WEEKLY

WALKER

By Tom Davids

"From Rails to Trails"

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park

"Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot defend themselves or run away." John Muir

Directions: South on Highway 1 from Santa Cruz for about seven miles. Exit at the Seacliff Beach off-ramp and double back one block on State Park Drive to Soquel Drive. Turn right on Soquel Drive to the intersection with Aptos Creek Road (about one mile). Turn left on Aptos Creek Road one-half mile to the park entrance station. Continue to the parking lot at the Porter Family picnic area.

Grade: Moderate. Elevation gain 900 feet.

Distance: About eight miles.

Time: Three to four hours on guided walk.

Special Conditions: Park hours are 6 a.m. to sunset. A use fee is collected at the entrance station. Watch for bikes on the Aptos Creek Fire Road. For information, call (408) 688-3241. No dogs on the trails.

This week's walk is a bit farther from home than usual, but well worth the drive. The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is near the town of Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz. It is probably one of the least known state parks in the system, but its 10,000 acres have great historical interest and geological importance.

The park has 40 miles of hiking trails and fire roads, a backpackers' camp with six campsites, three picnic areas, an earthquake fault, nice views during a 2,200-foot elevation gain, and several year-around streams. But what I like most about hiking the Forest of Nisene Marks is that many of the trails in the park are on old railroad grades that operated around the turn of the century. You can still see old wooden cross ties, metal spikes, and the occasional ruin of a wooden trestle. With a little imagination, you can picture a chugging steam engine rounding the bend heading for a trestle (now gone) to cross a deep ravine to bring redwood logs to the mill. Along the way you may walk through an old logging camp, view the remains of old cabins and building foundations, and pass by downed logs that were never removed. On many old tree stumps, you're sure to see springboard notches, a series of square holes into which boards were placed to carry a platform from which the loggers worked to as they cut down a tree.

But who was Nisene Marks, the person for whom the park was named? According to "Explore - The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park" by Jeff Thomson, published by Walkabout Publications, Nisene was the mother of Herman, Agnes, and Andrew Marks, who purchased 9,700 acres from lumber companies and other private owners in the early 1950s. The Marks family had a notion that there was oil in the area; however, their drilling proved futile, and in 1963, through the assistance of the Nature Conservancy, the Marks family deeded the 9,700 acres to the State of California in memory of their mother, Nisene. With the assistance of the Save-The-Redwoods League, a few parcels along lower Aptos Creek were purchased to round out the park at 10,036 acres. Thomson's book is an excellent presentation of the history and geology of the area as well as the various trails throughout the park.

Our walk begins at the Porter Family Picnic Area, located about three miles from the intersection of Soquel Drive and Aptos Creek Road. The area is named for Warren Porter, secretary for the Loma Prieta Lumber Company, who would later become lieutenant govenor of the State of California.

From the parking lot, turn right on the dirt road, pass the locked gate, and continue for a short distance to the intersection with the Loma Prieta Grade Trail. Turn left on the Loma Prieta Trail, and begin a gradual ascent above Bridge Creek to the Porter House Site. This is where Warren Porter, his wife, and son lived. The site also included a cottage that contained seven bedrooms for use by the seven company directors who stayed overnight for their monthly board meetings.

Past the Porter House Site, the trail continues to a junction with Bridge Creek Trail. Turn left, continuing along the Loma Prieta Trail on an old railroad grade. Ties, trestle timbers, and cables are visible as you gradually ascend to Hoffman's Historic Site. This was a large camp consisting of about 25 buildings plus a 120-foot bunkhouse with showers and washrooms. The camp was named after its superintendent, Louis Hoffman, and his wife, the camp cook.

After exploring the site, continue to an intersection with the Big Stump Gap Trail and turn left. Continue for a half mile along a dry hillside to the intersection with Ridge Connection Trail. Turn left again, and in three-quaters of a mile, it will intersect with the West Ridge Trail. You're now at an elevation of about 1,200 feet, a gain of 900 feet from your starting point. This is a good place to stop for lunch or a rest before starting down the West Ridge Trail. From this junction, a turn right will take you to the West Ridge Trail Camp in two miles and then to the Aptos Creek Fire Road. However, we turn left and follow the West Ridge Trail on a gradual, three-mile descent through second-growth redwoods to the intersection with Aptos Creek Road, across from the Mary Easton Picnic Area. Then, turn left a half-mile to the Porter Family Picnic Area.

During its timber days, an estimated 140 million board feet of lumber were removed from this area. But for the last 75 years, nature has erased all but a few clues to its colorful past, and today Nisene's forest park is just waiting for you.