Hike: Whittemore Gulch, North Ridge, Craig Britton and Purisima Creek
Where: Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
Trailhead: Higgins-Purisima Road
Level: Moderate
Duration: 4 hours
Length: 9.9 miles
Gear: Outdoor Research Ignitor Tee, Outdoor Research Women’s Turbine Short, Farm to Feet Boulder sock, REI Flash 18 Pack
, Black Diamond Ultra Distance Trekking Poles – Pair
, and Ahnu Sugarpine Waterproof Boot
Cost of Parking: Free
I am super happy and excited to announce that I’m joining this year’s Hell Hike and Raft crew! I’ll be heading off to Idaho and Hell’s Canyon early September for three days of backpacking and three days of rafting with some stellar folks.
It just so happens that two of my teammates, Russ Beebe the Winehiker and Annie Yearout the OutdoorsyMama, are located in the Bay Area! We decided to have a little tweetup to get to know each other and do some mild training for the trip.
Our adventure began at the Higgins-Purisima Road, and we took off on the Whittemore Gulch trail to start climbing up the hills of the Santa Cruz Mountains listening to Annie exclaiming about the size and height of the redwoods.
After Whittemore Gulch ended, we turned right onto North Ridge Trail down to where it meets Harkins Ridge. From there, we hopped onto the Bay Area Ridge Trail which turned into Craig Britton Trail until we reached a picnic area. We split from the Craig Britton Trail and took the Purisima Creek Trail next to a tiny babbling Purisima Creek back to the trailhead.
It was lots of fun meeting up with some of the Hell Hike and Raft crew! Say hi to Russ on Twitter, and stop by Annie’s blog!
This was fun. Let’s do it again!
woo hoo! more more
These are great photos!