Trail Update: Weekend Getaway to Henry W. Coe State Park

Oaks, ravines, and ticks, oh my! For our inaugural trail update, we’ll be giving you some insider details to backpacking in Henry Coe St Park. Despite being less than an hour from San Jose, this park boasts isolated ravines and some gorgeous views. It's also a fantastic place to start backpacking! We stayed at the Old Corral camp, which was less than a mile from the park HQ. Less than two miles from our car. Even though we had hardly broken a sweat, we found a shady site, hidden from passerby, and honestly one of the better sites I've ever stayed in. You're constantly watching fog strain to get past all the nearby ridge lines in the distance, which makes for some wonderful scenery. The only major downsides were large amounts of wind (which, admittedly, felt very nice given the weather) and a lack of water at the site. The water wasn’t a major obstacle: it was a quick weekend trip, and in an emergency we could just walk the half mile or so to the nearest spigot. Last but not least, the trails were fairly inundated with poison oak and very high grasses, which ticks would love. Make sure you bring your Tecnu and remember your tick checks! All in all, an excellent place to get away from it all if you don't want to get too far away. The views, easy hiking, and local location more than make up for any of the drawbacks. Wi’ll certainly be returning to hike some of their lesser known trails during shoulder or off seasons.

For food, we had two companies to test. The first was Good to Go Mexican Quinoa. Very, very tasty, and very large serving size. We were able to split it betwixt us without even thinking twice. Spicy, tangy, and filling. We paired that with individual servings of Heathers Choice chicken mole with rice, which left me (an avid fan of mole) very pleasantly surprised. For breakfast, we opted for more Heather’s Choice, each of us having a serving of hot cereal. Mine was good, though I'm not certain it was worth the cost. I'll still recommend just Quaker Oats for an easy, tasty, and filling breakfast.