Henry Cowell - Fall Creek Unit 2011

Jamshid, Chuck, Sally, and I hiked at the Fall Creek Unit of Henry Cowell. This is just west of Scotts Valley, so it's a bit of a drive, and not one to try on a busy beach day.

We followed Fall Creek toward (but not all the way to) Trail's End, then looped around on Truck Road and Ridge Trail. I found the hike quite pleasant, and shady everywhere, even on the Truck Road.

There is an old rusted barrel stave mill along the creek. There's an interpretive sign, but it doesn't explain much, so we entertained ourselves pointing out bits of machinery and trying to figure out what they were.

We formulated a plan for an alternative hike the next time we come back, but I can't remember what it was. It may involve the S-Cape trail, which isn't shown on the map on the web site. If I recall correctly, there was a better map at the first major trail intersection from the parking lot.

Pescadero 2011

Jamshid and Chuck and I hiked a loop in Pescadero Creek Park. We actually started in Sam McDonald Park from a little 5-car parking area at the Heritage Grove. There was only one other car there in the morning and two others in the afternoon, and the spots were shady all day, this may be a good parking area for future trips.

From the Heritage Grove Trailhead we wandered around the Heritage Grove first, then went up the hill past the Hikers' Hut. We missed the trail and followed the road instead, so we didn't actually see the hut. We continued clockwise around the Brook Trail Loop and back to the trailhead. As far as I can tell, it adds up to 6.5-7.0 miles.

The trail was open and hot at the top near the Hikers' Hut, but the rest was shady and not too bad, considering that it was in the upper 90's in Santa Clara. Since Pescadero is near La Honda on the west side of the Santa Cruz mountains, it was probably 15-20 degrees cooler where we were.

We spotted 14 banana slugs.