Montara Mountain Hike at McNee Ranch State Park

As today was a holiday, I decided to hike McNee Ranch's Montara Mountain [1].  It was a bit longer than I had wanted (at around 8m) but the literature said it was "moderately strenuous".

I learned a while ago that if you need to go up Highway 1, avoid 92 unless you go really early (before 8AM), otherwise it gets packed and it could take you 2h to just reach HMB.  I came in from the north and promptly parked at the wrong trailhead (Grey Whale Cove) and started my ascent.  I fortunately realized this within about 5m and headed back down to my car and drove another minute south to the proper trailhead "lot" (more like a pullout with space for five cars), which was full.  Fortunately, there's another larger lot on the west side of Highway 1 a bit south; this was pretty empty at 8:50AM.

After a careful, but short, walk up Highway 1, the hike was on!  The hike is mostly a fire road and about 8m round-trip.  It's not overly steep but steep enough to feel :)  There are really nice views on the way up and at the peak.  Unfortunately, it was a bit fogged out on the ocean side on this day.  Here's a pic at the peak:

It took me around 1:10 to reach peak and less to come back, though I was also jogging at times on the way down.  If you were just hiking, it's probably be 2.5-3h depending on how fast you can go up steep hills.  This is not a good trail running hike though as the ground is pretty uneven and very hard - be careful if running.  Also watch out for mountain bikers on the way back.  There weren't many today but I read they sometimes come barreling down.

Overall, a good workout hike and some nice views to boot. While longer, the difficulty was close to Mission Peak, but without the ridiculous heat.  Not as hard as Black Mountain.  I'd recommend getting to the lot at least by 9:30AM on weekends - when I got back around 11, the lot was completely full.

[1] http://www.everytrail.com/guide/montara-mountain-mcnee-ranch-state-park

Trail Running at Edgewood Park in San Carlos

If you live in the peninsula (SF Bay Area) and like to trail run or even brisk hiking, check out Edgewood Park in San Carlos.  It's a great alternative from having to drive to the East Bay or South Bay where there a more popular trails.

I enjoy interval type training (bursts of high intensity alternating with rest) because it closely matches "cadence" of hockey shifts - you skate hard for about a minute, then rest for 1-2.5 minutes.  While indoor options also work, it's more fun to get outdoors.

I've been to Edgewood a couple of times and really like it.  The incline is not overly steep to run up and it doesn't hurt your knees on the way down.  There are short loops between one to five miles.  My first time I intended to do a modified version of Trailstompers Big and Small Loop but took a wrong turn and my increased my intended 3m trail run to about a 5m one.  This weekend, I did the Sylvan Loop, a 2.5m route which can be done without a huge time investment while still getting a good interval workout.  

Quick note on Sylvan Loop - head over to the trail head near the wire link fence.  For a more difficult start, head right on the Baywood Glen Trail for a series of 6-7 switchbacks and steeper incline.