Adventure 008, Hike 092 - Chumash Trail

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 008, Hike 092 - Chumash Trail

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  September 6, 2012

Location: Morro State Park-Cerro Cabrillo

Hike Info:

Trail: Chumash Trail

Distance: 0.4 miles

Duration: 0:15

Elevation Rise: 14'

 

Description:
This trail is named in honor of the Native Americans from this area. Thing Two was looking forward to this hike. She thought it would be one of the better hikes of the area as it being named after the original inhabitants. We picked this trail up after being on the Canet and Park RidgeTrails. It is like the other trails in this area--trails going across native grasses. At one point this hike goes absolutely straight. The question is why? That is when Thing One notices that there is a natural gas line that goes along the trail. (He actually makes the crass comment that Chumash must mean White Man's Natural Gas Pipeline—but he knows better.)



You do get some nice views of the Estuary. The trails in this area are multiple use trails which are shared by bicyclists, hikers, and horse riders. There was one bicycle rider while we were on the trail. He had a bell on so we were able to step out of the way before he came zooming down the hill.

From the sign What is in a Name: Chumash- The Chumash are the native people that lived in this area before the arrival of Europeans. They lived in close harmony with natural world and a bountiful harvest from the land, creeks and ocean. One of their unique innovations was the plank canoe or tomal. It was fashioned from redwood planks that were cut from logs that drifted south of the ocean. Holes were drilled into the planks using chert tools and then lashed together with milkweed fiber. The canoe was sealed with a mixture of tar, pine pitch and red ochre color. The Chumash trail points toward the remains of a village site found near the Middle School at Los Osos.