The Miramontes Raymundo Loop

The Miramontes – Raymundo/Mt. Redondo Trail Loop

The Phleger Estate

(In Search of Sawmills on the Peninsula)

"The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key.”

– Edward Abbey, “Walking”

Directions: The Phleger Estate is located adjacent to and north of Huddart Park and east of Skyline Boulevard. Parking is available in Huddart Park, located on Kings Mountain Road 3.2 miles from the Woodside commercial district.

Grade: Moderate, with an 800-foot elevation gain.

Distance: Seven miles

Time: Four hours.

Special Conditions: Watch for poison oak at trailside. Trails are open to hikers and equestrians. The park is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (650) 556-8642.

(Any reference to sawmills and logging in this week’s walk is credited to Frank Stanger, unless otherwise noted.)

As Veralyn and I continue to hike Peninsula trails, we encounter mysterious questions of history: Why is a trail named as it is? Why does the trail begin to look like a road? Why are flat places or hillside cuts along the trail? How were the immense redwood trees removed from the deep canyons? We notice old metal pieces and wonder where they came from. Old fence lines have an unknown purpose.

With this week’s walk, we will begin to explore the logging industry that started on the Peninsula 150 years ago. Our companion for this series is a book entitled “Sawmills in the Redwoods: Logging on the San Francisco Peninsula – 1849-1967,” written by Frank M. Stanger, and published by the San Mateo County Historical Association in 1967, with a second printing in 1992. This book is available at the bookstore of the San Mateo County Historical Association, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City, CA 94062—the old court house in downtown Redwood City.

“Sawmills. . .” with pictures, maps, and a lively description of logging on the Peninsula is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how logging set the stage for the urbanization of the Peninsula. Redwood City was not named for a monster tree in the heart of town, but for having a seaport where redwood lumber could be shipped—primarily to San Francisco. Whipple (as in a major east/west avenue through Redwood City) probably had some reference to Willard Whipple, who built two sawmills on West Union Creek—the subject of this week’s hike. And so the stories go.

To reach the trailhead, pass through the Huddart Park pay station off Kings Mountain Road, 1.5 miles past the intersection with Woodside Road. After checking in ($5 per car per day-use fee), turn left at the first intersection, then bear right to the base of the large Meadow Picnic Area. Park near the restrooms.

From the trailhead next to the restrooms, take the Zwierlein Trail on a quick quarter-mile descent to Richards Road. Then turn left to reach the Phleger Estate.

Richards Road runs along West Union Creek for about a mile before it intersects with Miramontes Trail and the Phleger Estate. From there, Richards Road continues on a steep grade to Skyline Boulevard. It is still classified as a jeep trail and is not open for public use. This road was part of the wagon road on which lumber was hauled from Richards’ steam sawmill built off Skyline Boulevard near Ware Road in the early 1850s. The general route was from the mill, south on Skyline to Richards Road, then down to West Union Creek, south to Tripp store, and on to Redwood City.

Halfway along the first half-mile segment, keep a close watch for the point where McGarvey Creek and West Union Creek join. You will spot the confluence through a group of second-growth redwoods on a bulb-out between the Richards Road and McGarvey Creek.

Follow Richards Road through a hairpin turn, and climb .1 mile to the Phlegler Estate sign.

The Miramontes Trail quickly joins West Union Creek and runs parallel to it for the next mile. On your right—a downslope, watch for a timber wall that stabilizes the trail and blocks access to an old logging road. Somewhere in this area was Whipple’s Lower Mill, which operated from 1852 to 1854. Stanger writes that in 1875 the steam boiler at this mill “exploded, killing the engineer and badly scalding the fireman.”

The creek, along Miramontes Trail, runs high during heavy winter storms, and its canyon is a welcome shady oasis on hot summer days. Your walk through the redwoods ends when you switchback and begin climbing up the warm and exposed hillside to a three-way trail junction, where the Raymundo Trail turns right downhill, and the Mount Redondo Trail turns left uphill, along a tributary of West Union Creek.

Turn right on the Raymundo Trail and down to a fence line, then switchback and cross over a bridge and the unnamed tributary of West Union Creek. From the bridge, look forward to the unseen point where this creek and West Union Creek join. In this area, (now private property), Whipple had a second mill--Upper Mill--that was destroyed by fire the same year Lower Mill was destroyed. The year 1855 was a bad year for Whipple, and he left the local logging scene, reportedly for the silver mines of Yolo County.

Continue on the trail, following the creek through a beautiful redwood canyon, and enjoy a climb of 400 feet to the point where the trail doubles back and southerly along the hillside—now mostly oak and madrone. At the next junction, continue straight, and head down the Mount Redondo Trail. A turn to the right will take you on the Lonely Trail to Skyline Boulevard.

After a few minutes down the trail, you will pass through a series of tight switchbacks before crossing a creek—the same unknown tributary from which you viewed Whipple’s Upper Mill. Upstream about 100 yards is the site of Greer’s Mill, which operated from 1856 to 1872. You can climb up the stream bed (mostly dry in summer) or on either side, and find an old riveted boiler shell buried in stream gravel. Above the creek on your right are several level areas that probably supported buildings and portions of old logging roads leading downhill.

Stanger tells us (page 50) that Greer rebuilt Whipple’s Upper Mill, including a circular saw (new technology) at a cost of $6,000, and in 1858 he moved the mill to the site we just walked through. The mill had a life of 16 years, a long time for those days, even though it once burned and was rebuilt.

The Mount Redondo Trail continues down through a forest of redwoods, occasionally taking on the appearance of a logging road. The next junction is where we started this 2.3-mile loop. Turn back on Miramontes Trail, and watch for the twisted madrone trees along the sunny hillside. Soon you will be back in the redwood canyon along West Union Creek.

Hiking back, we noticed in the creek bed a concrete abutment of a bridge built by Whipple to connect his Upper and Lower mills. This “permanent” type of construction seems to indicate that Whipple planned to lumber in this spot for many more than his three-year tenure. But plans changed when “disaster dogged the enterprise.” You may change the hike back to the trailhead by taking the Crystal Springs Trail from Richards Road back to the Meadow Picnic Area and the trailhead.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. Email to <tom@tomdavids.co>.

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