Labor Day adventure. Rode the Wee, with Daniel on the back, down to Campbell, where we met up with Silas. At the Forest of Nisene Marks, outside Aptos, we found there was trail camping six miles in from the parking lot. We spent the day at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz surfing, grabbed some food, then returned to the forest.

We hit West Ridge Trail around 1800. The trail starts off leisurely, following a small stream up a valley. Then, the climb begins. From the drive in, I thought there wouldn’t be much elevation gain, but West Ridge brought us up many wooded hillsides. There were few openings. For one small stretch, the hillside opened up, and we saw city lights in the distance, and a dark, smooth ocean. At another point, the trail clutched alongside a steep hillside that rapidly dropped away hundreds of feet. We made good time, reaching the campsite just after last light, a bit after 2015. There were only two other people there. We set up camp and cooked up some brats. True to the ranger’s warning, there was no water there. At one point, a large group of mountain bikers came through the road right next to our campsite. Illuminating each other with their bright headlights, they looked like cutout characters pasted onto the darkness. Exhausted from surfing and our fast-paced hike, I passed out.

I awoke around 0900 to the wonderful sound of mosquito buzzing. Lazily, I laid in my hammock for awhile; the reward for my indolence was tens of mosquito bites all over my face and torso. We made some breakfast and took another nap. We got back on the trail around 1330 for an easy hike, mostly downhill. Returning to the dusty car, we gulped down water and rested our weary feet.