Two Short Hikes with Bobby and John

Redwood Trail (Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve)

Horseshoe Lake (Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve)

“In spite of our wisdom and sensible talking,

We on our feet must go plodding and walking.” - Robert Louis Stevenson, “A Child’s Garden of Verses”

Directions for Redwood Trail: The trailhead is located on Skyline Boulevard 6.3 miles south of the Highway 92 intersection, on the west side of the road.

Directions for Horseshoe Lake: Take Highway 92 west to Skyline Boulevard, south 20 miles to intersection with Page Mill and Alpine roads. Continue on Skyline another mile, and trun right into the Skyline Ridge parking lot.

Grade: Easy.

Distance: From .5 to 1.5 mile.

Time: As much or as little as you wish.

Special Conditions: Dress for the weather. Toilet facilities available; trails are rated “accessible” and are near level. Both preserves are managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (650-691-1200).

It was a quiet, hot Sunday afternoon, and grandsons Bobby (2) and John (5) were growing restless. Or maybe their parents and grandparents were getting restless, so the kids were just an excuse. Even the fact-filled, entertaining Sunday newspaper seemed boring after an hour or so.

And so, handed the challenge, Grandpa rallied to find the perfect location—Redwood Trail—only a half hour from home on Skyline Boulevard, where the breezes are cool and the trees grow tall.

With a hastily prepared picnic basket in hand, we started our one-half mile trek down the wide, firm path, suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. There is nothing like the eager anticipation of small children, each with a walking stick, marching off into the “unknown.”

As we walked along, the redwoods rose above us like pillars of a temple. Light and shadows alternated as the sun searched for small openings to touch the red-brown bark and the underlying plant community.

Soon we spotted a bench at the trailside, and a little farther on, a picnic table. A few more steps brought us to the place where the Redwood Trail crosses Purisima Creek Trail—the chemical toilet is located there—and then continues on to two more picnic tables. These have an overhanging end to accommodate a wheelchair. In all, there are three tables and one bench on this short hike. We chose the last, and in Bobby and John’s opinion, the best one for our impromptu picnic.

As we walked, we talked about the redwood trees. We noticed that many have sprouted from the roots of their parent, forming a ring (known as a fairy ring or sprouting ring) around the stump. Many years ago--probably 100 years or more--after the mother tree was logged, hundreds of shoots may have sprouted from the parent's root system. They were gradually thinned out in their quest for light, nutrients, and space so that today only a few large trees survive in the ring. Considering the size of the redwood, you might expect a deep root system. Not so. The redwood does not have a taproot, but it sends out shallow lateral roots that usually go no deeper than 12 feet. However, the roots may extend laterall more than 50 feet in every direction and will interlock with the roots of adjacent trees.

The redwood is among the fastest growing trees in the world. By age 20, the tree is often 30 feet tall with a 10-inch diameter trunk. This is when the tree grows fastest, adding another two to six feet in height and one inch in trunk diameter each year.

Examine the bark. It is tough and fibrous, up to one foot thick on the larger trees. The bark resists fire because it contains only traces of resins and volatile oils. But you will often see a fire scar on the side of a redwood damaged by fire. If the fire is hot enough, it will penetrate the bark and burn the heartwood. A burnt-out area of this type is called a "goose pen." The term originated when pioneers built gates across large tree hollows, using them as pens for geese and other small livestock. Large goose pens are more readily viewed in old-growth stands of very large trees, such as at Big Basin State Park.

A common ground cover plant in this forest is redwood sorrel. The clover-like leaves are very sensitive to direct sunlight and will fold down like an umbrella if the plant gets overexposed to sun. The flowers turn from white to deep pink with age.

You will also see varieties of ferns. They are often established in trunks of fallen trees, in the furrows of living bark, and most commonly, in damp, exposed soil. Native Americans used them for medicinal purposes, and they wove the dark stems into baskets to form designs and patterns.

If you want a real adventure, continue on the trail after the last picnic table. It narrows through a couple of meadow areas, then loops back and descends to the Purisima Creek Canyon Trail. At this junction, turn left and climb back to Skyline Boulevard and the chemical toilet.

We had a fine time exploring this area and answering the many “whys” that followed my lucid and scripted introduction to this wonderful pocket of redwood forest.

While we were exploring the Redwood Trail, it occurred to me that another fine walk for the kids would be at Horseshoe Lake in the Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve.

The loop hike around Horseshoe Lake is a familiar and easy, but satisfying hike for the whole family—young or old. On the west side of the lake is a whole-access trail suitable for wheelchairs, strollers, wagons, and trikes. The trail is close to the water’s edge so that youngsters can get a close-up view of the water life. But note that fishing and swimming are not allowed. The inside of the “horseshoe” has some beautiful specimens of canyon oak, and two picnic tables are only a short distance from the parking lot.

Either of these two walks would be a real treat for all generations of your family on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail to < tom@tomdavids.com> Footnote: Check out the Weekly Walker Web site at www.weeklywalker.com.