habitat ~ 03/31/14 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park
March 31, 2014

posted 04/04/14 - Zowie!  The poison-oak is going gangbusters, creeping over everything on the lower slopes of my favorite access trail to Jacks Peak.  Within 2 days of this visit, I may have developed my first-ever poison-oak rash.  Bummer.  They're just little red bumps that itch like crazy, nothing like the oozing sores Andy gets weeks later from his trail running in shorts.

Under all that poison-oak in the first photo, there's also a dusky-footed woodrat stick midden on the fallen trunk.  I find it interesting that some of them prefer to build their houses up off the ground.  I'm so happy the bright spring green has finally arrived.  A little late, but I'll take it.  And, thanks to having recently hiked in a different kind of pine forest at Lewis Creek and seeing the contrast, I now recognize there are sections of the access trail that have absolutely nothing growing down below.  It feels really old and static in there with feet deep, cushy soft layers of pine needles.  The Monterey Peninsula is famously referenced as one of the last remaining stands of native Monterey pine with Jacks Peak crowning it all.

habitat ~ 12/23/13 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park

December 23, 2013

It's as if someone pushed the pause button on the seasons.  While the evergreen coast live oaks seem to be holding their own as usual, the Monterey pines look thinner and yellower around the edges.  Closer to the ground, there's a sense of bursting at the seams, of impatiently waiting for the starter's pistol of winter rains.  The push towards spring cannot be contained.  Dustings of green grass are making their best efforts despite the lack of water.  I also found fuchia-flowered gooseberries and monkeyflowers just beginning to show their cheery reds and oranges.  I'm curious to see how everything will fare in the coming months.  Surely, we will get rain, someday?

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find much for IDs, but I really enjoyed this heart-pumping, hilly hike. The rich smell of pines that's so distinctive to Jacks Peak and the amazing views never cease to amaze me.  In the first picture above (click to enlarge) are several locations I feature on Nature ID, starting at about 11:00 along the water's edge: the Monterey Bay Aquarium towers, Cannery Row, San Carlos Beach, Coast Guard Pier, Rec Trail, Fisherman's Wharf, Wharf No. 2, and Municipal Beach.

habitat ~ 03/03/12 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park
March 3, 2012

Sometimes I feel a bit ho-hum blogging about places that I often hike. I've already blogged about this rare native closed-cone Monterey pine forest, how Andy regularly runs to this highest peak of the Monterey Peninsula from home, and the incredible views one can have from this big hill. Given the nature of the Monterey pine forest, I haven't noticed too much change through the seasons or the years, and yet it still takes my breath away. With the very warm 83.1°F this day, the scent of the native pines was soothing and amazing. For one little tidbit of new info, Jacks Peak is named after the same man who sold the first Monterey Jack cheese.

habitat ~ 12/25/11 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park
December 25, 2011

For the record, I'm not sure if this County Park was officially open on Christmas Day, but we took one of several little-known trails up the hill. It starts off as coast live oak woods then gradually turns into Monterey pine forest as the elevation increases. In a couple spots, freshly fallen trees blocked the old trail. I was impressed with how soft the new trail was around these disturbed areas. It felt very spongy on the feet, as if I were walking underneath redwoods. I've heard this area is called a closed-cone pine forest from a blogger who recently shut down his blog. I wasn't aware of this term before. Despite the lack of fire, it looks like the Monterey pine has no problem reseeding itself. Jacks Peak has one of the few remaining native stands of Monterey pine in the world. We also looked for where the proposed zipline will be placed, which has caused quite a controversy among the prominent older folks in our area. The views are absolutely stunning from the summit of Jacks Peak of both Monterey harbor and "the mouth of the Valley" as us locals refer to it, which is really the east side of Carmel and whose main claim to fame is Clint Eastwood was once mayor. The zipline would be thrilling and perhaps a nice tourist attraction. However, I can't say I'd fork out $100 for the experience, especially since I live here.

habitat ~ 02/11/11 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park
February 11, 2011

posted 02/19/11 - I think this will be the last post for this hike at Jacks Peak. I have more photos but nothing extraordinary to share. It's Andy's favorite destination to trail run from home. Yep, he regularly runs 7-15 miles several times a week; I don't usually run... I prefer to do other things. It's great in that he finds hidden, non-mapped trails and then shows me. I prefer parking on one of the lower roads like Aguajito and then hiking up. Jacks is the highest peak on the Monterey Peninsula. Truth be told, most of the ID pictures shown below are from outside of the park boundaries. We're still not sure who owns the land that we use and appreciate so much. The trails to the park are often used by horse riders. The park itself is a classic county park with running water, bathroom facilities, big fields of lawn, bbqs, and picnic tables. The trails within the park are fairly flat and some have incredible views of both sides of the peninsula. Even after almost 8 years of living here, I still get turned around on the peninsula. Based on older pics of the Bay, this looks like it's above and to the west of Huckleberry Hill, consisting of the same Monterey pine forest.

habitat ~ 05/23/10 ~ Jacks Peak County Park

Jacks Peak County Park

May 23, 2010

I haven't given Jacks Peak enough coverage on Nature ID. It's a quiet, local gem with incredible views from all sides. The third picture above is looking toward the southern curvy part of the Monterey Bay, Seaside, the airport, and the scary, honkin' huge, new development (on the right, that sandy area is merely the road that's going in!). One hill over, you can see downtown Monterey and the 3 local piers. Around that trail loop you can see Carmel and Point Lobos on the other side. Click on the link above for Jacks Peak to see additional pictures. This park is only a couple minutes from home and there are several not well-known trails that lead up to the Peak. I admit we rarely pay and park in the official parking lot at the top (shown in the distance in the last photo), since getting up the hill is half the fun.

Jacks Peak County Park
January 3, 2009

This fire hydrant seemed oddly placed out in the middle of nowhere down a recently cleared path.