Toro Park Trails

Sunday, 1 September 2013

It was an extra-ordinarily warm and sunny day of September for Monterey, California! Charles and I finally decided to take advantage of this beautiful day to hike the mountain we have been looking and longing to climb for the longest time.  We call it, "Our Mountain" (Pic # 1), because we don't know its name, but can see it on any clear day from Ford Ord area in Seaside, Marina and Salinas.  Fortunately, we know it is in the Toro Park, and we found its peak, the Simas Peak, on the Toro Park Hiking Trails map.

Pic # 1: "Our Mountain" 

Around 10:45 am on September 1, we arrived and parked outside the Toro Park. We entered the park and walked straight into the park about half a mile, passing Quail Meadows, and then moved towards left, took the path leading to the Cougar Ridge Trail. Taking CRT is a good decision because the elevation is gradual, not too difficult, and the scenery is very beautiful. On our way up towards the Simas Peak, we could see the park and the valley beyond the park (Pic # 2 and Pic # 3).

Pic # 2: Cougar Ridge Trail Overlooking the Park

Pic # 3: Cougar Ridge Trail overlooking the valley

When we seemed to reach the end of CRT, we encountered two trails, one going up a small hill and the  other around it (Pic # 4). By then, I was a bit exhausted, mostly due to the full and over exposure of the sun, so we decided to take the trail around the hill. We realized later that it was the Cougar Loop trail on the map (make sense!).

Pic # 4: Cougar Loop

Walking on the CL trail was very pleasant as there were some oak trees and shades. We rested for a while to have a snack.  Looking at "Our Mountain," which seemed to be very close, we marched uphill forward until we reached a small flat area with a land post indicating "Eagle Peak" (Pic # 5). We checked on the map and noted it was 1600 ft high.  The view was amazing!

Pic # 5: Eagle Peak (1600 ft)

Not too far from the Eagle Peak, we landed on another peak, no name, 1700 ft high. From there, we could see we would have to go down to a canyon, then hike quite high up to the Simas Peak (2129 ft).  The distance was probably not too big a deal, maybe another 3 miles, but the up and down trails seemed too perilous for Rubee. So, we decided it was enough for today, and we should turn around and head back.  On our way back, we wanted to experience a different trail. So, we took the Coyote Spring Trail, the Toyon Ridge Trail (Pic # 6), and then the East Ridge Trail. These trails are much more steeper than the Cougar Ridge Trail.  I was so glad that we did not take them to come up.  I would not have made it to the Eagle Peak if we came up this way.  But, the trade-off was, of course, the amazing scenery (Pic # 7)!  

Pic # 6: Toyon Ridge Tral

Pic # 7: Toyon Ridge Trail overlooking the Salinas valley

It was around 3:15 pm, about 4.5 hours later, we were back in the park, at the Buckeye picnic area. We found a nice piece of green lawn under a big oak tree, put down our blanket and took a half an hour nap! Today's hike was about 6 miles, and took us 4.5 hours (Pic # 8).  We did not reach our goal, the Simas Peak, but saw some very beautiful sceneries!