Joy of Trees ! Pescadero Creek Park 9.1 Mile Moderate Hike

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Distance: 9.1 miles, loop.
Hiking Time: 4.5 hours
Elevation Gain/ Loss: ± 1,550 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Sleep Late and Hike Dog Policy: No Dogs Learn More
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https://www.sleeplateandhike.com/tutorials/how-to-hike-in-the-sun/
Facilities:

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

Google Maps Link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/zG3AgtsBYRgZC58u9

Please use the Google Maps link above to familiarize yourself with the trip and explore various route options from your home. Zoom in all the way.

NOTE: The GPS locations below and the map link above are accurate enough to find us by looking around with your eyes when you get there. Don't be shy, say "Hello" and introduce yourself when your get there.

(Most Cars) GPS Degrees Minutes Seconds Format:
37°16'36.5"N 122°17'13.9"W

(Google Maps) GPS Degrees Decimal Format:
37.2767932,-122.2886283

Recommended Map: Pescadero Creek Park (SMCP& R)

https://www.smcgov.org/parks/pescadero-creek-park

CARPOOLING:
We will use this link for carpooling:

https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/n03vhw

Please sign up here.

CARPOOLING MANNERS:
Please refrain from trying to negotiate your carpool in the comments, as it is equivalent to sending multiple "Reply All" emails to everyone.
Please start your carpool quest, by first adding yourself to the carpool link above.
Then, use the contact info provided by the driver or rider in the link above to contact them directly and privately.
Please be considerate of others and resist the urge to "Reply All".
Thank you for understanding.
HIGHLIGHTS

This extended trek uses the Old Haul Road and Pomponio trails, along with the Brook Trail Loop and the Towne Fire Road, to climb from redwood-lined Pescadero Creek to a high ridge of grasses and coastal scrub that borders Sam McDonald Park. This route requires two crossings of Pescadero Creek.

DIRECTIONS:

Take the Old Haul Road Trail past a metal gate and over a bridge that spans Hoffman Creek, a tributary of Pescadero Creek. Picnic tables and an information board, with an enlarged map of the park, are left. The dirt road follows a rolling course through a forest of coast redwood, where the silence may be broken by the drumming of a pileated woodpecker , and the dense shade pierced by shafts of sunlight. As its name implies, the Old Haul Road trail traces the route of a narrow-gauge railroad once used to haul logs to mills in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After a road joins sharply from the right, you curve left and descend to a junction with the Pomponio Trail, which you will use later. At the next junction, you turn left on the Towne Fire Road, signed for Shaw Flat trail camp. The road descends, makes a sweeping right-hand bend, and reaches Pescadero Creek, which you cross on a bridge. Pescadero Creek has a run of steelhead trout, federally listed as a threatened species. Climbing out of the creek canyon at about 2 miles, you pass a road, right, to Shaw Flat trail camp and emerge from dense forest. Where the Jones Gulch Trail angles left, you stay on the Towne Fire Road and climb steeply, but briefly, to meet the Pomponio Trail, a single track gated to block horses during wet weather . Turn left and go about 100 feet to a fork, then veer right on the Brook Trail Loop, also a single track. Climbing via switchbacks, you merge briefly with a dirt road, then turn left to cross the Towne Fire Road. Neck-craning redwoods tower overhead. The fire road follows a ridge , and once on its other side, you make a long traverse across a hillside that drops right, to Parke Gulch. Giant redwood stumps stand as mute testimony to the loggers’ Herculean efforts, while the surrounding forest counsels the wisdom of preserving open space. Where the Bear Ridge Trail goes right, you stay on the Brook Trail Loop by turning sharply left. At about 4 miles, you cross the Towne Fire Road and continue on the Brook Trail Loop. Now the drop, extremely steep, is to your left. With a view of the Pacific Ocean, you cross a sun-drenched hillside of coastal scrub, passing a rest bench beneath a Douglas-fir. Crossing a dirt road (not shown on the park map), you reach an open slope and then a corridor of coyote brush, beyond which is a junction. To visit the Sierra Club hut, turn right, cross the Towne Fire Road, then angle right on a short trail that climbs through forest. Otherwise, go straight to the next junction , signed for the Pomponio Trail, the Old Haul Road Trail, and the Memorial Ranger Station. Here you bear left. A rolling course takes you past a seasonal horse gate , and then switchbacks aid your descent to Towne Creek and the redwood realm, where some of the most magnificent trees in the Bay Area stand guard over their young. At about 7 miles, you turn left, cross the creek via a bridge, and then turn right and walk downstream. Soon you merge with a dirt road joining sharply from the left. Ahead you meet another road at the apex of a hairpin turn. Turn right, go about 100 yards, and then turn left to stay on the Brook Trail Loop. Beyond a seasonal horse gate, you turn left to cross a bridge over Jones Gulch.

The Joy of Trees: Joining the redwoods in this park are Douglas-firs, interior live oaks, tanbark oaks, madrones, hazelnut, blue blossom, and evergreen huckleberry. Coast live oak, California bay, creambush, and gooseberry grow at the park’s higher elevations. About 75 feet past the bridge, you swing right on the Pomponio Trail. The single track rises gently and passes the Jones Gulch Trail, right. A steady gain of elevation leads you through a forest of Douglas-fir, California bay, tanbark oak, and toyon . Beyond the next seasonal horse gate, you reach a dirt road (not shown on the park map), and angle across it. Now descend to a T-junction with a dirt road, and stay on the Pomponio Trail by turning right. Crossing Worley Flat, a gorgeous meadow, you arrive a the next junction, also a T, and turn left on a dirt road. When you reach Pescadero Creek, cross it via a bridge. Then climb to the Old Haul Road Trail , turn right, and retrace your route to the parking area.

Content from: Weintraub, David (2004-09-29). Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide
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