Hawk's Aerie

canyonwalker and I went hiking at Big Basin Redwood State Park today. This isn't our first time there - or even our third. Back in 1997 we hosted a darkfriend social hike there, and it's been one of our go to hikes in the intervening years. The main "problems" with the hike are two-fold: 1) It's a 10.5 mile hike and 2) It's insanely popular.

Well, Super Bowl Sunday seemed a perfect day to do it, since a large portion of the population would be at home watching the game. Our nefarious plan mostly worked. There were still enough cars there to make it crowded, but not enough that we felt crowded on the trail. In fact, we went the opposite way we normally do - we started by doing the long stretch to Golden Falls Cascade and Silver Falls, then to Berry Creek Falls, and ended by taking the route out that we normally walk in on. I like this loop better; the trail from the parking lot to Golden Falls Cascade and Silver Falls is a lot of up and down, and it's nicer to do that when you've got most of your energy. The trail from Berry Creek Falls to the parking lot is also up - but it's all steady up or semi-flat, which is so much easier when you're out of energy.

We also discovered, after all this time, that there's an easy 3.6 mile hike to Sempervirens Falls! I'm not sure how we managed to miss those falls before, but they are definitely on our radar for next time.

Also, while out and about on the trail, we saw a crew from the California Conservation Corps improving the trail. My hiking boots salute their hard work - if it wasn't for them, the good trails we take for granted wouldn't be there.

( Pictures of the falls: )