Weekly

Walker

By Tom Davids

Down to the Crossroads

Wunderlich County Park

QUOTE

Directions: From Interstate 280, take La Honda Road to Skyline Boulevard, turn right. Trail begins on the east side of Skyline, a short distance north of the Skywood Shopping Center.

Grade: Easy with an elevation loss of 700 feet.

Distance: 4.5 miles

Time: Two hours

Special Conditions: No dogs are allowed. The path is wide, so no problem with poison oak.

Another walk in Wunderlich took you on a circle trip of the lower part of Wunderlich Park. From the trailhead at park headquarters (two miles from the town of Woodside off Woodside Road), the hike led up Bear Gulch Trail to the "Meadow." This hike will concentrate on the upper half of the park, beginning at Skyline Boulevard trailhead.

Starting from the parking area, take the Skyline Trail along the ridge top. In about a mile, you will pass through a grassy area, which make a fine lunch stop, or look for a nearby madrone tree if the day is warm.

Madrone is one of the most common trees in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It will be in bloom with small, white, bell-shaped flowers from March to May. In late summer, the flowers will mature into large, orange berries. You can recognize this tree by its large, shiny leaves and its thin bark, which peels off each summer, exposing smooth, light green wood that weathers to red-brown.

Indians and early settlers used this tree for food, medicine, lodge poles, stirrups, and charcoal. The roots and leaves were used to produce a lotion to treat sores and wounds, and for a type of tea for stomach discomfort. The berries were eaten raw, boiled, or dried for winter food. The madrone is common on drier slopes, above the shady, protected redwood zone.

Also common in the mixed evergreen forest are Douglas fir, tan oak, oak, bay, wax myrtle, and hazel (Plants of Big Basin Redwood State Park and the Coastal Mountains of Northern California.)

The trail leaves the sunny exposure after skirting private property and then drops 400 feet through deep forest to the "Crossroads." Turn left and begin your hike back along an old ranch road, the Alambique Trail. This segment is wide, nicely graded, and the elevation gain is hardly noticed.

If you feel ambitious and have six hours or so, I recommend connecting the two loops. The resulting trip is 10 1/2 miles with elevation loss/gain of 1,700 feet. From the Crossroads, continue on Alambique Trail to the Woodside Road trailhead. Return via Bear Gulch Trail to the Meadow and on to the Crossroads.