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Samuel P. Taylor’s cool loop through Redwoods |
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A three-mile loop through redwoods in Samuel P. Taylor State Park would be rated easy if it weren’t for all the downed trees. There are places you have to go around, over or under downed trees, and one spot where the root ball has taken much of the trail, making the remaining trail narrow. Part of the loop is on the Cross Marin Trail, which is paved and easy. The park is named for Samuel Penfield Taylor, who in 1852 bought 100 acres of land from Don Rafael Garcia, the original land grantee, with $505 from panning gold in Tuolomne County. This was before the railroad, or even wagon road over White Hill, and the land could only be reached on horseback. At that time, all paper had to be brought to California by ship, coming around the Horn or from China. Although the creek is not running now, there are still many species of ferns, including water-loving lady ferns, delicate five-finger ferns and the classic understory fern of the redwood forests, Western sword fern. Since his family owned a papermill in the Catskills in New York, Taylor decided to go into the paper business. He set Chinese laborers to work building a trail over Bolinas Ridge that could take the paper by schooner from Bolinas to San Francisco, and went back east to purchase a mill and hire men to install it. The mill produced the first paper on the West Coast in November 1856. At that time paper was made from rags, and manila was made from old rope, but many trees were cut down for other purposes. The old-growth redwoods were felled to build the mill, the dam for the mill pond and the Taylors’ house in the Devil’s Gulch area of the park. Tan oaks were harvested and their tannins used for another business, the tannery which the Taylors also operated on the property. From the picnic area cross the bridge over Lagunitas Creek (called by its old name Papermill Creek on some maps) and turn left on the Cross Marin Trail. This is the bed of the old narrow-gauge railroad, which began carrying freight in 1874 and passengers in 1875. Much of the line was abandoned when the Woodacre tunnel collapsed in the 1906 quake, but some sections continued to be used until 1938. Turn right on the signed Pioneer Tree Trail. Lush elk clover with its huge leaves — which is in fact not a clover but California’s only plant in the ginseng family — has black berries now. Native Americans used the roots for a variety of medicinal purposes. Although the creek is not running now, there are still many species of ferns, including water-loving lady ferns, delicate five-finger ferns and the classic understory fern of the redwood forests, Western sword fern. Look for a single pawnbroker bush on your left, named for its cluster of three red berries reminiscent of the three golden balls that identify a pawnbroker’s shop. Some of the redwoods are scarred by the 1945 fire. As the trees grow in girth, the blackened areas of bark become separated by new bark, creating brown and black stripes. A few of the trees have “cat’s eyes.” These hollowed out areas at the base of redwoods are often on the uphill side because over many years debris piles up against the trunk. When a fire sweeps through, this pile of branches and needles burns at a high temperature, hollowing out the tree. The Pioneer Tree is just off the trail, and marked with a sign. It was probably spared by the loggers because it is hollow. I like to go inside this 500-year-old tree. Once I was lucky enough to see some bats using it as a day roost. Past the Pioneer Tree the redwoods thin out and you’ll see more bays, bigleaf maples, and Douglas firs. Notice how the bays grow at an angle if they need to in order to reach sunlight. On hot days, you feel the temperature difference as you leave the redwoods. Turn left on the Cross Marin Trail, and follow it back to the picnic area. Samuel P Taylor State Park is 15 miles west of San Rafael. Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and turn at the entrance signed Camp Taylor. Dogs are allowed on Cross Marin Trail but not on Pioneer Tree loop. Entrance fee is $8, $7 for seniors. Wendy Dreskin has led the College of Marin nature/hiking class Meandering in Marin since 1998, and teaches other nature classes for adults and children. To contact her, go to wendydreskin.com. | ||||||
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