WEEKLY

WALKER

By Tom Davids

"A Good Place to Walk in the Rain

Sawyer Camp Trail

"Avoid slippery footing as you would the plague, and don't sit on damp ground. Keep walking." John Kieran

Directions: Freeway 280 to Highway 92. West to Canada Road. North to Crystal Springs Road. Park at roadside.

Grade: Level.

Distance: Seven miles round trip to the Jepson Laurel Tree. Another five miles to the trailhead at Hillcrest Road.

Special Conditions: Asphalt trail. No dogs allowed. Lakes are off limits. No swimming allowed. Rest rooms are available at trail head and Jepson Laurel. Benches along the way.

Recent heavy winter rains have turned many of our nearby trails into a muddy quagmire, so you may feel inclined to stop your walking routine for awhile. While waiting for the ground to dry, turn your eyes west to the earthquake rift zone below the 280 Freeway and the Sawyer Camp Trail. This is a multi-use trail where everyone is welcome--walkers, runners, bikers, skaters, little people in strollers, and big people on horses (although we've seen only a couple of horseback riders in the many years we have used this trail).

With its well-maintained asphalt surface, the Sawyer Camp Trail is ideal for this time of year. No mud to slip on or small lakes to wade through-- just a nice, wide, smooth, level surface.

The trail is a bit crowded on weekends and holidays. But the trail is wide, and a center line keeps you apart from oncoming bicycle traffic. For a less crowded walking experience, try the trail shortly after sunrise or a couple hours before sundown.

A walk along the Sawyer Camp Trail is an historical and environmental experience. In the mid-1850s, Leander Sawyer established a camp along the trail from which he sold food and lodging to passing picnickers and horseback riders. He also served stagecoaches connecting Millbrae to Half Moon Bay. In later years, this road became the main highway between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. The new Crystal Springs Reservoir flooded much of the old track in 1888, and the relocated trail became a county road. In 1978, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors designated the road a non-vehicular recreation trail that is used by 250,000 residents from miles around in search of a bit of exercise in a beautiful lakeside setting.

As you walk the Sawyer Camp Trail, you are parallel to the San Andreas Fault, which runs below Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. Land on both sides of the lake is owned by the City of San Franciso as watershed. The three reservoirs (San Andreas Lake, Upper Crystal Springs, and Lower Crystal Springs) are fed by the Hetch Hetchy Water System via pipe from reservoirs in the Sierras.

There are many good reasons to choose this hike, but a visit the oldest and largest laurel tree in California is good enough for the first time. Named in honor of Willis Linn Jepson, one of California's most noted botanists, this venerable tree is more than 600 years old and is the oldest and largest of its kind in the state. This is the California laurel, also know as the bay tree, pepperwood, or Oregon myrtle. Rest rooms are available along the way.

Set aside a few hours, put on your hiking shoes and rain slicker, and carry an umbrella. It is a good cure for cabin fever during a series of rainy days, and you may even find yourself "Singin' in the Rain."