Cable Car Beach
Hike Review
About a mile away from the campsite is Cable Car Beach, where a small and lazy river cuts through Henry Cowell State Park.
The river was shallow with a slow flow, which made it super friendly for kids to wade through.
The water was a little chilly but nice to get into, especially after a mile hike from the campsite.
Many people were near the entry point, but once we turned a corner, we found a private island to lounge about.
The water was clean enough with lots of fish. Ryo even found a crawfish!
There were lots of flat stones, which were great for rock skipping.
The water was a bit shallow where we were. Still, I ended up sitting in the river with the water coming up to my neck.
The trail there was a single to double-track trail that was easy to hike given the almost 100% shade and the hard-packed dirt underneath (with just a few segments of sandy patches). However, there were lots of horse dung and poison oak that we had to dodge.
What I Learned
Ryo is super good at skipping rocks! He skipped the smallest of stones to ones that were as big as my head! It was really fun watching him throw.
Friends
The Saito family came with us. The walk was 100% more fun with them and the river was 200% more fun with them there. We shared yummy snacks and skipped stones together.
What Happened?
~3 miles, 3 hrs, 500 ft of ascent
After we arrived at the campsite and set up our tents, we quickly gathered together and hiked over to Cable Car Beach to have fun with water. Given how warm it was, it was an easy decision to go to the river instead of hiking around.
The mile-long trail was fully shaded and mostly a joy to walk. I would say that I was not very impressed with it until we passed by some majestic redwood groves, where I summarily changed my mind about the trail. Cassie and I even got to have a bit of fun walking across a ravine on a fallen redwood.
We soon came to the river and faced the only challenge of the day, which was that the river ran deepest right at the entry point, which is a turn in the river. I was already feeling pretty hot at that point, so the river just cooled me down, but the Saito family was not wearing their swimsuits. So, Ryo carried Seri on his back across, while I carried Luna across. Mona (with Kaylee and Annabelle) crossed by themselves and we headed upstream to find our island paradise.
Less than 100 feet upstream, we found an uninhabited island for us to call home. It was narrow, but long, with more than enough room for all of us and then some. Some of us chilled out on the island and some of us explored the surrounding river finding fish, flat rocks, and even a crawfish. Out of all the snacks we shared, the most interesting for me was this Japanese old-fashioned candy that was covered in this light brown soybean powder. It was way yummier than how it sounds in English.
After an hour or so, we realized that we needed to get back, so we packed up and hiked back the way we came (avoiding the regular entry point and instead leaving the river without crossing any deep parts). After 40 minutes or so, we were back at our campsite and ready for a delicious dinner.