WEEKLY

WALKER

By Tom Davids

Hiking at Its Best

Soda Gulch Trail

Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve

"The longing to be primitive is a disease of culture." George Santayana

Directions: Go west on Highway 92 to Skyline Boulevard. Turn left and continue 4.5 miles south to the parking area just past King's Mountain Country Store on the west side of the highway.

Grade: Moderate.

Distance: Eight miles round trip.

Time: Three to four hours.

Special Conditions: Watch for poison oak at upper elevation. Rest room available at trailhead. Dogs are not allowed. Drinking water not available on trail, but the King's Mountain Country Store next to the parking lot is loaded with treats for before, after, or during your hike. The Harkins Trail is a multi-use trail for hikers, equestrians, and bicyclists.

Last week we featured a short sunset hike at Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. This week we return to Purisima to hike what I believe is one of the area's best hiking trails.

The Soda Gulch Trail is for hikers only--no equestrians or bicyclists. Park at the large lot located 4.5 miles south of Highway 92 on Skyline Boulevard. At the trailhead (next to the "environmental" out house), take the narrow "Hikers Only" trail to your right and descend through a fir tree forest laced with ferns and forget-me-nots to a junction with the Harkins Fire Trail, and turn left. For the next half mile, the trail moves laterally along the ridge, moving in and out of ravines at an elevation between 1,600 and 1,700 feet. As the trail moves out of the last ravine, it ascends gently to a knoll, then turns 90 degrees and descends to Purisima Creek far below.

At the knoll is our viewpoint for the sunset hike. If you carefully time this week's hike, you can enjoy the sunset on your hike out. From the knoll, the Harkins Fire Trail drops steeply for a mile or so to the junction with Soda Gulch Trail. As mentioned, Soda Gulch is for hikers only. Equestrians and bicyclists must continue on Harkins Trail to the valley floor and Purisima Creek Road.

Once you hike this 2.4-mile trail, I think you will agree that it is one of the best hiking trails on the Peninsula. You begin your descent through chaparral and end it in deep redwoods. You pass by a wide-spreading tanbark oak tree and over rushing seasonal streams. You can study many examples of second growth redwood trees that have received their life from the mother tree, now a stump, having fallen to the logger perhaps 100 years ago. You will also see some very large redwood trees, one of which is a double-trunked giant that was probably used to anchor cables for hauling logs from the steep slope. Look for the scarred bark on this tree, which is located near by a split log bench at the trailside, about halfway down.

As you explore the ins and outs of Soda Gulch and No Name Gulch, I'm sure that you will resolve to visit this trail again soon. Try it in the summer to escape the heat under the dark, moist canopy of the redwoods. Or in the winter when water is rushing down the canyons. Or in the spring when wildflowers enliven the upper slopes and the tanbark oaks begin to leaf. Or in the fall when the ecosystem is eagerly waiting for refreshing rains.

You can turn this hike into a 12-mile loop by taking the Purisima Creek Road to the trailhead at Higgins-Purisima Road, then hike back up to the ridge via the Whittmore Gulch Trail. But note that the return trip is an elevation gain of 1,600 feet, so be prepared.

The Whittmore Gulch Trail has beautiful pockets of forget-me-nots that are at their finest bloom from March through May.

Your comments and hiking suggestions are always welcome. Fax to the Independent at (650) 692-7587, or e-mail to: trekertom@aol.com.