Joyce Krieg - Pacific Grove at Your Feet: Walks, Hikes & Rambles

Pacific Grove at Your Feet, Walks, Hikes & Rambles in Butterfly Town U.S.A.by Joyce Krieg

2020 Text, Joyce Krieg

FIRST EDITION January 2020
ISBN 978-1-943887-07-1
ISBN 978-1-953120-46-5 (e-book)

Every effort has been made to ensure that this book contains accurate and current information. The author and Pacific Grove Books bear no responsibility for changes in trail conditions, operating hours, and rules and regulations that may have occurred since the writing and research of this book in the spring and summer of 2019. The author and Pacific Grove Books shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any readers as a result of any information contained herein.

PACIFIC GROVE BOOKS

An imprint of

Park Place Publications

Pacific Grove, CA

pacificgrovebooks.com

PACIFIC GROVE BOOKS

(see last page of this book for 2021 PG BOOK new releases)

Life in Pacific Grove California: Personal Stories by Residents and Visitors to Butterfly Town U.S.A. (Book 1)

Pacific Grove Writers Keith Larsonillustrator 2017

Trade: ISBN 978-1943887361 Case: ISBN 978-1943887545

Life in Pacific Grove California: Deeper Connections History, Stories, and Selected Essays (Book 2)

Pacific Grove Writers Peter Mounteer-photographer 2018

Trade: ISBN 978-1943887736, Case: ISBN 978-1943887828

A Quaint Town for a Killing

A P.G. Mystery by Jeffrey Whitmore

ISBN 978-1943887743 2018

Pacific Grove 1974: poems, drawings, woodcuts, prose

William Minor ISBN 978-1943887729 2018

A donation is made to the Pacific Grove Library for every book sold.

Bringing Our Community Together Through the Power of Story

The Hart Mansion,

Historic Downtown, Pacific Grove, CA

PACIFIC GROVE AT YOUR FEET WALKS, HIKES & RAMBLES

INTRODUCTION

Pacific Grove is known as Butterfly Town, USA, and Americas Last Hometown. It was even honored by Life magazine as the nations most romantic city.

With all due respect to civic boosters, theyve overlooked the best slogan of all: Pacific GroveThe Perfect Walking Town.

Consider the climate, making outdoor activity a pleasure no matter the season. Our temperatures are rarely uncomfortably hot or bitterly cold, and on only a handful of days a year is it so wet and windy that its impossible to set foot outdoors at some point during the day.

Pacific Grove is blessed with miles of walking paths, hiking trails, and city sidewalks, all safe and well-maintained. Your on-foot journeys through the town will take you past the home of a Nobel Prize laureate and Victorian houses both cute and majestic. Farther afield youll find a lighthouse, a historic cemetery, and a conference center designed by the architect of Hearst Castle. Venture onto our shoreline Recreation Trail or into one of our parks, and you will be greeted with incomparable scenery, from the waters of Monterey Bay teeming with marine wildlife to urban forests, and even a butterfly sanctuary.

In short, weve got it all here, folks, spring, summer, fall or winter: fabulous weather, quaint Victorian cottages, tame wildlife (some might be a little too tame!), and more safe and easy paths than you could shake a walking stick at.

Though there is no central agency that rates hikes like they do movies, Pacific Groves walks fall under the generally-accepted category of Easy: suitable for all ages and fitness levels, limited elevation gain, no rocky or uneven surfaces, three miles or shorter. Some are even accessible for those whose walk includes wheelsstrollers, scooters, wheelchairs, surreysand are so indicated.

As for equipment, all you really need are a pair of sturdy shoes and a water bottle. Be aware, though, that Pacific Groves weather can be changeable. What starts out as a foggy morning can turn into a sunny midday and then again to a breezy late afternoon. Do like Mom said and dress in layers. For all but the most blustery winter days, a fleece hoodie or lightweight windbreaker should do it. A hat or cap with a brim is a nice accessory on sunny days, and dont forget the sunscreen!

In years of exploring Pacific Grove on foot, I am always intrigued at the many different types of hikers I encounter:

The fitness walkers, getting in those 10,000 daily steps, burning those calories in our clean air.

The social walkers, teaming up with one or more friends or family for lively chatter while soaking up the beauty surrounding them.

The studious walkers, noses buried in guidebooks or their phones, searching for landmarks, reading every plaque and signpost that they may run across.

The nature walkers, reveling in identifying wildflowers, trees and shrubbery, whipping out binoculars to trace the flight of pelicans or the breaching of whales.

The meditative walkers, using the combination of movement and an outdoor setting to quiet their minds, emptying themselves of all the cares of the world and become present to the natural world.

If youve guessed that I fit the latter type of walker, you win the prize. So, if you see me on the trail and say hello and I dont respond, Im not intentionally being rude. Im just far, far away, lost in my own world.

No matter what type of walker you are, what are you waiting for? Lace up your favorite pair of shoes, fill a bottle with water or other favorite beverage, select a destination from this book, and step out your front door.

Whether a long-time resident or a brand-new arrival, you, too, will discover that Pacific Grove, indeed, is The Perfect Walking Town.