Monterey County High Point Trip Report
Junipero Serra Peak
Date: January 31, 2004
Author: Robert Greene
Started the day off with a car lifting exercise for my group after I drove up a
hill and got stuck! Then things picked up and we ascended Junipero Serra from
the Memorial Campsite - pretty straightforward trail following. We went up a gully
(instead of along a ridge that my Topo! software seemed to like);
trail was pretty overgrown just below the Last Chance sign, and for quite a while
above it. Very little snow in sight; one small patch on the trail itself
(about 1 foot wide) - I stepped on it and tried to slide off the mountain side.
Where were my crampons? Found the summit register in the little house.
The summit is a real mess, a maniac bricklayers delight.
As a side note, on the military reserve, you must cross water twice.
The first one comes pretty fast (almost immediately after turning on Del Ventura road),
so watch out. I managed to slow down to 40 before I got to the water!
The second passing is towards the end of the military reserve.
After descent, put my cell phone and GPS on my car top and drove off.
So, the next day, I had to come back to Monterey, while I was down that way anyway,
decided to hit San Benito.
Trip statistics: Distance 12.0 miles; 6 hours total (3:40 up, 2:20 down).