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Jean and I visited Sanborn Skyline Park. It was an overcast but
dry day in a break between a barrage of rain storms.
The park was relatively empty, only a few cars parked in the lot
which would probably be full during summer. The park has picnic
grounds and dozens of camping sites for RVs and tents. One of
the draws, of course, is redwoods. Near the parking lot is a beautifully
landscaped area with a wooden deck underneath a grove of 8-12
redwoods towering above. Adjacent was a small pond and brightly
flowering tree.
Jean examining the flowering tree
Two flowers
We wandered around before heading up the paved service road, which
rises steeply next to a grassy field. The road continues upward
to the right, becoming shaded by redwood trees. The road is bordered
by campsites. On the right the ground drops off to Sanborn Creek
20-30 feet below; the creek was clearly audible from the trail.
The road continues steeply up, but eventually levels off at the
top and turns to gravel and then mud. It wasn't as muddy as I'd
feared, however. Much of the trail is sheltered by trees which
take the brunt of the rain. We crossed over Sanborn Creek, at
a point just above where if starts its cascade into the valley
we just walked parallel to.
Rounding the corner we took in a glimpse of one of the only views
of the trail -- clouds hovering over the green hills heading up
Highway 9. A vineyard was clearly visible on a hilltop below.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught something moving on the ground
below me. I looked closer and saw some type of translucent-looking
lizard. It was very well camouflaged amongst the fallen leaves.
However, it accidentally flipped over to reveal a bright orange
underside. It quickly righted itself to avoid detection before
continuing to crawl along.
Another common sight was yellow banana slugs slithering around
everywhere. None were present as we settled down on some rocks
to eat lunch. Afterwards we continued our walk underneath redwood
and madrone trees. It was all very nice and peaceful, but nothing
spectacular.
We turned right onto the San Andreas trail and started back down
the hill on our loop hike. Every step of the way our trekking
poles picked up more and more fallen leaves. As we neared the
parking lot the trail turned to mud and we had to walk on planks
which had been left on the ground for hikers.
We reached the main park area and walked through an amphitheater
back to the deck underneath the grove of redwood trees. It's worth
it to visit the park just for this area. A great place for a picnic!
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