WEEKLY

WALKER

By Tom Davids

A Healthy Place

Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve

"Walking is the natural recreation for a person who desires not absolutely to suppress his intellect but to turn it out to play for a season." Leslie Stephen, “In Praise of Walking”

Directions: West on Edgewood Road to Crestview Drive. Right one block to Edmonds Road. Left one block to trailhead. Or Interstate 280 to Edgewood Road. East to Crestview Drive and left to Edmonds Road.

Grade: Moderate. Elevation gain of 450 feet.

Distance: T-mile loop.

Special Conditions: No dogs allowed. Watch for poison oak on the Polly Geraci Trail and on the Blue Oak Trail. The Redwood Center near the trailhead is private property.

Not too many years ago, this 293-acre open space preserve was off limits. On the ridge was a series of buildings long since vacated but having a mysterious institutional look. And rightly so, for this was the site of the Hassler Health Home, a tuberculosis sanitarium that operated from 1926 to 1972. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) purchased the area in 1983, assisted by nearby residents of San Carlos who formed a tax assessment district, and the buildings were removed in 1985.

Your hike begins at the trailhead beside Edmonds Road about a block west of Crestview Drive. The first 0.6 mile is adjacent to Hassler Road, a level walk through a valley that is the property of the San Francisco Water District. At the hairpin turn, take the trail along Cordilleras Creek for a short distance, cross a bridge, and begin your 400-foot climb for one mile on the Polly Geraci Trail, named for the late Polly Geraci of San Carlos. She is remembered for her work on behalf of the Sierra Club and the MROSD. As you gain elevation, views of the East Bay and the South Bay rise in the east. Across Cordilleras Creek canyon are townhouses perched along Crestview Drive. The cool canyon gives way to dry wooded slopes covered with coast live oak, manzanita, and chaparral. After a few switchbacks, the trail angles across the east side of the ridge and tops out at a knoll. A nice lunch stop is the bench located a short distance down this trail from the knoll.

A few steps farther is the intersection with Hassler Road. Turn right and continue a short distance to the ridge top. A fence separates you from the vista point accessible from Interstate 280. Or turn left to return along the abandoned Hassler Road, where you will see some remnants of the health home facility--hydrants, stairs going nowhere, brick and stone work, and dump areas for gardens that added beauty to this place, where so many spent their final days. Look carefully at the vegetation planted by the residents--the ornamental trees, cacti, and shrubs that are thriving in this less friendly place. Or take the Blue Oak Trail from Hassler Road to Edmonds Road and turn left to the parking area.

This is a good hike to reflect on the mighty oak. There are five types common in the coastal mountains: coast live oak, California oak, black oak, interior live oak, canyon oak, and scrub oak. These trees were an important resource for the California Indians. Acorns and the prepared meal were a primary food source but were also a type of penicillin used to dry out sores and boils. The wood was used as fuel and was a source of charcoal. One variety, the canyon oak, was also called the maul oak because its hard and heavy wood was used by pioneers to make maul heads.

This district is under the jurisdiction of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. For information, call 650-949-5500.