The Trail Companion

As I write this, Spring is barreling down on us like a freight train and it is already time to seek out the earlyblooming wildflowers. Edgewood County Park is a favorite destination, but other parks and preserves also beckon, including Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Santa Teresa County Park, and my personal favorite, Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve. Pulgas Ridge in later February and early March, is home to a wealth of shadeloving wildflowers. The lower reaches of the Polly Gerasi Trail are surrounded by Indian Warrior (Pedicularis densiflora), in the Figwort family, which are deep red spikes surrounded by feathery leaves at the base. The Indian Warrior is semi-parasitic with oak trees; look for them under the oaks above the trail. Watch out for Great Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum grande), a member of the Borage family with large narrow leaves (which look something like a dog's tongue) and deep blue flowers and Giant Trillium (Trillium chloropetalum), a member of the Lily family, with three large, variegated leaves on top of a tall stalk and a single deep red flower. If you smell the flower, it may smell of cinnamon. You may also see California Fetid Adder's Tongues (also known as Brownies or Slink Pods) (Scoliopus bigelovii). These little plants grow on the edges of the trail as it climbs out of the oak and bay woodlands. Although not showy, they are interesting because the flowers, once pollinated, droop to the ground below the leaves.
      The Serpentine Loop Trail in Edgewood, Jasper Ridge and Stiles Ranch Trail in Santa Teresa have extensive serpentine grasslands, which mean extensive displays of California native wildflowers (see the Dec.-Jan. issue for a discussion of serpentine grasslands). Goldfields (Lasthenia glabrata), are members of the Aster family which have bright yellow ray petals with white tips. Less showy is the Montia (also known as Miner's Lettuce) (Montia linearis or Montia parvifiblia), in the Purslane family, with tiny white and red flowers. A few of the ever-present California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) may be blooming. You may also see Columbine (Aquilegia eximia), a tall red flower in the Crowfoot family that looks like a jester's cap, blooming in a few protected spots along the Stiles Ranch Trail as early as January.
      If you are interested in learning more about these and other wildflower displays, you can contact the California Native Plant Society for docent-led walks at Edgewood Park (650 853-5634) or Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Tour Service for walks at Jasper Ridge (650 327-2277) (Note: Access to Jasper Ridge is available only through the Tour Service).

Edgewood Park is located on Edgewood Road in Redwood City; main entrance is one mile east of I-280 ( for more information)

Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve is across Edgewood Road from Edgewood Park. From I280, take Edgewood Road east three-quarters of a mile and turn left on Crestview, and immediately left again on Edmonds. Parking is approximately 100 yds. beyond intersection (see http://www.openspace.org/preserves/pulgas_ridge/pulgas_ridge.html)

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is located on Sand Hill Road, two miles west of 1-280 (the Tour Service will provide exact directions) (see http://jasper.stanford.edu)

Santa Teresa County Park is in south San Jose. Parking for Stiles Ranch Trail is on Fortini Road, off of McKean Road, in Almaden Valley (see http://claraweb.co.santa-clara.ca.us/parks/prkpages/santat.htm)

      A note on the Latin names: The botanical names in the article were taken from the Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, 1993 ed. If you are using other reference sources, such as the Thomas' Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, Munz's A California Flora or the Golden Field Guide, Wildflowers of North America, names will vary; look under the common name.

      -- Geoffrey Skinner
     

     Who saw the Dec. '97 issue of Smithsonian magazine? It's the one showing the cockpit of a vintage red Ferrari on the front. Inside you can read about Debbie Mytels, former leader of our next door neighbor, Coordinated Research Management and Planning, or CRMP. They do a fabulous job of monitoring and caring for San Francisquito Creek. Congratulations on achieving national recognition for their tireless efforts.
      On the other side of our wall, Committee for Green Foothills celebrated 35 years of speaking out our open spaces. They have influenced development proposals on the Peninsula for the benefit of us all. Thank you, Pauline, Camas, et. al.
     

The Trail Center held its annual Crew Leader Training Seminar on Wednesday, September 17 and Saturday, September 20, 1997. The training was held at the Peninsula Conservation Center and Memorial County Park, near Pescadero. The seminar is an important part of the training to become a Crew Leader for the Trail Center. People from the Santa Clara County Volunteer Association and Responsible Organized Mountain Pedalers (ROMP), as well as Trail Center volunteers and other folks interested in learning more about trails, attended the seminar. Speakers included Cathy Sewell, Boyd Wise, Tom Dargan and Scott Heeschen, Craig Beckman, and Pat Oren.
     

