Day Two of our October weekend in Pismo found us again undecided about where to hike. Jane had some work to do preparing for a talk she’s giving at church, so we knew we’d get a late start. It was supposed to be warm in SLO so we originally thought we’d get out to Montana de Oro again where it would be cooler – however, fog had rolled in to Pismo Beach about 10am, so we changed our mind and decided to hike up Reservoir Canyon in SLO, the trailhead for which we reached some time after 11am. As we got out of the car, it was already in the upper 70s with no breeze at all, and a 1,350′ climb didn’t sound all that fun in those conditions. So, we changed our mind again and headed to Montana de Oro, fog or no fog. Valencia Peak has always held something special for us – it was the site of the 2011 Excellent Adventure (also in the fog), and we’ve hiked it twice more since that initial visit. We found ourselves a short while later at the familiar, foggy trailhead, and we began walking east up the trail just before noon. It was comfortably cool as we made our way across the first marine terrace, soon reaching the switchback that leads upward to the second terrace. As we crested the hill, we could just barely make out the base of Valencia Peak’s west ridge, known as Valencia Jr., through the clouds, although the fog began to lift as we approached. Chris took some time to review posted signs that indicated new trail routings in this area – when he turned around, Jane was several hundred yards up the trail, locked into whatever was playing on her headphones. Here’s where conditioning plays such an important role – in our weeks off from hiking, Jane has managed to keep her fitness level up quite well, Chris not so much. Wearing a few extra pounds these days, he felt each one climbing this first set of switchbacks and the next at the east end of the ridgeline prior to traversing across the west face of Valencia proper. Jane, on the other hand, motored to the top with comparative ease. We were both rewarded with magnificent views over the clouds, and we together reached the summit that was bathed in brilliant sunshine. To the west, virtually all of Estero Bay was covered with clouds – it was quite the view. We rested for a bit on the summit – Chris could have spent a little more time there, but Jane was anxious to get down the mountain before others there on the summit decided to descend as well. We made much better time on the descent, and, upon reaching the base of Valencia Jr. once more, we turned south down the Badger trail, one of the few we had yet to walk on this side of the park (we had wanted both to check this trail off our list as well as add a little more mileage to the day). This singletrack contoured southward along the base of the peak before cresting a saddle and turning west to a grove of trees overlooking the ocean – there were a couple of tents here (we later found a sign indicating this place is called Badger Camp), and it would indeed be a nice place to spend a few days. Passing the campsite, we continued west down a gravel road, crossed the paved Pecho Valley Road, and picked up the Badger trail again on the other side. Another half mile later, we reached the base of the Badger trail at its intersection with the Bluffs trail, a path we had walked twice before. We turned north and followed the Bluffs trail back to the car, stopping a few times for some photos on the way. What started out as damp and foggy turned out to be pleasantly mild and sunny – a great day for this little 5-mile loop.