Last Chance Road 25 APR 04
I haven't discovered how Last Chance Road got its name but I
can imagine that in the days when it was a motor vehicle
road, the cliffs in the narrows of West Waddell Creek looked
as impassable as they do today. However, since my first
encounter with the road, the Park Service has destroyed it
so that only a single track between back-filled rock and
debris remains of this once drivable ridable road. I can't
imagine what the motivation for this expensive and
destructive project was but it has been successful in
dissuading people from seeing this beautiful scenic area
because they don't want to climb over steep rocky slopes and
debris or make a river crossing over boulders where once a
vehicle ford offered a convenient route.
In any event, this has been one of my favorite rides since
the days of hippies who lived there in VW Buses and tended
illegal agriculture. They are gone now but at the end of
the road a large cemetery on Mud Gully Road, old VW's
stand waiting for Godot to give them their 50,000 mile
checkup. They've stood there fore years, some with
tattered tarpaulins and others just covered with leaves
since the 1970's.
Brian and I started from Palo Alto, riding up Alpine Road
past the closure gate 4.2 miles from the top at Page Mill
Road (2200ft). Where part of the road was lost to a never
repaired land slide a few years ago, a steep trail that
makes a shortcut around the cliff makes bicycling possible.
Traction is still good now after winter mud has hardened so
it is a good ride but it requires effort.
The woods were rich and green with new foliage and roadside
was decorated with paintbrush, wild iris and pretty but
intrusive broom:
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This is an area especially rich with song birds among which
we heard black headed grosbeaks whose song contains the
classic wolf whistle, and the Olive sided flycatcher that
whistles McMinnville from the top of a high perch. We chose
to go west today because summer seems to have arrived a few
days ago with a bang and temperatures above 80F. The coast
side of the Santa Cruz Mountains is generally cooled by on-
shore breezes from the chilly waters that give this area fog
and and with it the coast redwood forests.
Heading south on SR5, Skyline Blvd, we climbed to Saratoga
Gap (2603ft) where SR9 crosses from Saratoga to Santa Cruz
28 miles to the southwest. From here it was all downhill to
the junction with Big Basin HWY SR236 (1267ft). Big Basin
Way climbs through a dense redwood forest to China Grade
(1824ft). The lush forest along this road is not accidental,
the right-of-way plus 100ft to either side of the road being
part of the park.
At aptly named China Grade, that dives down toward Boulder
Creek so steeply that is seems to want to penetrate the
earth to China, we came out of the woods to descend to the
Rear Escape Road, the old road into the park. With a bit of
skill one can ride around the high side of the gate and
blast down this paved but driveway width road into the dense
redwood forest and along Opal Creek. Here the road is
bounded by light blue forget-me-nots and Arelia Californica
with its huge green leaves and pale yellow blossoms.
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After a snack at the park store, we rode toward Boulder
Creek and turned off on Hinn Hammond Road that has a sign
indicating Blooms Creek Campground. This paved road meanders
along west Waddell creek to the park sewage treatment plant
where, above the turnoff, it turns to gravel and gets steep.
At the next junction, Last Chance Road, or what's left of
it, dives down steeply back down to Waddell Creek. It was
here that we heard the distinctive call of, but didn't see,
a pileated woodpecker, our version of the ivory billed
woodpecker.
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After about a half mile, the trail crosses the creek with
enough boulders that it can be done without getting feet.
Here Waddell Creek flows over broad slabs of stone above and
below the crossing before cascading over smooth bedrock
where it has carved large swimming holes on a series of
stone plateaus as it descends through the narrows. Meanwhile
the trail hugs the south wall and reaches a broader part of
the canyon, lush with vegetation and in the shade.
As the creek curves northward and into another series of
rapids, the trail climbs out of the canyon, partly ridable
before connecting with the end of the vehicle road, most of
which is in private property as it continues climbing
gradually from 800ft to a little over 1000ft crossing Last
Chance Creek. Although unpaved, the road is well
maintained, albeit bumpier that one might like by the
embedded rock. The road runs near the top of a ridge
between Waddell and Scott Creeks that both seem amazingly
far below whenever a view opens.
At the more civilized part of the road, as it starts its
descent to Swanton Road, pavement begins at a cattle guard
but it is no bed of roses either. Although contiguous,
this pavement is almost as rough as the dirt road as it
descends through green expansive cow pastures as it passes
a swamp, Laguna de Las Trancos, before its junction with
Swanton Road. The Swanton road is smooth and well paved,
levelling off as it crosses Scott Creek that flows out of
Little Basin.
