September 16, 2007 - It's a nice Sunday and where is everyone?
This time did a round trip to the intersection of the ridge trail - about 3.5 miles and a total of maybe 1500 feet up and down. Basically you start at sea level, go up 500 feet, down 400 to trail to Pirates Cove then up 500 to the ridge trail - and then back again. It took us about 3 hours.We got to the parking lot about 9:45 am and there were only about 10 cars. Overcast but no wind, really great weather since the trail has no shade.
While on the beach we spotted a big Curlew with a long bill. (This is not my photo.) Dog off leash chased it away.
Start from the south side of Muir Beach beach and hang to the right for the best views.
The first .8 mile to this sign is really steep so don't let that discourage you. From this stopping point we spotted a Red Tail hawk perched on a cliff over the water.
It's gentle downhill from there to the Pirates Cove trail intersection then up a bunch of stairs and some sweat to get to the ridge trail. You can see that trail going up the hill in the snaky picture below.
Wonderful views all along the trail. The other time we took this route, we made a loop by heading inland on the ridge trail, but that continued to up, there was no great place to stop, and got a bit boring coming down. Anyway, coming back the way you came is cool since the views seem very different.
Saw a couple of small deer jumping on the way back. At the end you get a great view of Muir Beach.
