WEEKLY
WALKER
Hike to an Old
Shingle Mill
The Tarwater Trail
Loop - Pescadero Creek County Park
"It is good to collect things;
it is better to take walks."
Anatole
France
Directions: South on Skyline Boulevard
to Alpine Road. Continue for three miles; pass by the entrance to Portola State
Park and continue .4 miles to Camp Pomponino Road (also marked for "County
Jail"). Turn left and continue one mile on narrow paved road to an unpaved
parking lot and trailhead.
Grade: Moderate, elevation loss and gain of 700 feet.
Distance: Five miles.
Time: Three hours with lunch break.
Special Conditions:
No dogs or bikes allowed.
Horses not allowed during winter months.
No restroom or water at trailhead.
The park is managed by San Mateo County. For information, call 650-363-4020.
Pescadero Creek County Park is joined by two other county
parks--Memorial and Sam McDonald--plus a state park--Portola Redwoods--to form
a continuous area of more than 10,000 wilderness acres in the nearby Santa Cruz
Mountains. A network of interconnected trails through these parks makes this
one of California's premier hiking areas. Connecting trails also branch out to
Butano State Park, Big Basin State Park, and the Long Ridge Open Space
District--enough mileage to satisfy the most ardent long-distance hiker or
trail runner.
This was our first hike into Pescadero
Creek County Park, and we chose to start from the Tarwater trailhead located
off Camp Pomponino, about one mile from Alpine Road. You can also hike into the
park from the Hoffman Creek trailhead at Memorial County Park and from the
headquarters area of Portola Redwoods State Park.
From the parking lot (this is as far as
you are authorized to drive unless you have business at the county jail--honor
farm), walk across the road to the signed Tarwater Trail. The trail starts
through open grassland with good views to the north and west. Immediately you
will notice that the grassland has been "rototilled" by wild pigs looking
for tasty roots and bulbs. This rooting by feral pigs covers a large area, and
you will hike through the impacted area for the next half hour or so. The wild
pig problem is rapidly getting out of hand, and it is of major concern to
public land managers throughout the Bay Area.
Kurtis Alexander, a reporter for the
Independent Newspaper Group, explored the scope of the wild pig problem in a
recent article entitled "Hunters Seek Bounty on Wild Boars,"
published 3-20-01. Alexander reported that officials of the Midpeninsula Open
Space District and the County Park Department seem to be waging a losing battle
over the thousands of wild pigs running loose through the Peninsula parklands.
The pigs are rapid breeders with sows producing two litters of up to 10 piglets
each year. Public land agencies are now budgeting substantial sums to control
the pig population by trapping and hunting, but by all counts, there are many
more pigs being added through herd reproduction than are being removed by
hunters and trappers. And natural selection doesn't seem to be the answer since
the only predator able to dispatch a 200-pound boar is a mountain lion--and
they are few and far between.
Where did the wild pigs come from? Most
are escapees from pig farms, and some are descendants of European boars brought
to this country by game ranchers to liven up the sport of boar hunting. Are you
likely to see wild pigs? It's certainly possible, but not likely. The pigs are
timid and have poor eyesight, but they have good hearing and a great sense of
smell. They will likely detect you and move on long before you see them. I have
hiked through these parks and preserves for years, but have never seen a wild
pig.
Continue over the grassland, and turn
left down a narrow trail through an oak/bay woodland and along the east edge of
a long meadow. As the trail cuts across the meadow, watch for an old barn next
to a grove of eucalyptus trees. This is Tie Camp, part of a dairy herd
operation that provided milk and cheese to the locals. The elevation at the old
barn is about 300 feet below the trailhead. From the barn, the trail circles
around the eucalyptus trees, crosses to the other side of the meadow, drops
into a forest of second-growth redwoods, and passes over a small feeder stream
heading to Tarwater Creek.
This is a quiet area of large redwoods
with remnants of the people who lived here many years ago--a rusty bucket, tin
cans, and an old leather shoe sole. The trail continues downhill, alongside an
old barbed wire fence line and through a wallow, fringed with water plants, and
more evidence of the rooting pattern of the wild pigs.
The junction with Canyon Trail is just
ahead with a seasonal gate to block horseback riders during the winter season.
At the junction, turn left onto the wider Tarwater Trail, which becomes an old
service road.
A right turn on Canyon Trail will
quickly take you to Tarwater Creek. The name, "Tarwater," refers to
the shiny, oily substance that you are likely to see in the water.
Continue along the wide Tarwater Trail,
which runs parallel to Tarwater Creek. You will find large redwoods alongside
the rail. Many of these are standing alone, so you can get a view and a better
appreciation for the tremendous height of these trees.
After about one-half mile of pleasant
shaded and mostly level hiking, the trail crosses Camp Pomponino Road. The road
continues into the county jail after it crosses the bridge over Tarwater Creek.
After viewing the bridge and the creek
below, turn back up the road and follow the signed trail bordered by redwood
and fir trees that runs parallel to the paved road for a short distance. As you
hike over Shingle Mill Creek, watch for a junction and a left turn onto
Tarwater Loop Trail. This is a single-track trail; bikes are not allowed and
horses are restricted during the winter season. Pass through the horse gate and
gradually ascend along the creekside. After about 10 minutes of hiking from the
last junction, watch on your left for the remains of an odd shingle mill. Some
large support timbers are still in place as well as rusted parts of an old
steam engine. This is a beautiful area of second-growth redwoods and an area
worth exploring.
As the trail gains elevation, it turns
into an unpaved road that was probably used years ago to transport the newly cut
shingles to market. Along the way, watch for a very large redwood perched on a
steep hillside on the left side of the trail. The tree is some 15 feet in
diameter, with a burned-out core and two elbow-shaped limbs high up the trunk.
This classic specimen somehow survived the heavy logging activity of the early
1900s. As the trail gains altitude on the ridge, the forest changes to mostly
oak and madrone with scattered fir trees. Clumps of forget-me-nots in full
bloom (March) brighten the trail. Good views open up to the south and west, and
before long the trail passes through a broken-down, barbed wire fence. Deep in
the ravine below is Wally's Creek, and you will also see portions of Camp
Pomponino Road. In a short distance, the trail loops down through a gate to the
parking lot.
Written by Tom Davids