San Mateo Canyon Trail

Definitely overgrown. Pants recommended. It was so pretty and no one else out on the trail. Great hike! There was a few areas where you have to kind of search for the trail, but found it pretty easily.

Completely overgrown with poison oak and every other plant. Thankfully the cairns at the washed out crossings and little white posts helped. The high split trial was easy to find on the way out. So I took the lower creek one back and had to sludge to connect back to the split. Tons of bugs, tons of stickers, thorns, giant plants, spider webs that were 6’ wide and 8’ tall (look for it by the log at Fisherman’s camp, there are two). It was brutal but I don’t see one human so it was heaven. Did the waterfall first then the trail so I didn’t make it all the way to the end. I had enough.

heavily overgrown

Objective: Make movement to East Clark Trail. Disposition: San Mateo Canyon is heavily overgrown. Main path marked by difficult to spot cairns due to vegetation. Poison oak is abundant and requires continuous active avoidance for the duration. Proceeded 0.5 miles past map indicated trail junction. No indication of junction/terminus. Upon egress it was immediately found to be impossible to identify my own spor, use of cairns remained obligatory for ease of travel. Canyon is notably beautiful. Trails West Clark and Bluewater are marked and appear serviceable although strenuous.

not that hard until the end. 90 percent was moderate, the last section was difficult because of the incline but very doable for most people with breaks.