With Katelyn returning to the Bay Area this summer, I anticipate we will be heading out on more hiking adventures soon, so I figured I'd better get caught up on the remaining hikes we did last winter.
One of the first hikes we did was Pomo Canyon. Where's that, you ask? It's actually just south of the town of Jenner, and has beautiful views of the town and the Russian River as it nears the ocean.
In case you're a map kind of person, here it is on the map. The best place to park is the parking lot for Shell Beach off Highway 1, then cross the road and head up (I mean UP) the hill.
Being that it was my first hike of the season, I didn't want to wimp out, so I just kept going up up up the hill. I think Katelyn could tell I was getting out of breath by all the times I stopped to take photos! Honestly, we kept winding up the hill, thinking "ok, this is it" and there would be more hill! Finally after 2-3 times of that we gave up, took a rest break, enjoyed the view, and headed back down. She was probably just taking pity on me.
It was fascinating to see how the view changed as you headed up. First, you could barely see the ocean, then you could see the river, then the hill got in the way, then on the way back down it was all in reverse.
The trail itself was hard-packed dirt, good for after the rain. No shade, though, so on a hot day this would not be a pleasant hike. Here's the panoramic shot from the top (or at least from as far as we made it).
And the requisite selfie. Once again, Katelyn hasn't even broken a sweat!
At the bottom of the parking lot is a nice restroom and beautiful views of the ocean. There is another set of hikes along the ocean here so we will tackle those soon! Stay tuned...
And for drooling purposes, our favorite stop when we're on this stretch of Highway 1 is Cafe Aquatica, so of course we had to stop there to refuel before heading home. Yum!!!
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