Yesterday and the day before, spent several hours exploring the same hilly inland road loop in Carlsbad, CA. The rides were short — only 11 mi and 800 vft each — with different offroad segments and side attractions each day. Still, lots to take in.
The first stop on both days was a trailhead overlooking a rugged canyon on Macario Creek — much of it now a sprawling golf course with unclear boundaries. Below that was an open space with a confusing maze of "trails". And below that was a road on the loop.
Plan A for Day 1 was to take some combo of canyon trails down to the pavement. Day 2's ride would skirt the canyon instead.
But exactly which trail combo to take was far from clear. RideWithGPS, the Google Maps bike layer, Google Earth, the official Carlsbad trail map, the view from the trailhead, and the signage there all gave conflicting info. Really wanted to avoid backtracking uphill here.
After some dithering, took the RideWithGPS route. Looked rideable from the trailhead but soon turned into a sandy rutted transmission line service road with 3 short sections that felt way too loose and steep for my 2.3" hybrid tires.With 25 years of rust on my MTB skills and much less bounce, walking all 3 seemed the better part of valor.
Many of the mapped "trails" within riding distance of my house turn out to be dirt transmission line roads. Part of this one became an official public trail somehow, but most turn out to be gated and posted when you get there.
Had to resort to the ebike's walking mode to get up the last unrideable pitch — a sandy grade of at least 20% (white road under transmission towers in previous photo). At the top, the bike found its happy place.
While the bike basked in the 60 Hz transmission line radiation, I took in the view of Agua Hedionda Lagoon to the WNW. The 1769 Portola-Crespi expedition found only a fetid salt marsh here. Father Crespi dubbed it "San Simon Lipnica", but the soldiers gave it the name that stuck: "Agua Hedionda", meaning "stinky water". Thankfully, the smell is long gone.
The lagoon was eventually opened to the ocean and dredged for sand and gravel, but a small brackish marsh still surrounds Agua Hedionda and Macario Creeks as they enter at its E end. The marsh and surrounding open space are now a bird-filled nature preserve with hiking but no biking trails.
The impressive confluence of major transmission lines here is no accident. Out of sight to the left (SW) in the lagoon shot is the Carlsbad Energy Center, a modern 632-megawatt gas-fired power plant near the mouth of the lagoon. Before they were demolished, the enormous twin smokestacks of the coal-fed plant previously at the site doubled as navigational aids important to coastal shipping.
The prominent peak on the NE skyline here is Cerro de la Calavera — a deeply eroded volcanic neck composed of dacite some 15 million years old. You would have done well to be far from Carlsbad when this volcano erupted. Dacite magmas are gassy and viscous enough to make fine volcanic explosions. The 1980 Mount St. Helens explosion was a case in point.
Several other poorly preserved volcanoes of similar age and composition dot western SoCal south of LA. Why exactly is unclear, but they probably relate to a major reorganization of the local Pacific-North American plate boundary that began around that time. This sporadic early volcanism never recurred, but stay tuned. The ongoing reorganization continues to evolve.
An unexpected treat looming on the N skyline from the same vantage: The Santa Margarita Mountains in the southernmost Santa Anas, some 25 mi distant.
Once on pavement again, I crossed Macario Creek and climbed the other side of its canyon on beautiful, winding Faraday Avenue. This soon brought me to Day 2's offroad segment in very steep Veterans Park. Had to walk the bike here again, once up and once down, but the views at the top were worth it. The near body of water to the W here is Agua Hedionda's inner lagoon with the Pacific beyond.
Both days I encountered steep, slippery grades on this weak, crumbly white sandstone that barely deserved to be called stone. Ended up walking them all.
Faraday continued climbing past the E end of the golf course, where each hole (fairway+green) is an island of lush, groomed green in a harsh rugged semi-arid sea. Looks totally out of place to me, but no denying that the cart paths would be fun to ebike.
Near center, note the brown golf cart bridge over a wash heading over a cliff. Could get a dandy little waterfall here in a heavy winter storm. Note to self to come back and see — in the car.
Closeup of the massive retaining wall above the golf course in the last 2 photos. No visible structures on top. What could be up there to warrant such an expense?
Later in the road loop, I saw what was up there: Nothing but a large, flat vacant lot where Google Earth shows a plowed field.
The idea of Google Earth-era farming here isn't far-fetched. Carlsbad's many coastal and inland mesas were mostly farm fields through the 1970s, as this 1977 aerial photo shows. And strawberries and ornamental flowers are still farmed nearby.
But would a farmer build such a massive retaining wall just to add acreage? Not sure. The wall could also protect the golf course below from slides mobilized by farm irrigation.
Farther up, Faraday enters the Carlsbad Research Center — a sprawling, thoroughly modern business park covering a high mesa and its seaward flank. Some of the architecture's quite stunning. This handsome building was the first of many on the road loop through the Center.
Faraday Avenue turned out to be just one of many Research Center streets bearing famous names in physics and astronomy. Brought a smile to this science buff's face.
One of my favorite buildings from below and up close. The dark curved windows had a blue-green-violet iridescence that reminded me of labradorite.
The City of Carlsbad's fancy admin building on the edge of the mesa enjoys commanding views in all directions, as if to keep an eye on its subjects. This shot from the parking lot looks W over the golf course and the lowest Research Center buildings.
Aston Pond, a spot for Research Center folks to relax and enjoy the views.
Progress! Last time I rode this hilly part of Carlsbad, I was only 3 months into my ebike-enabled return to cycling. Quite a huff then, but 7 months and 3 lower gearings later, most of the climbs were no big deal.
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A few miles further and the weather really started to close in and I was certain I was in for a real soaking! I had decided to head east to Carnwath which would be straight into the 20mph headwind to give me a nice tailwind on the way back! The roads were damp at this point but not soaking wet, but it looked like they soon would be...
