|
I usually avoid doing the same hike twice, but I was looking for a
long shaded training hike (forecast called for a warm day), and this fit the bill.
Also, Purisima Creek is one of my favorite parks.
We did this same hike 9 years ago when we were training for the JMT.
We passed the large northern parking lot on Skyline Boulevard, and it looked
almost full. But when we arrived at the southern parking lot there was plenty
of space in the small lot. We started off on the trail around 9:30am.
We entered the forest, walking past the picnic area, then turned left onto
Purisima Creek Trail where there's a bathroom. The trail descends for about
2 miles to an intersection with the Craig Britton Trail. There isn't a lot
to see on this stretch of the trail, but the best parts are soon to come.
We did stop briefly at the Amanda M. Dauber Memorial Grove (there's a sign)
to look up at the redwoods, though I would say it's not one of the most impressive
groves on the hike.
Tree at Amanda M. Dauber Memorial Grove
We stayed left to stay on the Purisima Creek Trail, which soon crosses Purisima Creek
and then parallels it for about the next 1.5 miles. This is one of the prettiest
parts of the hike, with towering redwoods, ferns, and the creek.
Purisima Creek
We turned left onto the Borden Hatch Mill Trail, which starts to climb,
steeply to begin with. This would start the loop section of the hike. The
trail continues to climb through the forest, almost entirely shaded. We
stopped briefly for a snack while watching a few groups of hikers coming the opposite
direction. We'd see them again later as they were doing the loop as well,
but clockwise.
Forest next to Borden Hatch Mill Trail
Around here we started to see lots of banana slugs on the side of the trail. We
remembered we'd seen lots of slugs on the Bald Knob hike we'd done a couple months
ago. In fact we would do a very short stretch of the same trail today.
Banana slug
There are some pretty stretches of trail here, but it's far away from the creek.
Near the top of the climb, we passed the Bald Knob Trail intersection, then shortly the
Grabtown Gulch trail. That trail to the right leads to the trailhead parking that we'd used for the
Bald Knob Trail. That's a shorter way to access the loop section of this hike,
although there is not a lot of parking available there.
Trees next to Grabtown Gulch Trail
Grabtown Gulch Trail
Grabtown Gulch Trail
Return to Purisima Creek Trail
We turned left onto the Grabtown Gulch Trail and started a relatively steep descent
back toward the creek. We reached the Purisima Creek Trail not far from where we
had left it for the Borden Hatch Mill Trail. We turned right and stopped near a
large bridge for a lunch break. There are some nice spots here to sit near the creek,
listening to the water gurgling by.
Purisima Creek Trail
Trees next to the trail
After lunch we started the long climb back up to the parking area. While most of this
hike is shaded, parts of the climb are in sun, and those stretches made us thankful that
it was mostly shaded. While we hadn't seen a lot of people on the hike so far, we
started to see a lot of people descending the trail now. By the time we reached the
parking area it was full with cars parked along the side of the road.
Short video showing the Purisima Creek and Grabtown Gulch Trails
| 
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
RSS Feed
