Friday, July 4, 2008, we went on a hike in a little known State Park called the Forest of Nissene Marks. Nissene was a woman. The Marks family donated the land to the State and named it in honor of their mother. This park, east of Aptos, was the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. We didn't take that trail, it would have been 13 miles round trip. We'll save that for another day. We hiked on Bridge Trail, a seven mile loop. This was probably the lushest park I've seen in this area, particularly given the fact that we had a very dry winter. The nice thing about this trail was that the second half of it was an old railroad bed, from the rail line that hauled redwoods out of the forest in the 1800's. You may not realize that the great thing about a railroad bed is that it is almost always level. Trains just couldn't go up and down hills very well. For much of the trail you could still see the railroad ties.
This gigantic stump was a dramatic sight. To see such a huge tree cut down made me sad, and the unusual thing about it is that it never sprouted new redwoods. I have no idea why.
This was an unusual weeping rock wall.
These redwoods were cut down and left in a big pile, probably a hundred years ago. The ends were cut off and left to look like lincoln logs.
This is Maple Falls, a half mile off of Bridge Trail. The trail here was like hiking through a jungle. Parts of it keep criss-crossing the creek.
Here you can see the old railroad ties, a testament to the longevity of redwood.
Rushes along the trail to Maple Falls.
Dan as John Muir.
Fossil filled rocks in Bridge Creek. Means the ocean used to be here.
A giant mushroom!
Ruins at the Hoffman site. Hundreds of lumbermen lived in this forest and there are many piles of debris from what used to be houses.
Crossing Bridge Creek.
This gigantic stump was a dramatic sight. To see such a huge tree cut down made me sad, and the unusual thing about it is that it never sprouted new redwoods. I have no idea why.
This was an unusual weeping rock wall.
These redwoods were cut down and left in a big pile, probably a hundred years ago. The ends were cut off and left to look like lincoln logs.
This is Maple Falls, a half mile off of Bridge Trail. The trail here was like hiking through a jungle. Parts of it keep criss-crossing the creek.
Here you can see the old railroad ties, a testament to the longevity of redwood.
Rushes along the trail to Maple Falls.
Dan as John Muir.
Fossil filled rocks in Bridge Creek. Means the ocean used to be here.
A giant mushroom!
Ruins at the Hoffman site. Hundreds of lumbermen lived in this forest and there are many piles of debris from what used to be houses.
Crossing Bridge Creek.
Bridge Creek.
The storms of 1983 caused alot of damage to this park and evidence is still abundant of the flooding here.
Crossing the creek again!
Dan and Cheryl
Dan and Jan at the weeping rock wall.
3 comments:
once again, beautiful scenery.
Awesome hike! loved the pictures. It's interesting to hear the history behind it. The railroad ties are very cool. Looks like a good time!
We did the epi center hike. It was one of my favourites in the area.
Loved Nisene Marks...miss it all.
I so need to get my switzerland photos up so Dan can revisit and you can plan your Swiss Hikes!
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