WEEKLY

WALKER

By Tom Davids

A Sampling of Two Plant Communities

Skyline Trail: Huddart County Park

"Speak to the earth, and it will teach you." Job 12:8

Directions: The trailhead is located on the west side of Skyline Boulevard, approximately six miles south of the Skyline Boulevard/Highway 92 intersection. The entry point is Gate H-15, located a few hundred feet south of the site of the annual Kings Mountain Art Fair. Park along the roadside.

Grade: Easy. Elevation gain/loss is a few hundred feet.

Distance: Twi miles.

Time: One hour.

Special Conditions: Be prepared for windy and foggy conditions. No water or restrooms. No dogs. Much of the trail is shared with horseback riders. Huddart County Park is part of the San Mateo County Park system (650) 851-0326.

Huddart County Park is one of the most popular on the Peninsula, offering more than 15 miles of trails. The park, which covers 973 acres, is known for its heavily forested slopes and steep, cool canyons.

This week’s walk is short--only two miles--and mostly level, but you will pass through a nice sampling of the majestic coast redwoods and a short stretch of chaparral.

Our hike starts at Gate H-15, only a few hundred feet south of the Kings Mountain community service area, home of the annual Labor Day weekend Kings Mountain Art Fair. The gate is across Skyline from a residence address, 14040 Skyline Boulevard. Park along the roadside, but off the road as far as possible, and don’t park in the fire lane leading to Gate H-15. Pass through the gate, and turn right on Richards Road. In a few hundred feet, you will see an intersection marked for Skyline Trail and a sign that it is 5.7 miles to Wunderlich County Park. The Skyline Trail passes through Huddart and continues through Bear Gulch Watershed as it follows Skyline Ridge to Wunderlich. If you save past issues of the Weekly Walker, check the Dec. 1, 1991, issue for a review of the Skyline/Bay Area Ridge Trail.

The first quarter mile is on a single-track trail that parallels Skyline Boulevard. Although you won’t see the vehicles, you will hear their noise. The trail passes through beautiful stands of redwood and fir. Notice one skinny redwood that was apparently used as a fence post. The bark is scarred where wire was attached. Madrone trees are also part of the forest mix as you approach a major junction to the left that connects with the Crystal Springs and Richards Road Trail. Across Skyline Boulevard is the trailhead for Redwood Trail and Purisima Creek Trail, both in the Purisima Open Space Preserve. Continue to the right on the narrow trail (which parallels the wider fire road), and you will pass by several classic examples of second growth redwood trees that sprouted up around a large “mother tree,” felled during the late 1800s. Because the mother tree had an established root system, these sprouts generally grew faster and stronger than do seedlings and thus is the common form of redwood reproduction. I noticed one large ring that had mothered at least 10 large trees.

The narrow trail soon joins with the wider fire trail and continues along the sunny ridge top. The next junction offers the Chinquapin Trail and the Archery Fire Road. You should follow the signed Skyline Trail, which will soon parallel a fence line along the west side of the ridge. This is a contrasting dry and hot chaparral area, where manzanita, chamise, and chaparral pea abound. To the west is pastureland in private ownership. In one-eighth of a mile, you are at Kings Mountain Road, where it is time to turn around.

Footnote: A reader asked about the plant book I use and recommend for the Coast Range. It is “Plants of the Coast Redwood Region” by Kathleen Lyons and Mary Beth Cooney-Lazaneo, published by Looking Press, 21600 Bib Basin Way, #5, Boulder Creek, Ca 95006.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. E-mail to: trekertom@aol.com or fax to: 650-592-4736.