"A Good Workout for the New Year"

North Ridge Trail

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

"You may read, mark, learn all Alpine scriptures; their inward digestion is the matter of a lifetime." - H.E.G. Taylor

Directions: Go west on Highway 92 to Skyline Boulevard (Highway 35). Turn left and continue 4.5 miles south to the parking lot on the west side of Skyline.

Grade: Strenuous. Elevation gain of about 1,000 feet.

Distance: Five miles.

Time: Three hours.

Special Conditions: Restroom only at the trailhead. No drinking water. No dogs allowed. No poison oak. Preserve is managed by Midpeninsula Open Space District, 650-691-1200.

Purisima has 3,117 forested acres with more than 20 miles of hiking trails. Over the years we have hiked them all--from Lobitos Creek Trail in the south to the North Ridge Trail, but we have never written about the latter. We hiked this trail again on New Year's Day at the suggestion of Jim Clifford, who also recommended Quarry Park in El Granada. We will cover that one later.

The North Ridge of Purisima does not appear to be an area favored by loggers, who removed giant redwoods from Purisima Canyon over a period of 60 years. However, the old road you will hike on to the preserve boundary was built for some unknown reason. Perhaps it was to bring up redwood shingles from the canyon below.

The timber industry took a big bite out of the Purisima from 1854 to the 1920s. Frank Stanger, in his fascinating history, "Sawmills in the Redwoods: Logging on the San Francisco Peninsula--1849-1967," describes life along Purisima Creek over the 60-plus years that lumber was king. According to Stanger, during the 1870s much of the prime lumber was cut for a large project of the Spring Valley Water Company. The plan was to construct a nine-mile flume to carry water from Frenchman's Creek, high on Montara Mountain, to an existing flume at Stone Dam. The flume was built using some five million feet of lumber purchased under contract from Borden and Hatch, a partnership that dominated Purisima logging for many years. After 20 years of operations, the flume was abandoned due to the high cost of operation. Perhaps some of the lumber used for the flume project came up to Skyline via the North Ridge Road.

But may not. While hiking, I spend a lot of time thinking about what may have happened in the old days. Who built these roads and why?

Stanger does tell us that much of the wood cut in Purisima was reduced to shingles since they could be more easily hauled from the canyon on pack animals and wagons.

Our hike starts from the parking lot adjacent to Skyline Boulevard, just south of the Country Store (now closed) and 4.5 miles south of Highway 92. Start hiking down at the trailhead next to the restroom. Almost immediately, take the North Ridge Trail to your right. For the next half mile, this "hikers only" trail winds down almost 250 feet through a thick forest of redwoods to a major trail junction.

At the junction, continue right on the North Ridge Trail. The next half-mile is relatively flat with good views to the west and north. Along the way is a small clearing (covered with green grass in the spring) that serves as a fine close-in picnic spot.

After walking about 10 minutes, you will come to a junction on your left marked for the Higgins-Purisima Parking Lot (2.8 miles) via the Whittemore Gulch Trail. A few feet farther on is another trail junction marked for the North Ridge Trail and the preserve boundary in 1.5 mile. Take this trail, and begin a steep downward hike on a wide service road. Good views to the south, west, and north will surround you. On New Year's Day, which was bright and clear, we could see all the way to Pillar Point on the coast and Montara Mountain to the north.

After dropping about 150 feet, the trail intersects with a side trail to the Whittemore Gulch Trail. Take this trail on the way back, and complete a short loop, but for now, continue down. The trail is clearly visible ahead as it goes along the ridgeline and then disappears into the tree-covered knoll ahead. A small sign reminds you that this is not a through trail. The canyon to the left is Whittemore Gulch, with Harkins Ridge beyond. Reviewing your park map, you will notice that both the gulch and ridge have trails leading down to Purisima Creek. You will hike another 10 minutes and drop another 150 feet to the low point of North Ridge. There are other nice grassy areas for picnicking on both sides of the trail.

Continue up into the forested knoll, which is dominated by fir trees. The trail passes on the north side of the knoll and past another grassy clearing.

You can stop here or continue a short distance to where the trail turns abruptly right and steeply descends to the preserve boundary (steel gate), where you must turn around. The drop is about 350 feet--straight down a rutted road with no switchbacks. The only real reason for hiking down is to touch the gate and exercise your heart and lungs on the way back up.

We recommend this for a good two-to three-hour workout in a less traveled part of Purisima Open Space Preserve.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome.

E-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.

Footnote: Check out the Weekly Walker Web site at www.weeklywalker.com.