Remember the new trailhead we found yesterday near Pebble Beach? Today, we headed back to Marathon to check it out. Driving through town, we realized that we are starting to recognize some of the locals…have we really been here this long? There, again, is the young woman with the funky glasses, and the older couple walking from the supermarket with their groceries. Here is the joggers that runs with weights on his arms and legs. If we stay here one more week we’ll know everyone’s names…
But back to our trail. Peninsula Hill Trail is a newly constructed trail and we couldn’t find any information about it other than a map with no scale or information. Oh well, we’ll just let the trail reveal itself to us.
The trail started innocently enough along a flat gravel road.
We walked leisurely until we got to the “real” part of the trail. A plaque at the entrance to the “real” trail announced that it is a challenging 5km trail with 800m elevation from Pebble Beach to the top of the hill. That didn’t sound right at all. Eight hundred metre elevation gain? The relief on the map does show a significant contour, but surely not this much of an elevation! Anyway, we decided to go ahead.
The trail started ascending, and became steeper and steeper.
There were several false ends to the trail, when we thought we reached the top but realized that it still continues steeply upwards.
There were lots of beautiful views along the way, some towards the bay,
and others towards the endless coastline and the open lake.
We had to stop and catch our breath many times. Finally, we made it to the top. Too bad that the visibility wasn’t very good, but the vistas were still spectacular!
On top of the hill we found what looked like a mini Pukaskwa Pit. At least the flat stones were the right shape. Maybe it was partially buried?
We started the trek down the hill, and it was a bit challenging as well. Once we got to the bottom of the hill, we certainly felt a sense of achievement. Especially since we weren’t prepared for this type of a trail.
From the top, we spotted a gravel road that leads to the beach. We decided to make our way back to the parking lot that way. What makes more sense after a long steep hike than challenging your ankles on a large cobble beach?
The north end of the beach does not have the big cobbles, but rather nice size stones to walk on. It is further south the the larger cobbles pose ankle twisting danger.
We love the rock formations along the way
some of which were really cool
The vein that went through this rock
was exposed at one end, so it was interesting to examine it from this unexpected perspective.
Looking back down the beach, we view the hill that we just climbed on and from here it didn’t look that big or challenging. Yeah, looks can be deceiving!
We filled our pockets with more rocks and some potential agates, before scaling the last steep slope from Pebble Beach to the parking lot.
The hike was longer than we expected and we were hungry and tired, so we drove to the supermarket and bought a sandwich. Did you know that turkey goes really well with sliced pear?
Back at the park, we basked in the glow of the setting sun at the visitor’s centre before getting ready to our camp host and hostess duties.
Another beautiful fall hike! The coastline of the pebble beach is quite lovely with the tall wall of evergreens in the background. Love experiencing these hikes with you through your posts!
It was a beautiful hike, and the coast goes on forever! Thanks for joining us!
Such a wonderful post. I liked you mentioning the fact that you were beginning to know the locals. The scenery was spectacular – just gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing this area.
It was interesting to see how quickly we got so familiar with the town and the people. Thanks for visiting with us!
Better to have rocks in your pockets than rockets, even though it’s not as much of a ‘blast.’ 😀
Haha, for sure!
Wow! Beautiful scenery. That was quite the climb to the top of the trail. The locals are probably saying,” Hey those campers are still here!”
Haha, I didn’t think about it this way LOL!
Really enjoyed your photos of the lake, the landscape, and the rocks. Rocks are so interesting!
Rocks are interesting!
Beautiful hike. Bet you slept well that night.
Haha, we sure did!
Absolutely gorgeous! 😀
Thank you!
You certainly had a beautiful hike to recommend to the visitors.
Absolutely! It was a lesser known trail and worth sharing!
Your comments about getting to know the locals’ faces made me smile. That is the way it happens. I walk with a couple of buddies each Friday (they walk every day), and they know all of the people (some homeless) who inhabit that area. It is its own community.
I’m still waiting for the dramatic finish that you’ve hinted at. I hope it’s not this week as today will be the only day I’ll be active on the blogs. After three years, the 24 children’s authors we’ll be hosting start arriving on Wednesday.
The dramatic finish is coming up in about four days, so I hope you get a chance to read it after the children’s authors event. I hope the event goes smoothly and that all will have a great time! Looking forward to reading your post about it.
What a lovely hike with exceptional views. I bet you will have made a lot of new friends before you’re done camp hosting!
Thank you 😊
Beautiful, lovely tour here. I am having a turkey sandwich in a little bit, but unfortunately there are no pears on hand. Next time! 🍐
Make sure to try it next time. Just a couple of thin slices on the turkey will go a long way!
All gorgeous, especially the coloured pebbles and rocks. Enjoyed all your photos. Cheers, Muriel
I just love looking at those pebbles too!
Love the colorful wet pebbles!
I know! They were so beautiful!
Such an amazing autumn hike.
It was lovely! Thanks for stopping by!
Even though it was a cloudy day, your pictures still look gorgeous. Glad to hear that you made it to the top of the hill. Getting back down, especially when the trail is steep, is always my least favourite part. It’s always so hard on the knees. Looks like it was worth the detour to get to the pebble beach.
Thank you! The views from the top of that hill was truly breathtaking (and yes, we were out of breath regardless). At this point I think that I can honestly declare that we are addicted to beach trolling. I guess it could have been worst.