WEEKLY WALKER

By Tom Davids

Forget-Me-Not Hike

Whittmore Gulch Trail --Purisima Creek

Redwoods Open Space Preserve

Directions: Skyline Boulevard Trailhead: West on Highway 92 to Skyline Boulevard, 4.5 miles south to the parking lot.

Grade: Moderate, 1,600-foot elevation gain.

Distance: 7.4 miles.

Time: Three hours.

Special Conditions: Watch for poison oak at upper elevation. Rest room at Skyline Trailhead, but not at Higgins-Purisima parking area. Dogs are not allowed. No water at either end, although the Kings Mountain Country Store is next to the Skyline Trailhead.

"And as I turn me home,

My shadow walks before." Robert Bridge

A mere 20-minute drive west of Redwood City is an Open Space Preserve that once visited will draw you back again and again. Panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, rushing streams, and deep canyons remind you of the best of Big Basin State Park and Point Reyes National Seashore.

The Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is 2,519 acres of alternating windswept, grass- and shrub-covered hills and deep canyons with towering redwoods and Douglas firs, providing canopy for assorted ferns, berries, and wildflowers.

At the Skyline Boulevard parking lot, you may want to visit the neighboring Kings Mountain Country Store for picnic supplies or get in touch with the history of the area through a look at their small museum.

The trail begins at the south end of the parking lot. It soon splits, a wider service road to the left and a narrow trail to the right. Go right and begin your descent through the fir trees that cover the ridge top. Often this area is blanketed in fog while the sun shines a few hundred feet below. I am always on the lookout for the ideal fog/sun/ photo opportunity.

In about half a mile you are at the junction of Harkins Fire Trail and the Whittmore Gulch Trail. Continue right for another half mile of ridge hiking. Now you will begin to enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the Pacific from Half Moon Bay north. At the next junction, turn left down Whittmore Gulch. As you descend along a series of gentle switchbacks, you soon pass from a land of endless vistas to the close confines of a dense redwood forest. Redwoods were logged in the Purisima Creek area until the 1970s, but the real action was in the late 1800s, when some eight mills were active along Purisima Creek and Whittmore Gulch. One small stand of old-growth trees survived the logger's relentless axe. You will find these great trees a few hundred feet up the gulch on an umimproved, unmarked trail just after crossing a small wooden bridge. We reached this point after a steady one-hour hike from Skyline Boulevard.

From here to the Purisima trailhead one mile ahead, the trail is intermittently lined on both sides by dense growths of forget-me-nots. These exquisite blue flowers with yellow centers thrive in this moist, partially shaded area. They are at their best March through May.

When you reach Purisima Creek, it's time to turn around and regain the ridge. The trail is well graded, and the 1,600-foot elebation gain is not too difficult. If you have time to add another two miles to your trip, turn left on Purisima Creek Road, then left on Soda Gulch Trail and righ on Harkins Fire Trail to the Skyline parking lot.