It’s formally called the MOUT (Military Operations on Urban Terrain) site, but everyone calls it the Impossible City, nicknamed after the steep Impossible Canyon it sits in.
A left turn onto Eucalyptus Road in Seaside reveals a wilderness of saturated greens. Heading from Parker Flats toward Watkins Gate, a gate rimmed with concertina wire marks the perimeter of the inland ranges, with signs warning, “Explosives Area Keep Out!”
The inland ranges remain the most dangerous part of Fort Ord. It’s slated to become part of the nearly 15,000-acre Fort Ord National Monument after the Army completes an extensive clean-up process. Once it’s done, which is expected to be by 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management will get it ready for hikers, bikers and joggers.
All of it, that is, except for a 51-acre section, which sits like a donut hole in the middle of the monument. From time to time, this little plot becomes a pretend war zone, complete with helicopter landings and live fire.
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