Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ancient fire scars from large cavities inside old-growth redwoods at Vicente Flat.
Trip Description
From a saddle (3190') on the west side of
Cone Peak Road,
the
Vicente Flat Trail
climbs southwest toward a nearby ridge. From the ridge, you'll descend to another
saddle and begin a series of short switchbacks that overlook
Hare Canyon
's sheer
north wall, composed of banded gneiss and other Salinian metamorphic rocks. Barely
3 miles long, the gorge rises from sea level to more than 3000 feet, making it one of
the world's deepest canyons.
The trail descends past healthy, fire-regenerated thickets of yerba santa, chamise,
and scrub oak to a small
ridge
(0.7 mile, 2500'). From here a more moderate gradient
descends pine-clad slopes past the charred remains of Coulter pines that still bare their
enormous cones. Onward, you'll pass large redwoods that succumbed to the 1999
Kirk Complex Fires. Some of these fire-scorched giants along upper
Hare Creek
have sprouted vibrant new shoots from their trunks, calling to mind bristled pipe
cleaners.
Farther along the shady trail, gurgling water heralds your arrival on the banks of
Hare Creek (1.1 miles, 2500'). You'll follow the intermittent creek for a quarter mile
beneath more fire-ravaged redwoods before crossing it and a side gully. In another
