A Morning Hike in the Woods

With Martin’s desire to do something outdoorsy, we decided to go on a hike Sunday morning.  He had done his research ahead of time and picked out a moderate 7.5 mile hike that was to take approximately 4 hours…not sure how 7.5 miles would take 4 hours, we figured we would be done in time for a late lunch and afternoon at the river. The trail was the Bull Creek North and South Loop.  Sounded harmless enough, and being a supportive wife, I was in!

Not quite sure where to park and/or how to get to the trailhead, we drove towards the needed area on the map first thing in the morning and, seeing no alternative, parked the car in the Founder’s Grove parking lot.  By the looks of the map, we were about 2 miles away from where we needed to be, but we figured it would be a nice warm up.   

We started on the Founders Grove Nature Trail and were looking for the Big Cut trail to get us to the Rockerfeller Loop trail and ultimately the Bull Creek Trail….confused?  I surprisingly wasn’t at this point.   However, with every sign indicating either the Founders Grove Trail or the Malan Plaque Trail, but nothing for the Bug Cut Trail, we should have realized something was amiss…every turn and junction indicated the Malan Plaque trail and, with the park eerily empty for a holiday weekend, it started to feel a little too similar to the Blair Witch Project.  

We finally took a gamble on an unmarked path and found ourselves on the needed trail which took us over the hill, along the road, through a dark tunnel under the freeway and to a picnic ground just on the other side of the river from where we needed to be.  Unable to find the marked bridge or actual path to the river, we wandered through the woods for fifteen minutes, scaled down the river banks, through some poison oak, took off our shoes to wade across the river (riddled with the toxic green algae) to what looked like Bull Creek.  Unwilling to gamble even further though (we had been technically hiking for 70 minutes and still hadn’t started), we walked up the river bed  (not to be confused with the Bull Creek bed) and actually found the bridge only a few minutes away.     

The tunnel under the freeway

The Sought After Bridge

However, ignoring any serious attempt to find the actual path (because that had worked out so well already), we instead saw a break in the brush and scaled up the other river bank through some more poison oak to find what should have been the start of the trail…in another parking lot that we could had parked in had we had proper directions. …After 90 minutes and 2 miles, we were at the alleged start.

Unfortunately, similar to the Founder’s Grove trail, we found ourselves on yet another nature loop, the Rockerfeller Loop Trail, with all trails marked except for the one we needed.  Knowing where Bull Creek was (we had just been there), and figuring the trail should take us up stream, we ended up walking through the creek bed for the first mile of the hike until we found the trail and actually began our 7.5 mile excursion. 

It seemed easy enough...

Once on the trail, it was beautiful!  The trees are larger than you can imagine and the lack of crowds was impressive given the three day weekend.   It was so empty that we were able to get within 5 feet of a young buck, enjoying his afternoon lunch of grass and weeds.

 

If you get lost, hug a tree...

We finished the hike around 3pm (after starting at 9:30) at Rockerfeller Loop to find another couple looking confused, with their map in hand and examining the unmarked signposts.  Recognizing the signs of being lost, we asked them what trail they were looking for (Bull Creek) and pointed them on their way…come to find out they had originally parked at Founder’s Grove, looked for the trail for 30 minutes, gave up and drove to the correct parking lot.  Glad to know we weren’t the only ones!

Our official route

With the day almost over, we still managed to find a few moments to head to the river for some relaxation, reading and beers.   

I won’t admit this often, especially after a 5+ hour and 12 mile hike, but Martin had picked a perfect spot for our vacation.  It was the perfect combination of relaxation, good food, fresh air and being able to disconnect from the world.