Portola Redwoods Hike (7-29-2012)

Hike: Portola Redwoods State Park
La Honda, San Mateo County

Hike along Slate Creek Trail,
Summit Trail and Service Road
Sunday, July 29, 2012

By Peter Y. Chou
WisdomPortal.com

Preface: This is our fifth hike in Portola Redwoods State Park since June 10, 2012. On July 1, after hiking on the Old Tree Trail to view the 305 feet tall Old Tree, we started uphill (4:15 pm) to the Slate Creek Trail. We came to the "Figure 10" trail bend (4:48 pm) and the Burl Head Redwood (5 pm). I took 28 photos during that 45 minutes hike. A similar trip today from the Uphill Sign (1:44 pm) to the "Figure 10" Bend (2:04 pm) took only 20 minutes since I took only 3 photos. My friend told me to speed up our hike since I need not photograph more Goosepen Redwoods (20 on July 1 and 30 on July 4 for my Platonic Lambda collection). Beside a Goosepen Redwood Closeup among 16 goosepen photos today, I found some Lambda-shaped trunks, log, and trees. Other scenic encounters include Devils Tower Stump, Pregnant Giant Redwood, Trillium with Torn Leaf, and Sunflare Through Tuning Fork Tree. Near the end of our hike, we came by a Shriners Pyramid near the Amphitheatre. The Islam Temple Shrine of San Francisco owned this land and built the Pyramid and recreation hall (now Visitor Center) in 1924. They sold the 1640 acres forest to California in 1945. The Arabic words inscribed on the Pyramid "Es Selamu Aleikum" mean "Peace Be With You". This is surely a blessing for all those who hike here amidst these majestic Portola Redwoods. We left the park at 7 pm with no fog on the road. Below are 127 photos of today's adventure.

Biker on Page Mill Road

Mindego Hill on Alpine Road

Tree & Mindego Hill on Alpine Road

Redwood near Parking Lot

Goosepen Redwood near Entrance

Redwoods in Old Tree Trail

To Slate Creek Trail Sign

Two Goosepen Redwoods

"Image 10" Trunks at Trail Bend

Sunflare Through Redwoods

Goosepen Redwood

Slate Creek Trail Sign at Junction

Dead Giant Monster Trunk

Arching Tan Oak on Slate Creek Trail

Tan Oak & Goosepen Redwood

Straight & Crooked Trees

"X Marks The Spot"

"Straight Arrow" Redwood

Crooked Tan Oak

Goosepen Redwood (1)

Slate Creek & Summit Trails Sign

Goosepen Redwood Closeup

Tall Fallen Redwood Log

Fallen Redwood Log

Long Fallen Redwood Log

Goosepen Redwood Top

Goosepen Redwood at Bend

"Snake Coil" Tan Oak

Goosepen on Trail

Douglas Fir to the Sky

Redwoods to the Sky

Twin Redwoods

Twin Redwoods Top

Cutaway Log & Sculpture

Goosepen Redwood Closeup

Goosepen Redwood Top

My Shadow on Trail (1)

Tiny Goosepen Redwood

Tiny Goosepen Redwood Top

"Devils Tower" Trunk

"Devils Tower" Trunk (1)

Log & Two Goosepens

"Greek Lambda Λ" Log

Redwood Stumps on Trail

Burl on Redwood

Life Sprouting from Dead Stump

Summit Trail Junction Sign

Thin Redwood to the Sky

Douglas Fir Top

Madrone to the Sky

Thin Redwood to the Sky

Madrone to the Sunlight

Y-Tree on Slate Creek Trail

Sculpturesque Trunks

Table Bench at Camp Site

Backpack Camp Site Sign

Camp Site Trail Junction (1)

"Pregnant" Giant Redwood

"Pregnant" Redwood (Front)

Split-Top Giant Redwood

Twin Redwoods Connection

Peter's Shadow on Trail (1)

Cluster of Spearhead Trees

"Lambda-Forming" Trunks

Sunflare Through Redwoods

Criss-Cross Y-Trunks

"Bird Beak" Log Image on Trail

Arch Tan Oak on Slate Creek Trail

"Cleopatra's Ostrich Fan" to Cool Hikers

Goosepen at Ground Level

"Chinese One" on Tree Stump

Long Fallen Redwood Trunk

Fresh Cutawaty Logs

Cross-Forming Trees

Slate Creek Trail

Curvy Tan Oak by Trail

Sunlight at Summit Trail Junction

Y-Tree by Redwood

Long Log on Trail

Sunlight at Summit Trail Junction

"Papa & Mama" Redwoods Top

"Papa, Mama, Baby" Redwoods

"Papa Mama Baby" Trees Top

Sunflare on Tan Oaks

Path Down the Summit Trail

Summit Trail Sign

"Papa and Mama" Redwoods Bottom

Trillium with Torn Leaf

Right-Angle Trunk & Fallen Trunk

Crawled Under Newly Fallen Trunk

Mangled Tree on Summit Trail

Twisted Branches in Douglas Fir

Jagged Douglas Fir Top

Lambda-Shaped Log

Lambda-Shaped Fallen Log

Path Through Two Goosepen Redwoods

Family of Five Goosepen Redwoods

"Bird Image" on Redwood Log

Fallen Trunk on Trail (1)

Cross-Forming Redwoods

"Heart Sky" Through Redwoods

Redwoods to Sunlight

Sword-like Dead Trunks

Stairs Down Summit Trail

Totem Redwood to the Sky

Spiral Groove in Tan Oak

Spiral Tan Oak to Sunlight

Sunlit Tree Through Darkness

Sunflare Through Tuning Fork

Sunflare Through Redwoods

"Boot Image" Stump by Fence

Bullseye Log by Service Road

Amphitheatre from Service Road

Shriners Redwoods Info Board

Islam Redwoods Pyramid

Islam Redwoods 1924 Shrine

"Es Selamu Aleikum" (Peace Be With You)

Shriners Redwoods Pyramid (1)

Monster Root Redwood Trunk

"Heart Image" in Trunk on Service Road

Marbled Murrelet Info Board

Valley View from Page Mill Road

Goosepen Redwood Top

Arrow Left Road Sign

Arrow Curve Road Sign

Arrow Up Road Sign

— Photographs by Peter Y. Chou, July 29, 2012