Steep Ravine - Dipsea Trail Hike
Directions: From 101 take the Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit. Turn left at the stop sign. Turn left onto the Shoreline Highway. At the Highway 1/Panoramic Highway split, take the Panoramic Highway and follow it around to the Pantoll Station. Turn left into the parking lot.
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I took this with film
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Taking the Dipsea Trail back
Looking back at a stretch of steps I just climbed
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View down the coast
San Franciso in the distance
On June 17, 2006 I hiked the Steep Ravine - Dipsea Trail loop
I initially planned to hike in Muir Woods as I have never been there before but unfortunately I got there to late to find parking. Muir Woods was packed! My manager at work had suggested this alternative hike in the same area the day before and since I couldn’t get into Muir Woods, this seemed like a good plan B. So I drove up and from Muir Woods and back around to the Pantoll Station where there was plenty of parking. If memory serves me, I got there around 11:00 AM.
After parking and putting on my backpack and grabbing my digital camera, film camera, and tripod, I quickly found the Steep Ravine Trail and headed on down. I carried the film camera attached to the tripod and with the tripod legs extended and over my shoulder. That worked but by the end of the day I sure had a sore shoulder. And it was difficult to descend down the ladder further down the trail. I carried my digital camera hung from my neck.
I am not the best photographer you will ever find and taking pictures in forested areas can be very difficult because of the extreme contrasts in lighting. Even still, I think you can tell from my pictures that the trail is very beautiful.
I met quite a few other hikers on the trail too including one woman with a full backpack hiking up from Stinson Beach. I talked to her for a few minutes as she took a break and found out that she was training for a backpacking trip to Mount Shasta. I felt I was taking it easy with my load.
One thing that helps to make the trail so pretty is all of the wooden foot bridges. The Trail follows a little creek down the hill and constantly crosses it. Along the way you come to a 10 foot ladder that you have to descend but it is not bad. I did it with one hand while holding my camera on the tripod with my other hand.
After maybe 4 miles the Steep Ravine Trail meets up with the Dipsea Trail. I took the Dipsea Trail to loop back up to the Pantoll Station. The Dipsea Trail quickly turns into a steep climb up steps that was quite strenuous given my poor physical conditioning. I made it though.
After the climb the trail meanders easily through some nice stands of trees and eventually comes to an open area where you can look out over the ocean and with a nice view of San Francisco.
After winding around the hill, the trail comes to a road where it was not clear which way to go to get back. After talking to some other hikers I turned left onto the road for a short walk, perhaps a half mile to the Pantoll Station. All in all, it was a pleasant hike. However, I am glad I took the water I did as I had none left by the time I returned to my car!
Start time: About 12:00 noon
Finish: About 4:00 PM
Total time: About 4 hrs (I spent a lot of time stopped taking pictures though)
Distance: 3.5 miles
Max Elevation:
Total Elevation change: 900 feet ???
Hiking temperature: Mid 80’s
Water consumed: 3 liters and I drank every drop!
Difficulty: 6, the downhill was easy but the steps back up the Dipsea Trail were challenging and I was out of shape!
Beauty: 8.5 for beauty as there were some very pretty spots.
Wildlife seen: Just occasional birds.
