Sam McDonald County Park loop hike

Yesterday my De Anza College class explored the first and second growth redwood groves at Sam McDonald County Park.

From the main parking lot we crossed Pescadero Road and headed uphill on the Towne Trail, with a slight detour on the Big Tree Trail to see an enormous ancient redwood with large reiterations high up the trunk. The ferns on the forest floor looked more dried out than I have ever seen them. If we have a wet winter, and the drought ends, this month could be the driest these mountains have been in centuries.

The Towne Trail climbs above the redwoods into a grassland ridge top, where we enjoyed the sight of a large bobcat wandering across the grassy slopes, oblivious to our presence. I have attached two photos sent to me by Tobias Rasokat, who accompanied us on the hike. We stopped to examine the bright red berries of Solomons seal and honeysuckle plants, as well as poison oak and abundant lichen, which is an indicator of good air quality.  We then made the tenth of a mile side trip to the Sierra Club's hikers hut. The people staying there for the weekend let us come in to look around. It has electric lights, an electric stove, small refrigerator, and a wood-burning stove. You can contact the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club to make reservations. The normally spectacular view of the Pescadero Creek watershed was obscured by low clouds.

From there we headed downhill to have lunch among the old-growth redwoods at the Heritage Grove along Alpine Creek. Despite the drought, we found two banana slugs. After lunch we retraced our steps to the Heritage Grove Trail and headed west and back to the parking lot.


TO GET THERE... Take Pescadero Road about three miles west from the town of La Honda.