Getting Out: Thanks to the foresight and efforts of a few
concerned citizens, we have a sanctuary for old growth redwoods to
enjoy at Big Basin State Park
When we travel through the coastal redwood forests of central and northwestern California, we are usually looking at trees that are 100 to 150 years old. They are second growth trees that have sprouted from the stumps of giants, which were cut to build homes for people who came to California with the discovery of gold and haven’t stopped coming yet.
The vast majority of the ancient giants have been lost to the ax. But thanks to the foresight and efforts of a few concerned citizens, we have a sanctuary for old growth redwoods to enjoy at Big Basin State Park.
In 1900, Andrew Hill had been hired to photograph the remaining old growth trees in Big Basin. When he learned that they were scheduled to be cut, he assembled a group of like-minded people and civic leaders into what ultimately became the Sempervirens Club (Sempervirens is the specific name of the coast redwood. Its full scientific name is Sequoia sempervirens).
Through the Sempervirens’ efforts, the ancient trees of Big Basin were saved. Two years later, the land was purchased by the State of California, creating our first state park. The original 3,800-acre park has grown to 18,000 and now follows Waddell Creek all the way to the ocean.
I had not visited the park since traversing it while walking the Skyline-to-the-Sea trail several years ago. This 25-mile backpack starts at Castle Rock State Park on Skyline Boulevard (U.S. Highway 35) and travels along U.S. Highways 9 and 236 to and through Big Basin to Waddell Beach. It is a great multi-day trip for beginning backpackers since it is virtually all downhill and avoids the difficulties of alpine trips, which often feature high elevations, chancy weather and tough terrain.
Last Saturday, we were hosting out-of-town guests and decided we would try to escape the heat in the shade of these big trees. It takes a while to travel the 23 miles from Santa Cruz up U.S. Highways 9 and 236 through Felton and Boulder Creek to the park entrance, but as we dropped into the basin that gives the park its name, the charm of an old growth forest revealed itself. The larger trees require more space between them, giving this forest a brighter, more spacious feeling than the denser, darker second growth forest we left behind.
Wild azalea bushes with beautiful yellow-throated white blossoms stand as tall as the full reach of your arm above your head. Creeks bounce along canyon bottoms through ferns, redwood sorrel, trillium and starflower.
There would be no far-reaching mega-miler for us middle-aged trudgers this day. Something more modest – what I would call a walk rather than a hike – was appropriate for this occasion. We climbed gently up Sequoia Trail bound for Sempervirens Falls. The trail follows Sempervirens Creek and Rogers Road, which often separated us from the creek. A little less than two miles out, we crossed the road and descended to the wooden platform that overlooks Sempervirens Falls. By this time, the creek’s flow had slackened from a winter surge to gentler spring flow.
From here, we turned right and returned by the Shadowbrook Trail – though nice, perhaps not the best choice. I think a better option would have been to turn left and continue on the Sequoia Trail over to Opal Creek, then follow it back down. I have walked along Opal Creek in the past and any place along it is lovely.
Our walk was perfect for our group on this day, but Big Basin has all the options: Traverse it hiking the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail; take a 10-mile loop that visits three of the park’s waterfalls, including 60-foot Berry Creek Falls; walk up Waddell Creek from the ocean at U.S. Highway 1 for a totally different setting.
A lot of variety awaits you at Big Basin.
Ron Erskine is an outdoors columnist. His column appears every Sunday online at www.freelancenews.com. You can reach him at: ro********@ms*.com
