Tarwater – Pomponio –
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Hike description
Start at the Tarwater trailhead, accessed by a scenic single-lane road off Alpine Road. Don't cross the paved street, but take the branch of the Tarwater Loop (which is a dirt road here) that starts at the south end of the parking lot. The road descends through a nice hardwood forest, encountering a single huge redwood along the way. The road narrows into a trail that enters a dark, intensively-logged second-growth redwood forest. Shortly before the trail ends, the dismal landscape gives way to an attractive and much healthier-looking area of redwoods with no visible signs of logging. The Pomponio Trail, which starts off as a dirt road, continues through the band of good-sized redwoods. Although these redwoods are probably second growth, they are particularly tall and straight and some have the light bark color normally found only on old growth redwoods. The look is remniscent of the old-growth redwoods of Big Basin's park headquarters area, but on a smaller scale. After crossing an auto bridge (which can be really slippery), the trail breaks off from the road and climbs up a hillside through logged redwoods before leveling out in a pleasant mixed-hardwood forest. After passing a spur to Shaw Trail Camp, the trail loops through an area of nice mid-sized redwoods.
Mini-waterfall at Jones Gulch Continue along the Pomponio Trail to the intersection with the Brook Trail. At this point, energetic hikers can take a half-mile side trip to Jones Gulch. Here, a short section of trail with two footbridges passes through a lush grove of good-sized redwoods with redwood sorrel groundcover. The redwoods surround the confluence of two creeks that flow in gulches — surprisingly deep and narrow channels with vertical walls. The spot where the two creeks join, near Granger Bridge, is particularly dramatic after a heavy rainfall, when a turbulent torrent of water rushes through the channels and over a miniature waterfall. The side trip can be hiked as an out-and-back to Granger Bridge, or as a short loop by combining fire roads and trails. The Brook Trail climbs into a patch of redwood uplands with a lot of good-sized trees. The Canyon Trail descends through second-growth redwoods and then passes through a cool, shady ravine. There are some big redwoods here, but there are also a lot of big stumps. This area always seems to be dark and shady in the afternoon. The trail then crosses Tarwater Creek. There's no bridge here and, although it's normally not a problem, the creek may be difficult to pass in the days after a heavy rain. When the water is low, you can see how the creek got its name - a thick scum of black tar accumulates on rocks and over still waters. There's a final nice patch of redwoods after the creek crosing. The Tarwater Trail Loop then climbs back to the parking lot, quickly leaving the redwood forest and transitioning to open grassland with some views of Butano Ridge behind you.
Jones Gulch Trail
© 2006-7 David Baselt |