     The Wednesday evening session introduced trainees to the safety, leadership and technical skill sets necessary to be a Crew Leader.
      The Saturday field session provided more detailed information about what happens on a work day, a trail tour of the Creek Trail, followed by technical field sessions on flagging, benching, drainage and finishing work. In the afternoon the trainees got a chance to try out what they had learned by leading small groups of volunteers in some basic trail maintenance. We held a barbecue after the training, and a few people stayed for an overnight campout at Memorial.

      Many thanks to the attendees, the speakers, and the folks at Memorial County Park who helped us put this year's training on.

      If you're interested in becoming a crew leader, contact the office. You may have missed this training, but you're welcome to start at any time!

      -- Rich Allsop

We held our fifth annual Trail Center Tool Party in Scott Heeschen's driveway and garage on December 7, 1997. We sharpened tools, tightened loose tool heads, cleaned the tool trailer, dodged rainstorms and ate pizza and pasta.
      Thanks to all the volunteers who helped with the maintenance (in no particular order): Tim Oren, Dave Croker, Darwin Poulos, David Crosby, Scott Heeschen, Geoffrey Skinner, Cathy Sewell, Dea Smith and Alan Ross, and special thanks to Scott Heeschen for hosting again this year and to Dave Croker for towing the tool trailer.
      -- Rich Allsop

Covering 3900 acres and situated south of Hwy. 9 and west of Hwy. 35, beautiful Castle Rock State Park is one of the premier open spaces in the Santa Cruz Mountains. At this time, they are in the process of drafting a master plan that will cover all aspects of the Park, from recreation to new facilities. On January 16, the Park sponsored a planning meeting to present their proposals and listen to the public's comments. Issues being discussed were access and parking, protecting natural and cultural resources, providing recreational opportunities, a proposed 2000 acres natural preserve, a proposed 20-site walk-in campground in the Partridge Farm area, and a new visitor center located at the intersection of Hwys. 9 and 35.
      Although each issue is vigorously debated, my interest was in the trail system and its future, which proved controversial as well. The most popular recreational activity in the Park is hiking, and although rock climbing, horseback riding, and camping are also enjoyed, those activities all require a system of trails. The General Plan calls for the preparation of a separate Trails Plan. "The Trails Plan will determine priorities and identify specific routs and appropriate use. It will include design criteria and guidelines for trail construction, signing, maintenance, monitoring and protection of resources." Trail objectives to be covered in the Trail Plan are:
     

• Develop loop-trails at the park's perimeter
• Provide interpretive-nature trails into the proposed Natural Preserve
• Improve trail connections between Saratoga Toll Road and Saratoga Gap Trails
• Rehabilitate existing trails, or realign trails to minimize resource impacts

      Improving or rehabilitating existing trail corridors does not appear to bother anyone, but expanding the trail system raises concerns for some people. Most at issue is creating access into the proposed 2000-acre Natural Preserve in the southern portion of the park. Some people believe that if a trail were to be built into the Natural Preserve, the increased visitorship would damage the very ecosystem provided by the Preserve. Fragile ecological habitats could be interrupted and geologic formations could be at risk by the intrusion of people. On the other hand, several people insist on improving access into the large, unimproved southern portion of the park to promote land stewardship and allow them to experience all that the park has to offer. Some argue that new trails in that half of the park would allow them to enjoy it with their children or less-mobile family and friends. Others hope that the area could remain wild in order to provide unbroken habitat for wildlife. They point out that few of the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains provide large areas of undisturbed land, and that if you want to see fantastic sandstone outcrops or a grove of Redwoods, you can visit them in several other places.
      As you can see, the planning process is a difficult one. Trail use is one controversial issue out of many. But unlike some of the others, the Trail Plan has yet to be decided. We will try to keep you informed on the decisions as related to trail usage. They expect to have the Preliminary General Plan completed by Spring of 1998, which will be followed by a 45-day public review period, so get your comments in now. By Fall of 1998, the Park and Recreation Commission will have a copy of the General Plan to consider for approval.
      To receive the CRSP newsletter or to find out about future planning actions:
     