Most of the Swanton Valley was owned by Al Smith, the
originator of Orchard Supply hardware stores. He called it
the Swanton Pacific Ranch that is today under th custody
of Cal Poly Aggies, and Al's steam railway club that runs
the 19" gauge steam railway, aptly called the SP or
Swanton Pacific. The railroad is at home just south of Big
Creek that adds more water to Scot creek than Scoot creek
brings in.
It's up a couple of short bumps to the junction with SR1
just north of Davenport, the end of the UP rail branch that
hauls coal in and cement out of a large cement plant. Arro's
grocery store makes a convenient stop for food before
cruising downwind to Santa Cruz, although today there wasn't
much wind. At Bonny Doon Road and the beach noted for its
tanning capabilities for people who prefer sunning in the
buff, the parking lot was nearly full. It's a great beach
and well wind protectd.
Santa Cruz was in fine form, there being nearly 100 surfers
attending a class of the Santa Cruz Surfboarding School. The
beaches were finally cleared of piles wood debris that came
out of the San Lorenzo river. Beach volleyball was in full
swing and the Roaring Camp and the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and
Pacific was waiting to depart from the Giant Dipper roller
coaster. We crossed the San Lorenzo on the footbridge
attached to the railroad bridge and headed south toward
Capitola and Aptos. Brian headed up Branciforte Road to get
home a bit earlier than I had planned so I continued down
the coast.
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Valencia Road heads inland from Aptos to connect to Day
Valley road and Freedom Blvd from which Hames Road climbs a
short steep hill to Corralitos and the sausage
factory/grocery store. I tanked up and took a spare 20oz
soda pop along so I wouldn't run dry after I got to the top
of Eureka Canyon Road (1850ft) at "four corners" the
junction of Eureka Canyon Rd., Highland Way, Buzzard Lagoon
Rd., and Ormsby Cutoff. I turned up Ormsby Cutoff, now known
as Ormsby Trail and paved about half way to the top at
Summit Road.
Ormsby gives a beautiful view to Watsonville in the Pajaro
Valley and Monterey in the back drop at the tip of the Santa
Lucia mountains. Vegetation o this dry slope is mostly
brush, manzanita, and digger pines. I was passed by only one
pickup truck and no one gave me the "git offa my land"
routine even though there are threatening signs at the lower
end of the road where there is a permanently open gate, open
by law after the claim to a private road was tested in
court. There was no longer a gate at Summit Road (2860ft).
The ride along Summit Road is an up and down event with
great views to the coast and the Santa Clara Valley below
the ridge. I met no traffic here except an MTB rider with
whom I talked a bit and who lived on Ormsby. I met three
road M/C riders parked at the junction with Loma Prieta
Avenue and headed up the "dirty bump" that years ago we
named it because for its steep and loose surface, a
challenge to ride. Since then, because even cars had trouble
climbing it, the short steep part was paved, it being the
connection for people who live beyond there on Loma Chiquita
road on the east side of the ridge.
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I took Loma Ridge Road (3363ft) around the base of Loma
Prieta Peak (3808ft), stopping at the spring to refill my
bottle before traveling this road that has locked gates and
practically no traffic judging from the lack of tire tracks.
The road descends half way and climbs back up to about the
same hight at Mt. Umunhum. With no users and no maintenance,
the road has large ruts in places that mostly have one end
that is easily ridable.
At Mt Umunhum, I was surprised at the assembly of dead motor
vehicles and other hardware on the knob just before the
junction with Mt Umunhum road (3290ft), a paved road that
served the Air Force station located there. I met no one on
this stretch and didn't expect to because there isn't much
up there to do and few people have keys to the locked gate
below. I was impressed how steep the paved road is and that
I rode up it about three years ago. It is a real brake
burner and in the old days was a hazard for Tubulars,
melting their glue.
About 2/3 down, at a cattle guard and locked gate, cars of
hiker were parked on a wide spot and turn-around and there
were even more farther down near the junction with Hicks
road (1400ft). I took Hicks down to Shannon and then Kennedy
Road over to Los Gatos from where the ride on SR9 to
Saratoga and Homestead Road and Foothill Expy was mostly a
downhill cruise home. I missed getting too hot by doing my
climbing on the coast side and by finishing late in the
afternoon.
140miles and 10200ft of climbing filled my bill for the day.
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Jobst Brandt [email hidden]