Last weekend I took Julia and Lea for a new adventure in a nearby state park. We went backpack camping at Castle Rock state park which is a 5600 acre park that covers a ridge and rolling hills in the Santa Cruz mountains just west of Saratoga. It is only 45 minutes from our house but of course you feel many miles from home.
We went with our friend Scott Peterson and his son Ben (same age as Julia). I rented the equipment I needed from REI and let the girls use a couple of small backpacks to carry their own bed roll and sleeping bag. Backpacking equipment is MUCH lighter now than it used to be so I carried the tent, food, my sleeping back and bed roll. Fortunately there was potable water at the site.
We had a fantastic time and the weather was great. It was a beautiful trail and we hiked 3 miles to the camp site. We took plenty of breaks along the way which included walking through redwood, madrone and oak forests, scrambling along rocky trails and moving through low scrub brush. The trail had many spectacular views of the Santa Cruz mountains and we could see all the way to the Monterrey Bay and to Monterrey itself which was around 35 miles away.
The camp ground was rustic with 25 sites spread around and private. Some were in the woods and some in the open. We chose a site in the woods which had enough space for our two tents.
We had a yummy dinner of Macaroni and Cheese, Red Beans and Rice and Chicken and Noodles followed by a desert of Apple crumble and an mixed berry cobbler! all of this came freeze dried and was very good.
We also had many rousing games of UNO after the sun had set and were joined by a co-worker of Scott's who just happened to be camping at the same site (amazing coincidence!)
We all slept well and had a fun hike back which included more stunning views and some singing to help pass the time.
On the way back we saw a 3 ft Rattle snake traveling beside the trail! It was discovered by Ben and Lea who had the wherewith all to stop and point it out to us. (whew)!
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