Growing up, I always learned that it was bad to give into peer pressure when it comes to drugs, smoking, etc. They didn’t warn me about hiking. Some friends have gotten it into their heads that they are going to complete the Bay Area Ridge Trail one way or another, and I’ve been mercilessly sucked into their evil plans for world domination again and again. Now I MUST complete the same challenge or risk becoming one of the uncool kids.
This past weekend’s segment was the Fifield-Cahill Ridge (and part of Sweeny Ridge), a thirteen mile stretch of the trail on the peninsula between San Bruno and Belmont. This segment presents a bit of a logistical challenge due to the fact that it passes through SFPUC (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) land which does not allow public access except in very restricted ways.
SFPUC arranges for docent-led hikes from time to time, and fortunately, one of the above mentioned friends was paying attention to the schedule and was able to secure permits for a hike on December 19. Several people were invited and we ended up with a nice large group to accompany Steve, our fast-moving guide on the 13 miles from Skyline College to the Quarry. The multiple pages of draconian rules in small print led to quite a bit of joking around, but just be aware that you absolutely cannot bring along your remote controlled vehicles. Sorry.
This is a beautiful place to hike on the peninsula and has some unique features that make it different from other hikes that I have done. Starting off from Skyline College, you climb quickly to some ruins of an old Nike Missile installation (great for photography if you can slip away from the group for a while). A few miles in you reach the San Francisco Bay Discovery Point, a ridge top where the Portola Expedition supposedly first sighted the Bay. I fail to understand how they didn’t notice it until they were this far north, but my best guess is fog.
The first half of the hike is along this ridge line with sweeping views of the Pacific towards the Farallon Islands, the Bay and across towards Mt Diablo and Mt Tamalpais, and to the ridges and peaks in the immediate area like Montara Mountain. After this open, windy space it’s nice to drop down into the densely forested lower ridge that runs along Crystal Springs Reservoir.
Along this second half, the trail is lined by ancient fir trees that have grown into enormous candelabras. I’ve seen trees like this on the peninsula before, but never so many in a single location. As we got closer to the trailhead the trees changed to giant cypress and it felt like we were passing through a fairy tale forest.
If You Go
This hike requires a permit and reservation for a spot on a docent-led hike. Since the trail is 13 miles long and we didn’t start until 10 am I was happy to have a docent that kept a quick pace that matched our own hiking style, but I don’t know if this is true for all of the docents. In any case, be prepared to continue moving and if you’re not comfortable with a 13 mile hike with approximately 2400 feet of gain at a 2.5-3 mph pace, you might want to find a different hike.
This hike requires a car shuttle. We all met at the Quarry (the end of the hike), then shuttled back to the beginning in two vans.
