Francisco’s

It’s cool down by the river, but don’t get chilled at Francisco’s (820 ft)

Leaving Cal 2, you encounter the Switchbacks - a series of long, sharp twists which drop you more than 800 ft down towards the river. At the bottom you again emerge from the trees onto a tiny ledge of a trail. The views from this section are spectacular in daylight, but you’ll be travelling in the dead of night, and all you may catch is a glimpse of the moonlight reflecting off the river. At Fords Bar, your mount will have to slog up the very steep incline to the welcome water trough at the top. For a short while you’re on a wide double-track, but soon enough you plunge back into the trees and again find yourself on yet another ledge trail far above the river. This is Cal 3 - a section noticeable for its lack of vegetation. After trotting through the soft sand and between the berry bushes at Sandy Bottom, you finally exit onto the wide river road (or at least it seems wide). Only a mile or so to go and you’ll be at Francisco’s. Before you reach it, you’ll pass the Rucky-Chucky rapids. You may not see them, but you’ll hear their roar far below you.

On June 19th to 24th 2016, the American Trail Running Association partnered with the Google Maps team to capture 360 degree panoramic “street-view” imagery of the entire Western States Trail using the Street View Trekker backpack:
The Switchbacks