Don't Fall in the Creek

Do you suppose they call it Fall Creek for the trees that fall into the creek?

Or is it named for the trees that fall across the trails?

Maybe the name celebrates the small falls cascading over rocks and logs.

It might be that Fall is the most colorful season to visit.

I cannot remember when I last ventured out on a proper hike, which means that too much time has passed. Or that I am getting forgetful. Too much time, that must be it.

Today I set out to enjoy my favorite hike in the Bay Area, a loop through the Fall Creek area of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Normally, I would not hike alone, but I have gone too long without a hike to sit at home. I figured the two cardinal rules of hiking alone must be:

1. Don't get lost.
   
2. Don't get hurt.
   

As you have surmised by now, I made it safely home.

What's this, a day outdoors with no biking involved? True enough. But there were steep hills to climb.

There are no facilities in this part of the park; no trail map brochures, either. Fortunately, the map and description in my guidebook offered more detail than the park's online map. Despite some less-than-useful trail markings, I completed an estimated 8.2-mile loop with minimal back-tracking. Without locking onto a GPS signal for the first hour and a half (or longer), I captured only a partial track of my route. The critical moment was deducing that what appeared to be a rain gully was, in fact, the Lost Empire trail that would lead me to the high point of the hike (literally and figuratively): the Big Ben tree, a virgin redwood.

In the aftermath of last week's storm, I did what the state budget currently does not: minor trail clean-up.

This park seems to be most popular with the locals, and few hikers venture away from the Fall Creek Trail. For most of the day, I saw and heard nothing more than splashing water, chirping birds, falling acorns, and my own footfalls as I trudged through the damp forest.

Don't get lost. Or hurt.