Tempting Spring on a Paso Robles winehiking weekend

These last four days have been marvelous. Marvelous, mind you, not because I chose to forsake blogging for four days, but because it simply was marvelous to revel in all that Paso Robles and the surrounding community offers in the way of beautiful hikes, bountiful wineries, and spectacular countryside.

Technically it is still Winter. Yet with low rainfall totals to date, there aren’t many wildflowers blooming along the trails of the southern Central Coast. Nevertheless it is California, where the return of Spring is often tempted early. Assuredly it would seem that nowhere else can the approaching footsteps of Spring be heard as audibly as when opening your window to the voices of Nature. And Saturday as I trudged along the moderately steep but mercifully short climb to Cerro Alto Summit, I passed another hiker who jubilantly remarked, “It’s a Chamber of Commerce kind of weekend.”

Between heaving gulps of breath, I replied that I couldn’t agree more.

True, for much of the weekend the days were clear and bright, the oak-studded hills were green and lovely, and the mountaintop views were superb and commanding. Indeed, there are not many moments in this life that can be more dazzling than the moment one arrives at the summit of Cerro Alto on such a clear day as Saturday. No camera can possibly drink in the jaw-dropping expanse that we beheld all around us. We didn’t earn it without effort, and yet it was stupendously satisfying to finally gaze upon the Nine Morros, that serpentine line of nine large rocks that rises from the ocean, stretches for miles, and defines the valleys of southern San Luis Obispo County.

We doffed our packs and sat spellbound upon the summit’s rocky outcrop. We lunched, we lingered, we marveled at the marvelous. Those moments were singular, thrilling, uplifting, emotional, unforgettable.

Nature abruptly changed her mood on Sunday, greeting us with storm-scudded skies. But no caprice of Nature could deter ten tenacious trailblazers from ascending the gentle slopes of Montana de Oro State Park’s Valencia Peak. In contrast to Saturday’s 360-degree High Gorgeosity Factor views atop Cerro Alto, Sunday’s was a different rhythm, its subdued pall conjuring elements of mystery and mysticism. Gnarled Eucalyptus trees, swirling winds, and the eerie dark silhouette of Cerro Alto through shifting clouds were complemented by the close-in boom and roar of the Pacific surf.

It was a fine music. And as we gazed northward along the sandy Morro Bay shoreline, we seemed to enjoy a quiet harmony of our own.

After each of those hikes, boy did we wash down the trail dust! With over 100 wineries in the Paso Robles region, it was easy to take our pick of them. Nevertheless, we were careful to choose from a broad assortment of wineries to include small, family-owned wineries as well as those with name recognition. While not all of us winehikers made it to each of the following wineries, you can be sure that The Winehiker did. I’ve linked to those that, considering the combination of the wines, their prices, and the winery/venue experience, are most worthy of a visit.

• Le Cuvier
• Turley
• Zin Alley
• Dark Star
• Castoro
• Eberle
• Robert Hall
• Justin
• Caparone

I may be back at the ol’ blog today, but I remain viscerally connected to this past weekend’s events; it’s as if I haven’t truly chosen to return home. Perhaps it is because I felt so much at home in Paso Robles! And therefore I want to thank Randy Sefcik, whose Sunset Summit House I recommend as a very comfortable and affordable place to stay with friends or family while visiting Paso Robles.

~winehiker

Note: If you’re considering a wine vacation in the Paso Robles area, I’ve planned a 5-day wine and hiking tour just for you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 at 3:16 pm and is filed under grape squeezins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.