Adventure 008, Hike 061 - Shadowbrook Trail

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 008, Hike 061 – Shadowbrook Trail

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  August 24, 2012

Location: Big Basin Redwood State Park

Hike Info:

Trail: Shadowbrook Trail – From Slippery Rock to Sempervirens Campground

Distance: 2.1

Duration: 1:07

Elevation Rise: 254'

Description:
Team Thing One and Thing Two did the Sequoia Trail Loop which connects, in our case, three trails together: The Sequoia Trail, Shadowbrook Trail and we mistakenly took the East RidgeTrail to get back to the Park Headquarters. This description is for the Shadowbrook Trail.



Around Slippery Rock and the Founders Monument, the Sequioa Trail heads off towards the Skyline to the Sea Trail. But it is also the start of the Shadowbrook Trail. Just beyond Slippery Rock, is the Founders Monument. In 1900 San Jose artist Andrew Hill took a group of local influential men to this place and here the Sempervirens  Fund was created, which eventually led to the creation of Big Basin State Park and the entire California State Park system.  They camped at Slippery Rock and would go to the Sempervirens Falls to admire its beauty. Slippery Rock is about 200 yards long and rests at a 30 degree angle.


We continue north and eastward along the Shadowbrook Trail, for a short distance, it then crosses the road and starts climbing up toward Sky Meadow Group Campground. The trail is also the path for the sewer. This is the literal high point of the loop we are doing. The trail then starts a steep descent into Union Creek—it is much better to do this loop clock-wise as the climb is more gradual. But either way, hiking among the old growth redwood forest is wondering. The afternoon light is filtered through the tree branches onto the greenery surrounding the trail. Once we make it down to the creek, it weaves it way under logs and bush to re-appear. We pass by named redwood groves. We make it past a couple campgrounds exits, including Sempervirens Campground and the Bob Kirch Trail. This last one is a couple hundred yard trail back to the Sequoia Trail. The first is about a third of a mile down and would lead us around to the use trail back to park headquarters. But continue on for the next adventure to see what happened.