Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From the junction, turn right onto the less-traveled
Spruce Creek Trail,
which
traces the slopes northeast of
Spruce Creek.
Unfortunately, poison oak is a common
trailside companion along the overgrown trail.
Half a mile ahead, the trail breaks through the dense canopy of hardwoods and
conifers to an open rocky barren (2.3 miles, 1200') and views north across the
Sal-
mon Creek
drainage to 3590-foot
Silver Peak.
Past the barren, you'll turn south and
follow year-round Spruce Creek past moss-covered boulders in the shade of bigleaf
maples, sycamores, and oaks.
As you climb, notice how the vegetation changes from a riparian woodland to
a mixed woodland of madrones, oaks, bays, and conifers. As you reach the divide
between the Spruce Creek and
Dutra Creek
drainages (3.2 miles, 1950'), you enter
a zone of brushy ceanothus, manzanita, and sage. The trail meets a gated barbwire
fence at the saddle marking the divide. Be sure to close the gate behind you.
From here the vegetation and terrain shift dramatically from the steep, heavily
forested canyons of Salmon and Spruce Creeks to rolling grasslands dotted with sol-
itary oaks and stands of Coulter pines amid various seeps, springs, and meadows. The
onward trail is virtually all downhill on a gentle to moderate grade.
Passing beneath a crimson canopy of tree-like manzanita, the trail descends to
spacious meadows laced with small seasonal creeks and springs that are often dry by
late spring. After 2.3 miles on the Spruce Creek Trail (called the
San Carpoforo Trail
from this point on), you'll arrive at
Dutra Flat Camp
(4.2 miles, 1930').
Once the site of an old homestead, this camp rests on a broad flat along a south-
facing slope amid four large planted Monterey cypresses. With room enough for up
to three tightly grouped tents, the site comes equipped with two fire rings and grills
along with a table and bench. Rusty barbwire runs the perimeter, built to keep out
cattle that feed on the grassy clearing above camp. In drier months, head uphill to find
water at a spring-filled trough in the clearing.
A hundred feet south of camp is a marked junction with a spur that leads east 3
miles to
Coast Ridge Road.
Continue south on the San Carpoforo Trail. Ponderosa
pines form small stands along these grassy slopes. In summer, go in search of several
fruit trees on the south end of the flat. Reminders of the homestead that once occupied
Dutra Flat, these trees still blossom and bear fruit.
Within sight of the dirt road from private
Baldwin Ranch,
which crosses the
ridge to your west, you'll reach a minor gully. In wet months, water saturates the
ground here, creating muddy seeps that preserve the tracks of visiting animals. Com-
mon visitors include bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, and the occasional mountain lion.
Farther east the trail skirts a minor slide (4.7 miles, 1790'), so watch your footing.
In spring this hillside supports decadent fields of purple lupine. Ahead, you'll veer
