Completed: May 27, 2024 | Elevation: 1’609 | Trail: Gazos Creek Road > Whitehouse Canyon Road > Chalks Road | Distance: ~20 miles (out and back)
What a difference the weather makes! No rain this time. Instead, it was a beautiful, clear day with temperatures hovering in the mid-70s. The parking lot near the visitor center was filled with cars and people.
Three weeks ago, we had hiked to Mount McAbee. We were back this weekend to tackle the trail to Chalk Mountain. Under other circumstances, this could have been a reasonable day hike, but the 2020 fires had closed off the shorter access points from Highway 1, so we were left with only one possibility to get there—starting our hike from the main entrance. This would have meant a long 20-mile out and back, not really practical for us to hike at all.
But 20 miles isn’t too much on a bike. We had also always wanted to try e-mountain bikes, so we seized this opportunity to rent two and go for a test ride.
From the Visitor Center, we went past the gate onto the fire road and then fairly quickly made a left onto Gazos Creek Road. The smooth asphalt turned into a dirt road that took us uphill for about mile and downhill for another 1.5 miles. Then came a gradual ascent over the next 3.7 miles. Up until the junction with Whitehouse Canyon Road, I only had to use power assist sporadically, and even then, mostly at the lowest setting.
That changed, however, when we rode past the gate onto Chalks Road. We could see the top of Chalk Mountain in the distance, and all the hills in between. I ended up leaving power assist on. Unfortunately, this was around the time when the connection between Chris’ bike’s controller and motor gave out, turning his e-mountain bike into a regular one.
After watching Chris alternate between pushing and biking, we finally decided to leave the bikes and walk the last fifth of a mile to the top, which is marked by a communications tower and a sealed concrete shed, which, based on some online posts, may have been an outhouse at one point.
Ignoring these two man-made structures, there were sweeping views to the ocean and the park interior. It was possible to see sections where the forest was recovering, but there were still significant patches of gray.
We ate our sandwiches and then hustled back to the bikes. Heading back was mostly downhill, and Chris was able to use the downward momentum to propel himself partway up any hills before having to pedal or push. Then, suddenly, the chain fell off his bike when we were about three miles from the trailhead. Luckily, I was able to find the quick link, and a group of hikers came by and helped us re-attach everything. No power assist, but at least the bike was rideable.
It was the final push up and then nothing but down until we returned to the car. Our total trip to Chalk Mountain and back had taken about 4.5 hours, definitely not something we could have achieved in that time by solely walking.
Mission accomplished, we drove home. Only one more peak remaining in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, but not sure when we’ll be able to hike it due to ongoing trail closures.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.