thought it might help to plan a fun trip on Saturday. We settled on a hike (of my choosing) and frozen yogurt afterwards.

I found out on Saturday morning that Hwy 1 opened back up on Friday. I was a little worried there wouldn’t be room to park, but I found a spot with no problem. Point Lobos seemed to be a much more popular destination.

You can hike along the bluff or the beach, but we stuck to the bluff. Walking in sand is not my favorite. We headed right, along the bluff path.

I was immediately distracted by the California native plants and Eliza spotted a little bright green butterfly.

Clockwise from top left: Common Yarrow, Douglas Iris, Coastal Poppy, California Hedge Nettle (Wood Mint), Seaside Woolly Sunflower, California Poppy, Yellow Bush Lupine.

Nice easy flat trail with gorgeous views.

The girls got very excited to see some lizards. I suggested they keep count, which made it even more of a thrill. They counted 25! One of the things I liked about this hike is how so many of the plants were growing together. In the left picture, the lizard is surrounded by hedge nettle, yarrow, and coast woolly sunflower.

There is a lot of poison oak on this trail. I find that’s the case on almost every trail around here. It’s nothing but poison oak on the left side of the trail in the picture below. Luckily we’re not allergic, but I still try to instill a healthy fear of it, just in case.

The trail leads down to a stream. You can see some very lovely Polypody ferns on the right side as you head down.

Back up! I say these sweet little Scarlet Pimpernels on the stairs.

On of my favorite new apps is Seek, by iNaturalist. It’s really good at identifying plants. It doesn’t always work, but I find that it works about 75% of the time and it’ll at least tell give you a clue by telling you the Family or Genus.

Mountain view (with some Scarlet Indian Paintbrush in the foreground) and ocean view.

I’m not sure if this is the end, but the bushes are a big overgrown and we were all getting a bit hangry and the bushes, so we turned around at this point.

There was a bare spot to sit and rest. Water and snacks were much needed. I do wish there were more spots to stop and take a break. This spot was occupied when we first passed it. We stopped in the middle of the trail, with nowhere to sit, and I passed out waters and apples. But then I noticed the person left, so we snagged this spot. I’d say it’s probably best to head out early, because it was noticeably more crowded by the time we finished.

The trail we took back is a bit more towards the bluff. We took another trail on the way out. It felt a little unsafe in one spot, but not very. I just told my extremely energetic 8-yo to stop talking, pay attention, and don’t fall off the cliff when she passed the area. She survived.