Hearst Castle / Pine Mtn

by **Bob Burd** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:12 pm

I'm trying to reach an obscure peak creatively called Pine Mtn in the northwestern portion of San Luis Obispo Co. I tried driving up San Simeon Rd yesterday and got within about six miles of the peak when I was abruptly stopped by this gate:

Everything is private property except the road to that point. I decided not to test my luck and left. In looking at the maps, Hearst Castle is about 5mi due west of Pine Mtn and there appear to be roads connecting one to the other looking at the satellite views on google maps. Hearst Castle is now part of the State Park System, but as much as I can find online, there is no backcountry hiking in this area. The only way to get to Hearst Castle is on a tour bus. What I'm wondering - if I sign up for a tour and get lost, say, would I be able to leave the grounds and show up maybe three of four hours later and catch a different bus back? Has anybody been to Hearst Castle and can comment on how closely people are monitored and whether this would be possible?

by **brianhughes** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:22 pm

Been quite a while since I was there, but I recall they kept a pretty tight rein on the groups. There's millions of dollars worth of antique knick-knacks laying around the house and grounds, so they're pretty security-conscious.

by **Luciano136** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:26 pm

I actually went to Hearst Castle just a few weeks ago. They have a guy that follows everyone at the back on the tour, so getting away might be a little tricky. Once you do get away, I don't think it would be much of a problem to sneak on a bus back. The return buses leave right near the entrance to the indoor pool.

The tour is actually quite entertaining btw.

by **mrchad9** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:28 pm

Second Brian's comment. Even if you did manage to slip away from your group, I think you might be spotted fairly quickly by someone else working there who is keeping an eye on things. Any visitor walking around alone will surely stand out.

by **Luciano136** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:35 pm

I wonder how many miles it would take if you go x-country from the visitor center? The gain wouldn't be a big deal but it might be a fair amount of mileage.

by **Bob Burd** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 6:37 pm

mrchad9 wrote:Second Brian's comment. Even if you did manage to slip away from your group, I think you might be spotted fairly quickly by someone else working there who is keeping an eye on things. Any visitor walking around alone will surely stand out.

They have a self-guided tour that lets you roam the outside grounds without a guide, but these only seem to be scheduled for late afternoons. So at least sometimes, folks on their own aren't going to stand out. Are there armed guards at the perimeter?

Luciano136 wrote:I wonder how many miles it would take if you go x-country from the visitor center? The gain wouldn't be a big deal but it might be a fair amount of mileage.

Cross-country in these parts is brutal chaparral and effectively impossible with so much poison oak all over the place.

by **mrchad9** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:12 pm

Wasn't aware of a self-guided tour. But also been a couple years since I went.

You've done enough of these type of hikes... armed guards wouldn't be a deterrence. Just another feature of the route.

by **Luciano136** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:35 pm

I think they mostly secure the Castle tours but don't care so much about the outside since there's little of great value there. I'd say, if you are in the neighborhood anyway, just give it a shot. In the worst case, you had a tour, which is actually not bad.

by **Hyadventure** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:58 pm

Sign, Sign everywhere a sign,
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind,
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Been up that road myself. No trespassing signs everywhere!

by **SJD** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 1:18 pm

I am not familiar with Pine Mtn and at the moment I can't get to a map, but you can approach the Hearst Ranch from the north and following the ridge top dirt road. Haven't been up there in years but the road was possible in a passenger vehicle at the time.

Also, from the east side of HR, there is an area known as Bryson Canyon (or similar name) in the south end of Monterey County. There are a series of backroads whcih lead to the NW side of Lake San Antonio which would get you with hiking distance of the backside of Hearst castle. Same deal though, haven't been therre since the nineties.

If you need more info let me know and I'll have a look at a map -

by **Mark Doiron** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:49 pm

Hyadventure wrote:Sign, Sign everywhere a sign,
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind,
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Been up that road myself. No trespassing signs everywhere!

I like the way Woody Guthrie said it (part of the original This Land is Our Land)

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?

So, Bob, what did the other side of that sign say?

--mark d.

by **Tanngrisnir3** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 6:57 pm

3Deserts wrote:I just talked to my co-worker about this, to see if she had a good tip on how to get there and avoid trouble; her family owns a cabin in the immediate area.

You can't hike beyond the state property of the castle because it's virtually all private, as that sign well suggests. Unfortunately, most of the residents up there are what she variously calls eccentric, paranoid, over-vigilant, or plain territorial. They are also what other Los Padres Forest residents I know call "binocular people," kind of like the ones out around Carrizo Plain.

She said the single biggest risk wouldn't actually be you hiking up those roads per se, it would be your vehicle parked at the end of pavement, anywhere alongside the road, or immediately below a gate. That would tip everyone off, since everyone knows everyone else's cars.

This is all her telling by the way, not me. Might indeed be your best bet is trying to somehow get away from a castle tour.

Having grown up in the Big Sur area, the south coast, and esp. the extreme south coast (what locals consider roughly Gorda and parts south) has much more, oh, 'differently minded' denizens than does the central and northern areas. And the most extreme ones are the ones who live off the coast area, into the backwoods off of the South Coast Road, Los Burros Road, etc... Often off the grid and equally often out of their nuts. There's a particularly bad pair of brothers back in there......

by **Princess Buttercup** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:00 pm

You need to take along some cutie-pie who can bat her eyelashes, or maybe "fall" into the pool, to distract the guard while you slip away...

Any volunteers? :twisted:

by **Bob Burd** » Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:18 am

Fletch wrote:Bob - this hasn't stopped you before... maybe a night assault during a full moon?

Yeah, just might have to do that. I thought I'd check out what other options might be available, because I'd rather do it in the daytime when I can check out the views. Pine Mtn came up on my radar in two places: it's on the CC list and has the second largest prominence in the Cone Peak cell after Cone Peak itself.

Thanks for all the info folks, quite helpful.

SJD, if you have any more to offer, I'd be most obliged. I'll squirrel the info away for another attempt in the future.

by **mrchad9** » Fri Oct 08, 2010 4:04 am

1000Pks wrote:You can do as the local enviro club extreme coastal peak bagger types say they do, or similar. Dress in full black leotards and black balaclava with sunglasses, maybe Doc Martin shoes, and go in at night. Carry a .45 for the guard dogs, and in case of capture, have your suicide pill, or better yet, a good enviro club lost hiker story fitting why you are dressed so.

Bob begins his preparations for yet another one of his stealth midnight excursions...

He grabs his mask for maximum bushwacking protection...

and fins???

But wait!!! An intruder comes, seeking the first ascent. Bob is attacked!!!

But Bob has prepared for this day, and soon he has the upper hand...

They fall to the floor, and the fight continues.

Wait a minute, are they still fighting?

How sweet!!!

He grabs his .45, a few more items, and he's ready for another adventure!

The following user would like to thank mrchad9 for this post
John Duffield

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