Dave Keck, Project Manager
1725 23rd Street, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95816
Phone: (916) 322-2997
E-mail: dkeck@parks.ca.gov

      (Note: Newsletter #3 dated Dec. 30, 1997, has a good summary of the proposals and issues concerning the future of the park)
      To address your concerns to the local advisory committee, write to:
     

Attention Stu Langdoc
17680 Bruce Ave
Monte Sereno, CA 95030

      or contact:

Jan Anderson, Park Superintendent
(408) 429-2850

      or visit the State Parks Web site at: http://www.cal-parks.ca.gov
      --Dave Croker

      This issue's ramble takes us to a location closer to town than previous forays, one which may already be familiar to many of us: the Stanford Foothills. The Foothills offer spectacular views of the entire Bay Area on clear days, include Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo and a good portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Although no bicycling or horseback riding is permitted, the Academic Reserve is open to dogs on leashes. The Foothills have been used for walking and running for many years, resulting in a network of informal trails in addition to a main paved road; I describe a largely paved route in this column, since the trails can be very muddy during winter months. Despite the mud, winter and spring are among the best times to visit the Foothills because of extreme summer temperatures. By Geoffrey Skinner
     

The difference between the weather on January 10 (the first day we had scheduled this trailbuild) and the weather on January 24 was dramatic. The 10th was rainy and cold (and the trailbuild was canceled), while sunshine and warmer temperatures greeted us on the 24th. Most areas in which we worked were shaded and cool, but that can be greatly appreciated while working hard.
      Seventeen volunteers came out to build trail and were joined by Michael Wright, a ranger currently assigned to Sanborn Skyline Park. This was a maintenance project on the Skyline and Sanborn Trails, and the volunteers cleared overgrown brush to help widen the trail, improved the tread by removing several large rocks, and removed two wooden water bars (slippery when wed). We also fixed up a badly eroded switchback and greatly improved a stream crossing. The crews did fantastic work, and should help the trail survive the rest of the winter, as well as many winters to come. Thanks to all who came out to work!
      -- Scott Heeschen
     

Cool Catalog!

     Still not tired of shopping? Support your State Parks by calling 800-777-0369 for the California State Parks Store mail order catalog. Definitely NOT run of the mill, ho-hum, booooring merchandise. Give them a look.
      Santa Clara County ...
..... is looking for a volunteer Trail Plan Librarian for a six to twelve month period, averaging four hours per week. Basic library, clerical, and some computer skills are preferred. For more information call 408-354-6583
      Help Wanted!
We're updating our crew leader manual and could use your help. We need people with graphic design or illustration experience, writers to work with technical experts on new sections, as well as people willing to proofread. In addition, if you've got access to a scanner and would like to help, give us a call! No trailbuilding experience is necessary. Please contact the office 650-968-7065 or Geoffrey Skinner (650-725-1159 or gskinner@stanford.edu) if you're interested in helping out.
      Wallace Stegner Lecture Series ..... got tickets ?
Peninsula Open Space Trust presents the Fifth Annual season of this series dedicated to "exploring themes of land, nature, and conservation from literary perspectives." Features Peter Matthiessen, Mary Street Alinder, and Robert Hass. Find out who they are. Order tickets... Can 650-903-6000.
      Wilderness Camping Course ... on Mt. Tarnalpais ... sponsor: California Alpine Club Beginning March 3, eight sessions on Tuesday nights at 7:30-9:30 will cover backpacking, snow camping, orienteering, equipment, cooking, and first aid among other subjects. Call Hubie at 510-525-1151 to find out what $75 fee covers.
      We missed you, too!
Our apologies to loyal readers who missed out reading our January issue. In fact, there wasn't one. We have been restructuring our publications to counteract rising costs and to attempt to bring you a better product, on time.
      Wish List
All members that work for a company that matches funds to "charities" PLEASE take the time to mail me your company form so that the Trail Center effectively "increase" your contribution by a factor of 2 !
      Macintosh software ..... Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop
      Board Election Results
Scott Heeschen and Tim Oren both enjoyed overwhelming victories at our annual meeting in December.
      Non-Trail Center volunteering ... @ Foothills Park ... exotic plant removal call 650-329-2423 to sign up lst Saturday of the month, @ 9 am, now through June ... meet at Foothills Interpretive Center and dress like you would for a trailbuild .

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