Chasing Kesey’s Prankster Spirit in La Honda’s Open Space Preserve

I’ve always been fascinated by the culture surrounding the Grateful Dead. I read “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” in high school, and since then I always romanticized the Merry Pranksters, Ken Kesey, Furthur, and the whole 60s mythology. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall during those wild Prankster parties in La Honda…

When I heard that La Honda was opening some trails up to the public (via La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve) I knew that I had to come check it out.

I spent the morning on the Facebook campus yesterday, and it dawned on me that I wasn’t far from La Honda. Luckily I had my running gear in the car with me.

I really enjoyed the drive down from Palo Alto, particularly the last few miles of CA-84 West. It’s an incredibly scenic stretch of road that is worth a visit just to drive on… the road itself is an attraction.

I pulled into a completely empty parking lot off of Sears Ranch Rd. This was a first — normally the places I trail run are popular with hikers and mountain bikers.

Empty parking lot for Lower La Honda Creek Preserve, at Sears Ranch Road

I took a few deep breaths of the crisp, refreshing air, put my headphones in, and hit the trail.

The lush green rolling hills of La Honda

I won’t lie and say that I felt the spirit of the 60s while running through the rolling hills of the open space preserve. I didn’t trip over any vials of orange sunshine. I had the Dead in my ears for about 20 minutes until I concluded, once again, that it’s just not good cardio music.

I did find extreme solitude, though. I don’t think I’ve ever run for that long (~9 miles) without seeing another human.

It was just me, thousands of cows, and a few snakes out there.

I didn’t see another human on the trail, but I certainly wasn’t alone.

A lot of the trails were overgrown — not to an annoying extent, but serving as a reminder that folks don’t make it out there too often.

La Honda is absolutely beautiful. “Rolling hills” would be an understatement — I was going either uphill or downhill the entire time.

The rolling hills of La Honda Creek Open Space Reserve

I hit almost 2k ft of elevation gain, just shy of 9 miles.

If you’re interested in checking it out, there’s free parking off of Sears Ranch Road. I ran down Harrington Creek Trail, around Folger Ranch Loop and back up Harrington Creek to the parking area.

I’m not showcasing this run as any sort of athletic feat — I certainly wasn’t running for speed. I stopped a lot to admire the views and take photos along the way. My hope is to highlight the area so that others can enjoy it.

If you enjoy the lore of this area as I do, I’d recommend you read this article about hiking through La Honda.

Also, somewhat unrelated… A friendly reminder to check the “born on” date on your beer…

A 5-month-old NE-IPA was not refreshing after my ~9 mile run

I ended up with a #shelfturd from Hop Dogma yesterday. These New England-style IPAs do NOT age well. Lucky for me, there’s a legendary dive bar just down the road called Apple Jacks.

If you ever find yourself in La Honda, pull up a stool at Apple Jacks, you’ll be happy you did.