Little Creek

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Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park


(Map link.)

I was out to Prairie Creek once more searching for those funky parasitic flowers that I had missed the week before, but didn't have a full day planned. I decided to stop by the couple of little trails I've not done along the way. These are much smaller than the others and only marked by a trash can and a small sign. They don't even get warnings that a trailhead is ahead along the road. I missed the first, but stopped at the second.

trash can at start
All that marks the trail is a trash can and a barely visible sign. The sign says "Little Creek 1.0 mi", which is a promise it can't keep.

I started up it, past the sign saying it is a mile. It swings away from the creek, climbing, then stays high and fairly flat. It seems a little less used, but well established. There are a couple trees down across it, but nothing one can't go under or over.

tree down over well established trail
A bit of that trail with one of three trees being a nuisance.

trees on a hillside of ferns
A little more of that trail past some nice trees.

And then suddenly it was over already. That was never one mile! I checked the GPS and it had clocked only one third of a mile.

bench among lots of green
The bench at the end of the trail.

People have tried to push past the bench at the end, but there's just lush green stuff to contend with and it's not very pleasant without a trail. I turned back and contented myself with making observations of root systems.

ridges of roots
Roots of a shrub seeming to follow old ridges in a stump.

roots just stretching
Roots just stretching out to find the ground.

hug a stump
Roots holding on for support.

descent to creek
A little more of the trail and surrounding trees going down to Little Creek.

minute white flowers
There aren't very many flowers along it just now. There are these tiny trailplant.

The finish came quickly enough. The GPS still hadn't found a mile to track, even with the big trees making its signal erratic. It's a very short trail indeed.

*photo album*




©2021 Valerie Norton
Written 18 Jul 2021

location: Newton B. Drury Scenic Pkwy, Orick, CA 95555, USA

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