Distance: 8 miles
Elevation gain: 1500'
Estimated Time: 5 hours
Cost: The hike is free (and no charge for parking).

Important points to note:
  * There are no restrooms near the trail.
  * Dogs are not permitted.
  * We'll start this hike an hour earlier than usual (to avoid heavy traffic).

Description:
Many of you have probably been to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, a nice shady redwoods-and-creeks kinda park down near Santa Cruz -- perfect for a hot summer day.  But what many *don't* realize is that there's a second half to the park, one which is a lot less crowded and which you might consider to actually be a little prettier.  We visit some old lime kilns along the way, along with an ancient redwood and the remains of an old mill.

For more information about Henry Cowell Park, visit the park's web site:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=546

You can download a park brochure and trail map from:
https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/546/files/HenryCowellRedwoodsFinalWeb2015.pdf

Hike Route:
After entering the park from the parking lot, we will turn right onto the fire road followed by a sharp left onto to Ridge Trail followed by Truck trail to the midpoint peak of the hike.  A steep descent leads us to Fall Creek and we will follow it back to the parking lot with a slight detour to visit the lime kilns.

Warning:  This is a moderately strenuous hike.  Please be sure that you are comfortable with this level of effort before joining us.  And be sure to eat a nutritious breakfast, so that you arrive well fed, well hydrated and ready to hike.

What to Bring:
Water (at least 2 litres per person), lunch and some light snacks.  You should probably wear long pants, as there is plenty of poison oak along the trail. No harm in bringing sunblock and a hat, but it's quite shady, so should be comfortable on a summer afternoon.

Optional late sit down lunch at ~1pm after the hike at Cremer House.  For info, see the  http://www.cremerhouse.com/ site.

Driving Directions:
*Take 17 South (you can get there from Hwy 85 or Hwy 280) to the Mt. Hermon Rd. Exit (~20 mins).
*At the light at the end of the exit ramp, turn RIGHT.
*Drive 3.5 miles to the T intersection.  Take a RIGHT onto Graham Hill Rd.
*You'll quickly hit Hwy 9 (you'll see a Chevron on your right).
*Go straight across.  The road becomes Felton Empire Rd.
*Drive 0.6 miles.  The parking lot and trailhead are on the right.  It's a bit hard to spot, so keep your eyes open.

Driving time:  30 minutes from the intersection of Hwys 85 and 17.
Cremer House address: 6256 Highway 9 Felton, CA 95018.  phone: (831) 335-3976.

Carpooling:
Carpooling is a good idea as the parking area is limited.  If people want to get into a carpool, we've set up an unmoderated discussion group you can use to set up carpools.  To join it, go to:   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mitcnchikers_carpooling and then send a message to mitcnchikers_carpooling@groups.yahoo.com, or post from the web interface at the above address.  This requires you to get a free yahoo account; sorry about this, but in our experience, they've been harmless and respect your spam preferences.  Unfortunately (cynics cackle here), the old email signup interface seems to have stopped working.  In any case, in the message, be sure to include where you're coming from, contact information and how many of you there are.

Rain policy:
If there's any ambiguity about the weather on the day of the hike, you can check the forecast the morning of the hike.

If it's raining significantly, the hike is off.  If the weather is ambiguous, we will send out an email to the mitcnchikers@yahoogroups.com list on the morning of the hike.  You can easily join that email list by going to the http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mitcnchikers/ web page and clicking on the "Join This Group!" button.  After you're on the list, you'll receive emails about each upcoming hike ~1 week in advance.  The volume on that list is very low (~2 emails/month), so spam won't be a problem.

Disclaimers:
Joining any hike is entirely voluntary and participants assume any and all risks associated with the activities.  By registering or attending this event, participants agree to the conditions posted at:   http://northerncalifornia.alumclub.mit.edu/s/1314/images/gid25/editor_documents/event_documents/liability_waiver.pdf