The Dowdy Ranch entrance to Henry Coe State Park is only opened on weekends during the dry months- usually between April and October. A 7.5 mile dirt road winds steeply up along beautiful ridge tops from Hwy 152 near Pacheco Pass to the Dowdy Ranch staging area. This year I vowed to pay a couple of visits for some all day hiking fun and waited in eager anticipation for the opening to be revealed on the Henry Coe website. Finally, an opening date of May 6 was announced. My plans fell through, however, due to a small storm system that passed through that weekend. The website warns that rain could cause a closure due to road conditions and I later found that the road was indeed closed that weekend.
A week later, (today), I made plans to get out there for a long day hike. No storms were forecast for the region- in fact, it looked like there would be perfect hiking weather. I was jazzed as I left my house in Newark just before 7am for the 80 mile drive to the gate which is unlocked at 8:00. I got there on the dot of 8:00 and found the gate wide open. I congratulated myself on my perfect timing as I slowly drove up the steep sometimes rough road. It was a gloriously beautiful day and I was thrilled to see several familiar peaks from new angles: Lake Mountain, Gulnac Peak, and Burra Burra Peak among them. I was also thrilled that there was no one else on the road aside from a couple of ranchers driving farm equipment. I smiled and waved as I went by. This was amazing!
Finally I came to the Dowdy Ranch sign:
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I eagerly turned the corner only to find the completely unexpected- a locked gate!
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WTF!? I parked and got out of my truck. Maybe the Ranger was simply late. I walked around the gate and started down the road toward the visitors center. There were no cars and no other signs of human activity. Seriously?! Maybe the ranger was still on his way up from Hwy 152. He or she could be late due to traffic or accident or alarm clock malfunction. This was frustrating! I waited for about 20 minutes while no one arrived or drove by. There had been no signs down by the highway warning that the place was closed today, had there? I was trying to remember if there had been any signs that I didn't read, but no, not that I could recall. I still doubted myself, though.
I finally decided to drive back down. If I passed a ranger coming up, I'd turn around and follow him. I soon came upon another driver on his way in. I stopped to ask if he knew anything. He didn't. He was on his way to his ranch another 15 miles deeper into the Diablo Range. He did say that the the gate by the highway was opened when he drove through as well. I found it hard to believe that the State Park wouldn't post anything down below and just let visitors drive all the way up this road only to find the place closed.
I drove all the way back down the road and then the real fun began: Now the gate by the highway was closed and locked. I was locked in!
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I saw one car and then another drive up toward the gate from the other side only to turn around when they saw it was locked. S**t! I got out my cell phone knowing in advance that there would be no signal. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I did have reception! ...But who to call? I called 411 and asked for the number of Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill, California. They connected me with a Pine Ridge Association Volunteer at the headquarters on Pine Ridge. I explained that I was trapped behind the locked gate on Kaiser-Aetna Road. To my annoyance, he sounded a bit angry at first,
"The Dowdy Ranch is closed today! How did you get in there?"
"Your website says it's open and, by the way, so was the gate when I drove through. I didn't know it was closed until I drove all the way up to the ranch and now the lower gate is closed and locked. With me inside."
I could tell he was going through an 'oops' moment and softened his tone.
"There are no rangers on duty right now. As soon as one checks in, I'll let him know of your situation."
"Okay. I'm hoping maybe a rancher will go by and let me out."
"If that happens, please call and let me know so I won't be sending someone out there for nothing."
I readily agreed and gave him my phone number so he could check up on me when the ranger checked in.
There was no telling how long I was going to be there. A couple of horse trailers pulled up outside the gate. A woman walked up to the gate and asked me why the gate was locked. I told her that, apparently, the Dowdy Ranch was closed today and that I'd found out the hard way. She said that the sign on 152 said it was open. (I knew it!) I could feel her disappointment. She and her group had a wonderful day of horseback riding planned. As I waited, I wandered around a bit with my camera:
Lovers Leap:
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Forbidden Lands:
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Some curious cattle wandered down to see what was happening:
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After an hour of waiting my phone rang. It was that same volunteer at Coe headquarters. He wanted to see if I was still locked in. I answered affirmative, so he told me that they had finally contacted a ranger who was on his way. I thanked him and hung up to wait some more. About 30 or 40 minutes later, the ranger finally arrived seeming somewhat embarrassed and sorry about what I'd been through. I wasn't angry in the least (although I probably had good reason to be). He explained that sometimes the inholding owners leave the gate open if they know that there are others in their employ or family that are following somewhere behind. He also explained that the reason the Dowdy Ranch was now closed was due to a shortage of staff. He promised to update the website and to get some signage for the entrance to indicate the current status of the Dowdy Ranch so no one else goes through what I'd just been through. I have no 'Dowdy' that he would get that done. (Sorry about the pun.
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