Lose Yourself on the Lost Trail

 [Editor's Note: San Carlos hiking enthusiast Tom Davids invites you to join him on his weekly walks. Watch for this column each week on San Carlos Patch!]

By Tom Davids

Windy Hill Open Space Preserve

Directions: On Skyline Boulevard, go two miles south of Highway 84 (La Honda Road).

Trail Map: www.openspacespace.org and search for Windy Hill.

Grade: Easy. Elevation gain of 200 feet.

Distance: Five miles round trip.

Time: Two to three hours.

Special Conditions: Dogs on leash are allowed on some trails at Windy Hill, but not on Lost Trail or Razorback Ridge Trail. Bicycles are also not allowed. No problem with poison oak if you stay on the trail. Picnic tables are located at the parking area on Skyline Boulevard. No water. Restroom provided at trailhead. This preserve is under the jurisdiction of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.

Windy Hill is a name well earned.

The two bald knobs that rise up on the east side of Skyline Boulevard are ideal for kite-flying. Soaring, hang-gliding and non-motorized model gliders are also allowed with a special permit from the MROSD.

Views from the knobs are outstanding on a clear day, with Stanford University and the South Bay at your feet and Mount Hamilton, Mission Peak, Mount Diablo, and the greater East Bay beyond. Within the preserve is the Razorback Ridge Trail, another great name descriptive of a trail with some 20 switchbacks over a 2.3-mile trail with an altitude change of 1,000 feet. And Hamms Gulch Trail, which carries the name of some early landholder or rancher in this area. The Anniversary Trail was built to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the purchase of Windy Hill.

Finally there is Lost Trail, the subject of this walk.

“There is something about the name”—Lost Trail—that signifies detachment, a place to escape to, a place where you can lose yourself for a few hours. Lost Trail offers panoramic views of the central Peninsula, the South Bay, and east along the East Bay hills. It also features some of the largest Douglas fir trees we have seen, an abundance of tanbark oak, frequent seasonal streams and wildflowers. It is an ideal getaway for your out-of-town guests.

This hike begins at the parking lot picnic area on the east side of Skyline Boulevard, two miles south of Alpine Road (Skylonda). Walk through the picnic area, and turn right on Lost Trail. The first quarter-mile is over grassland with uninterrupted panoramic views. A sturdy seating structure, “Bob’s Bench,” welcomes you to sit and enjoy the view, but you may prefer to finish your hike first. (The bench is in memory of Bob Augsburger, the first executive director of Peninsula Open Space Trust.)

On your way to the first trail junction (Hamms Gulch Trail), you will pass two fine stands of Douglas fir—a prelude of things to come. At 0.4 mile you will pass the intersection with Hamms Gulch Trail.

Stay on Lost Trail and continue 0.2 mile to an intersection with an old dirt road that provides access from Skyline Boulevard. Continue across the road and contour back into a canyon. Notice the private estate visible downhill in Jones Gulch.

After a short, steep descent, you will enter a mixed forest of fir, madrone, bay, and oak trees that will provide a shady canopy for the next 1.5 miles.

The remainder of Lost Trail meanders in and out of ravines along an old, almost level cart road. From time to time you will pass a very large Douglas fir tree, reminiscent of the fir and redwood trees that covered this area 150 years ago. Most of the trees you see today are second-growth, their predecessors having provided wood for building activity up and down the Peninsula many years ago. Eventually you will pass a water trough for horses, and then the trail junction with Razorback Ridge Trail.

It is then time to turn around, (unless you’re up to the complete 8.1 mile loop, which drops down 1,000 feet on Razorback Ridge Trail to Alpine Road (Eagle Trail), then returns on Hamms Gulch Trail.  Pick up a trail map at the trailhead for a complete description).

Lost Trail offers one of those great walks when you don’t mind retracing your steps. You will see different trees, shrubs, and flowers; and the wonderful views are always changing.

By the Way. . .

American Badger and Buddies – Ever wonder about that large mound of excavated earth on the side of the trail? Say hello to the American badger. Their burrows are constructed by the badger, a prolific digger in pursuit of prey such as ground squirrels, meadow moles and brush rabbits. Badgers are solitary, nocturnal creatures that dine mostly on small mammals, and occasionally, on reptiles, ground-resting birds and insects.

The badger is a 20-to 25-pound tunneling machine, short-legged and squat, with powerful front legs and long claws for digging. Their burrows can be up to 30 feet long and 10 feet deep.

The badger’s “hunting buddy” is a coyote, who hangs around a busy digging badger waiting for small mammals trying to escape.

More Weekly Walker hikes:

Weekly Walker: Are You Ready for a 'Challenge' Hike?

Weekly Walker Hike # 1 Leads to Soda Gulch Trail

Introducing the Weekly Walker: Hit the Trail With Tom Davids

Introducing the Weekly Walker: Hit the Trail With Tom Davids