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Jean, Jenny, Tom, and I hiked in the Forest of Nisene Marks State
Park.
The park is near Aptos, just south of Santa Cruz. Parking is $3.
The road to the Porter Family Picnic Area is a dirt road, and
is closed during the winter. On this summer day, though, it was
open.
The trail starts off on the Aptos Creek Fire Road, but we shortly
turned left onto the Loma Prieta Grade trail. This is an old railroad
grade; signs of the old tracks are still visible in the ground.
We hiked through the dense forest next to Aptos Creek, and it
was hard to believe that loggers go their hands on the area in
1881 (hence the reason for the railroad) and when they left in
1922, there were no trees left. But going there now, you wouldn't
know it.
Loma Prieta Grade trail
We passed the Porter House site, which is now just an uninteresting
patch of grass. At the intersection with the Bridge Creek Trail
we took a wrong turn. I'd wanted to take the Loma Prieta Grade
up to Maple Falls, and then the Bridge Creek Trail back. Unfortunately,
we took the right fork and we'd end up reversing the loop. I didn't
figure this out until we approached Maple Falls, but there wasn't
much harm done.
The Bridge Creek Trail goes through redwood forest and alongside
the creek, featuring ferns, occasional mushrooms, and lots of
banana slugs. We eventually reached the Bridge Creek Historic
Site. Again, there's not much to see here. The Loma Prieta Grade
trail forks off to the left. We took the trail continuing straight
on towards Maple Falls.
On the green map they hand you when you pay for parking, the trail
to Maple Falls is clearly marked. That's more than I can say for
the actual trail. It crosses the creek dozens of times. While
the water level is just a trickle and isn't much danger at this
time, it's a big nuisance. The sun was coming out in full force
as we slowly worked our way up the narrowing canyon. The trail
was completely eradicated in places by trees fallen by winter
storms.
At one point we were all about ready to turn around. But I was
pretty sure I could hear the falls at this point. So I went ahead,
radio in hand, thinking I'd go about 5 minutes and turn around.
I took about 5 steps before I saw the falls. I radioed back and
made the short remaining hike to the falls, rushing over a 30-foot
granite wall at the end of the canyon.
Tom hiked over to meet me at the falls, but Jean and Jenny didn't
want to deal with the mosquitoes I mentioned I saw swarming around.
The falls aren't all that impressive. A fallen tree leans from
the ground and stabs right at the top of the falls, which end
up in a small pool at the bottom.
Tom in front of Maple Falls
After a short look at the falls, we turned around. A few other
crazy hikers came up as we were leaving. They asked if it was
worth it and I said I'd never do this hike again. Misery loves
company. The hike back wasn't as bad as I thought it would be,
though. The thought of returning the way we came didn't exactly
appeal to me, but all the stream crossings seemed much easier
this time.
We turned right onto the Loma Prieta Grade and I was glad we did.
We climbed up into a beautiful second-growth redwood forest. The
trees and the soft reddish ground reminded me of hiking in Sequoia
National Park among the sequoias. The trees aren't as big, obviously,
but it was just as peaceful. We were the only ones there until
we saw an illegal mountain biker come at us from the opposite
direction. At least he stopped for us, even though he shouldn't
have been on that trail in the first place.
Redwood forest
We continued walking along the trail in peace and quiet until
I suddenly heard buzzing and, less than a second later, a sharp
pain stabbed at my right calf. I jumped up and screamed and realized
I'd just been stung by a bee (or perhaps more likely a wasp or
hornet) for the first time. Luckily, I don't appear to be allergic.
We applied some Sting-eze to it and that helped a little, though
as it wore off I would feel a stab of pain in my right leg every
time I took a step. Mosquito bites never bothered me at all, but
this was completely different. I kind of limped back the rest
of the way to the car. The trekking poles probably helped quite
a bit.
We passed Hoffman's Historic Site, which is just a bunch of old
broken wooden structures. We started seeing more and more hikers
as we approached the parking lot. Eventually, we reached the Aptos
Creek Fire Trail again turned right back to the parking lot.
Even with the bee sting and the disappointingly tough hike along
the canyon to the tiny falls, I enjoyed most of the second half
of the hike. The peaceful forest of redwoods between Hoffman's
Historic Site and the Bridge Creek Historic Site is special. Something
I might even do again sometime.
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