Community Corner

Weekly Walker: Retrace the Final Flight of the Resolution

"Air Pacific easy, Roger, southeast, turning inbound." --last transmission from the Resolution

[Editor's Note: San Carlos hiking enthusiast Tom Davids suggests some local treks.]

By Tom Davids

The Resolution Trail: El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve
 
Directions:
 
On Skyline Boulevard, 9.3 miles south of Highway 92 or 4.4 miles south of Kings Mountain Road. Park at the rest stop at the Skaggs Point on the east side of Skyline.

Note: A left turn from Skyline southbound to Skaggs Point is not allowed, so go beyond the rest area, turn around, and double back.
  Trail Map:  www.openspace.org and search for El Corte de Madera Creek.  

Grade:
Moderate 

Distance:
Six miles 

Time:
Three hours 

Special Conditions:
Stay on trails to avoid poison oak. Watch for bicycles. No dogs.

The preserve is operated by the Midpeninsula Open Space District.


For more:
Information on the crash of the Resolution was obtained from Wreckchasing: A Guide to Finding Aircraft Crash Sites by Nicholas A. Veronico, published by Pacific Aero Press.  

As the sun came up from the east on Oct. 28, 1953, the crew of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines DC-6 flight 304/44 prepared to end their long flight from Honolulu and land at San Francisco International Airport.

The flight had originated in Sydney, Australia, with stops at the Fiji Islands, Canton Island, and Honolulu, where Captain Bruce Dickson had assumed command. There were eight crewmembers and eleven passengers on board, all eager to end their long overnight flight.

The last transmission from the DC-6 came at 8:41 a.m. Then the radio was silent.

The plane was named Resolution after one of the ships commanded by Capt. James Cook (1728-1779) during his discovery voyages in the Pacific. It was one of four DC-6s owned by British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines. The others were named Endeavor, Adventure, and Discovery, all part of Cook’s fleet.

This was a large plane measuring 100 feet in length, with a wing space of 117 feet and powered by four propeller-type engines.

As the plane passed the coastline heading for SFO, it apparently entered a dense layer of cloud cover that hung over the coastal range. Moments later the plane crashed at an elevation of 2,300 feet. All 19 on board were killed in what became the worst air disaster in the history of San Mateo County.

No one knows exactly why the plane crashed, but the CAB report states that the probable cause was the failure of the crew to follow prescribed procedures for an instrument approach.  

This week’s walk follows the Resolution Trail, which leads through the crash site. At the point of impact you will see small pieces of metal, clumps of wire, and other unidentifiable parts of the airplane.  

The walk starts at the Skaggs Point viewpoint on Skyline Boulevard. From the parking area, walk north a few hundred feet to the marked trailhead (Gate CM01) on the west side of Skyline. The Tafoni Trail is a well-graded former logging/ranch road that leads westerly through the headwaters of the El Corte de Madera Creek.

After 1.2 miles of gentle walking, you are at a four-way trail intersection. Continue right on the Tafoni Trail a short distance to a sign on the right marking the tafoni sandstone formations. These unique formations are well worth a special inspection.

Continue on the Tafoni Trail for about a mile to the intersection with Resolution Trail. Turn left on the mostly level trail that meanders along the face of the slope to the junction with Madera Creek Trail. Go left, and begin to regain altitude as the trail passes by large redwood trees. The trail rises out of the shady canyon to a sunny, exposed hillside, where you will see small parts of the DC-6. There are also signs of a fire, which may have been one of several sparked by the crash.  

Continuing on, the trail enters a dense redwood forest, then moves to a worn, exposed hillside before joining Fir Trail. Turn left on Fir Trail for 0.3 miles to a junction to Vista Point for good views to the west. Notice that this area was cleared by bulldozers to serve as the base for the rescue and recovery operation of the Resolution crash.  

Return to the junction and retrace your steps on the Tafoni Trail to Skyline. Or for a change of pace, take the Fir Trail around the south side of the ridge to the same gate.  

By the Way. . .
  If time allows, take the short marked trail to view the Tafoni Formations. Tafoni is another name for what the geologists call “cavernous weathering,” a phenomenon that occurs only a few places in the world where there is a moderately dry climate with a prolonged dry season.  

Tom Tabor nicely explains this action/reaction in his book, The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book. Simply stated, during our rainy season (October to May), rainwater with dissolved carbon dioxide seeps into sandstone-type rock. Then during the dry season (May to October), the rock dries out, and the calcium carbonate (the bonding agent) is drawn to the surface and forms an erosion-resistant shield. The interior of the rock then crumbles away due to water, wind and animal activity.


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