Hellyar Park and Castle Rock

Saturday 2nd November

Today we really needed to do a run that involved something other than "plod" pace so we set out from Erica Court on foot, cut through a few side streets to pick up a cycle trail which runs alongside the Los Lagos Golf course and under Capitol Expressway to Hellyer Park.  Not the most scenic of routes but flat enough for us to do some 6.30 pacing.  We have found a half marathon that we want to do at Thanksgiving so at some point pretty soon we have to stop using the excuse that our legs are recovering from a marathon and actually do some proper training.

Our plan had been to do 5k pace but my legs had other ideas, hopefully the cumulative effect of three days strenuous hiking and a tough 11 miler yesterday are to blame.  We did manage a couple of miles at semi-decent pace but I felt a bit discouraged.  The dilemma is that we want to be on our feet exploring all the beautiful places we are visiting but it's not conducive to also doing good training.

Training, such as it was, over our attention turned as always to food and what was available for lunch. Sherry had had a tough week at work and was not feeling on top form but she wanted to go out and get some air so we climbed into Rich's enormous gas guzzling American car for a luxurious drive - about as far removed from our scruffy little Honda Jazz as it's possible to get.  The popular vote was for Whole Foods take out salad and so once again we spent a happy half hour desperately trying not to overload our cartons with all the delicious options on offer.  There's always something new and tempting and for me today it was the spicy grilled pineapple...........mmmmmmm.

Hunger dealt with, at least for a few hours, Rich drove us up through Saratoga on Highway 9, an attractive road climbing up through wooded valleys on a road very popular with cyclists judging by the number either struggling up or flying down.  At the top we reached our destination, Castle Rock State Park, an area of forest with steep canyons and some very interesting rock formations.


We followed the steeply winding trail up through the trees to the first of the rocks where Martin and I amused ourselves by climbing to the highest point possible. Not so amusing when I tried to come back down and discovered that it was a lot harder than going up! After a few false tries and some shaky knees I was more than pleased to be back at ground level. We continued to the summit where Castle Rock itself graces the highest point on the ridge and provided a lot more climbing opportunities for Martin. Luckily it proved harder than it looked and he couldn't get very far although he was quite high enough to do himself some damage if he fell.

At this point we had the choice of retracing our steps or continuing on a loop trail back to the parking lot. Sherry was confident she could manage the distance so we continued and followed the path as it wound down through the trees with the afternoon sun glinting between the branches. It was a beautiful and peaceful walk especially considering how close to the highway we were. The trail markers claimed that it was 0.8m but it seemed a lot further and I was getting a bit concerned that it was going to be too far for Sherry but she was doing fine and we arrived safely back at the car.

The expedition provided another example of how lucky Martin and I are. We take it for granted that we can enjoy walking, running or biking many miles on difficult terrain whenever we want to, exploring new places and revisiting old favourites. For Sherry a 1.5m stroll on a Saturday afternoon is a big deal and one that her health does not always permit her to enjoy. The shortest loop from the car park is normally the very route which we would scornfully avoid but on this occasion it was good to share it with Sherry and see how much pleasure she derived from it.

It was a lovely area and definitely one to put on our list of places that we would like to return and explore further another day. There is a whole network of trails extending both along the ridge and down to the coast at Santa Cruz providing numerous opportunities for both cycling and running.


We drove back down the valley past all the mega million dollar houses with Sherry and Rich pointing out their personal favourites as we passed them. A brief stop for supplies for supper and then back to Erica Court for a relaxing evening. Sherry cooked a fabulous meal, grilled fish (a firm fleshed and very tasty white fish, the name of which escapes me) which she coated with shredded pecans, parmigiana and seasoning, grilled peppers, rocket, cheese ravioli and pesto. It really was delicious and it was hard to imagine that we would have found a better finale to our day at even the finest of restaurants.