For more recent updates, please see Soberanes Fire: Week Two, Soberanes Fire: Week Three and Soberanes Fire: Week Four
Thursday 7-28-16 8:00 pm Update:
Lots of smoke coming from the fire today and there’s no doubt about where most of it was coming from… Read the rest of this entry »
17 Comments | 
Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Garrapata State Park, Soberanes Fire | 
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Posted by xasauan
Yesterday morning, Friends of Garrapata, the volunteers who work tirelessly to keep Garrapata State Park wild and graffiti free, and its trails in usable condition, posted the above graphic to their Facebook page with the following text:
WARNING
Please stay clear of the Peak Trail until October.
While environmentally destructive backcountry marijuana grows are indeed a serious problem – that could be solved overnight by legalization – and it’s certainly worth being cautious while traveling off trail in places that might be attractive to growers, this post stands out as strange for several reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
8 Comments | Big Sur, On Foot, Politics | Tagged: Garrapata State Park, Marijuana Grow, Mexican Cartels | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
A bear was sighted this morning and trash cans found knocked over on private property immediately adjacent to Garrapata State Park. Don’t know if it was the same bear that visited Pt. Lobos and the Monterey Peninsula last month making his way back from the “remote location” where he was released, or a new bear, but keep your eyes open and secure your trash.
Black bears are not particularly dangerous. In spite of there being as many as 40,000 wild bears in California, no one has been killed by one in more than 100 years. They are capable of a good deal of property damage, though, and the way to prevent that is to avoid attracting them in the first place.
Black bears have been slowly moving into the Northern Santa Lucia mountains for many years and it is inevitable that bear sightings will continue.
1 Comment | Big Sur | Tagged: bear, Garrapata State Park, ursus americanus | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
State Park employees apparently visited Garrapata State Park recently and posted this new sign reminding users that the extremely popular Rocky Ridge/Soberanes Creek Loop remains closed.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s, a well-established use trail ran up Soberanes Creek and into the redwood forest, where it petered out into a rock hop along the stream as the canyon narrowed. Somewhere around the time Garrapata State Park was founded, in 1985, the park service, or someone acting with their blessing, extended this trail further upstream and then up to meet the Rocky Ridge Trail, forming a loop. Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Big Sur, On Foot, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Garrapata State Park | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
It started out as an unremarkable walk at Soberanes. Just a bit warmer than usual … Read the rest of this entry »
11 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, On Foot, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Dry Lightning, Funnel Cloud, Garrapata State Park, Monterey Peninsula, Santa Cruz, Soberanes Creek | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Xasáuan Today 