Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Northern California. Exploring Mountains, Valleys, and Seashore онлайн

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Onward, the trail switchbacks past a conspicuous mound of light green, slippery serpentine (0.5/760'), California’s state rock. Formed atop ancient seafloors that tectonic activity later smashed into Big Sur, serpentine produces nutrient-poor soils that are inhospitable to most plant life. A few “serpentine endemics” have adapted, however, including California poppies, yucca, and other tenacious succulents.

The trail passes several unobstructed ocean views as it climbs the north-facing slopes, winding through dense coastal shrub and beneath shady live oaks and bays. Fragrant black sage and sagebrush thickets line the trail, as do mats of hedge nettles boasting deep lavender blossoms in spring. Just past a dry creek bed, you reach a crest (1.5/1,050') then gradually descend past groves of Douglas-fir, tan oak, and bay amid dense huckleberry bushes. The trail contours along the south canyon wall, hopping across two seasonal creeks. Fifty feet past the last creek, you reach the signed junction for Spruce Creek Trail (1.8/1,010').