Chalk Mountain was the last stop of an exciting and rewarding weekend on the San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties’ coastlines. Saturday was an 8-hour cruise out and around the Farallones Islands beyond the Golden Gate on the ‘Salty Lady’ for whale watching.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel near Chalk Mountain trailhead

So that we didn’t have to make the long drive down the coast twice, we had stayed overnight Sunday night at Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel near Pescadero. Our friend Tom had made the reservations, which is highly advisable. (Click here to reach them). Although there is a functioning lighthouse, the building has long been in need of restoration and is not open to the public.

The hostel is composed of several small buildings with various kinds of accommodations — dorms, family, and private rooms. There’s a hot tub (which you should reserve as early as possible) and, because this is a dark sky preserve, it’s a perfect place to stargaze. After preparing breakfast the next morning in the hostels’ adequately equipped kitchen, we continued our journey south along the coast and into Santa Cruz County.

The hike to Chalk Mountain

The summit itself wasn’t terribly exciting — but the views were wonderful and the old abandoned fire lookout had some graffiti that had been scratched with the chunks of chalk rock liberally surrounding us — no ‘Kilroy was here!’ but some artsy ones.

Although the high point was only 1,609′ and the hike an out-and-back totaling only about 5 miles, I’d say, as Ralph claimed, that this was “a real butt-kicker.” However, his comment doesn’t include the fact that he was carrying a 20-25 lb. backpack as part of his continual trail-ready conditioning plan. Various reports rate the hike as difficult, others as moderate — subjective of course!