East Tule Creek

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

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The second suggestion for Hayfork Area Trails is the north portion of East Tule Creek Trail with a side jaunt off to Plummer Peak. It is accompanied by a most confused map where roads and trail are left off, but the creeks are labeled as road and trail. This may not be the highest quality handout the Forest Service ever produced. Following the written description places one in a large dirt parking lot with a sign for the trail at one side. As I drove in, it also contained a few stacks of mystery hay bails. Since I already did the part up to Plummer Peak when I hiked the south end of East Tule Creek Trail, I was just out to see the rest of the trail. This part is shown following, and often crossing, the east fork of Tule Creek, so should be a very different experience from the ridge line following southern portion.

One big, bold sign to mark the trailhead and a smaller yellow sign to warn that this is a burned area.

And is there trail to go with that sign? Yes, there is! Even through grasses on fairly flat lands, there is distinct trail. Actually, I could see the edges of old road under my route. It crosses a small drainage and climbs up the far side. A turn at the top sends one up and down some little hills directly in the name of avoiding private property.

Easy to find trail here on a wide cut.

This bit of trail took me longer than one might think because I turned Merlin to listening to the noisy woodpeckers and it indicated these were one of the pointy headed sorts, not the ones I'd been finding.

One of those pointy headed pileated woodpeckers in a dead tree.

Fall color coming in on the western redbud.

Looking out over the little hills. Bit of smoke in the air.

Trail corners again on an active road beside a water filled ditch and a sign pointing out the trail for the other direction. So down that other way, then? I was tempted to have a look the other way, but left it for later.

Following the ditch downhill.

Almost to a ranch house, there's trail again. This time it has a sign, lines of cut logs set on end to help draw the eye, and a big arrow chain-sawed into the side of a live tree. I didn't miss it although the next 100 feet could use some help by clearing off the downfall. Then it comes to the main stem of Tule Creek for a crossing. This bit could also use some help. The trail split and I tried the left one, which seemed to run into trail on the far side of the creek. The in between has dealt with some changes from flooding and debris.

A look back after crossing Tule Creek.

Then I should be up and over and down to the East Fork, or so the map said. However, the trail did not drop down to more water. Instead it switched and climbed some more. Over a log with a rock rather pointedly showing the way where a long past trail seems to have missed it and switch again. They stuck a sign on a fuel break that shortcuts the switchback.

A view of western Hayfork. Not sure who this sign is for since the trail passes a fair bit below and a fair bit above here.

Overlooking the valley of East Fork Tule Creek.

Other than that missed log, the trail looked maintained as it climbed, but then the maintenance stopped around 1.6 miles. At first, that was just a few logs to hop over.

The three posts to the left of the trail were a slot in a fence once. There's no other evidence of this fence. Trail work stopped shortly after.

Then it got brushy and the logs got bigger, but someone had trimmed the brush. Sometimes. Leaving the cuts on the trail. I was feeling like I was following someone's guess where there were cuts and making it up as I went along where there weren't. Then there would be enough tread or some other clue that the trail really does go this way to give me confidence.

Trail. For real.

See? Tread!

About to enter a bit of trail that would be particularly hard to follow on the way back because there's multiple half-routes in the brush.

A section where the brush pushes everyone off the tread onto the side, but there's room to walk there.

I was pondering what the road walk back might be for this part of the trail. It's quite long. Then I saw hope!

A single cut halfway through a large log.

A cut! A cut on a log! It was a particularly big log and I couldn't see much past it, but I was filled with the certainty that trail work had been performed on the upper section of the trail and I was about to meet it. Just got to get up and over that log.

Yes! Beautiful cleared trail!

Still high above the creek.

I started crossing some streams that offered water, not that I was in need. The trail got a little rough on some of these crossings. The last crew through had allowed growth to push the trail down the hill in sometimes awkward ways, but there was always open trail to walk.

Rough, but open trail through a stream crossing.

Across another stream, a bridge of sorts nearly vanished by rot.

Still high up and following very clear trail.

I passed a pair of signs that looked like they wanted to point out the way at a junction. The faint flat of a long abandoned road might be the third direction.

Golden-crowned sparrow don't need so silly signs.

A little longer across the parched land and the trail started to drop slightly and I finally met East Tule Creek. It was under the branches of yew trees hung with little ornaments and made a lovely sound and I'm not certain which of the flows joining before me was officially it. I think the one on the left. Certainly the one leaving.

Pacific yew trees produce a fleshy red cone called an aril.

East Fork Tule Creek joining with an unnamed stream about as big as it.

A short way further and another crossing at another confluence means it is time to leave the creek again.

Another foothill yellow-legged frog makes itself known by hopping into the water to hide.

Lines of holes drilled into a tree by a sapsucker.

So soon, good-bye, little water.

Yet another deer let me get a shot of it in the middle of hunting season.

The trail follows along a dry drainage, at least it is dry this time of year. It crosses many times and all around bears the scars of burn.

The sparse, blackened trees along the trail and stream bed.

Animal trails present options. There's one continuing on both sides of this crossing.

It's not all dry. There's surface water here beside the big, charred cedar.

Mountain chickadee pauses a moment.

Here stands a norther flicker.

Nearly at the end, the trail climbs from the drainage to the road above. The climb is helped out by a switchback at the top where it gets steep.

Oh, there's noisy Steller's jays too.

Douglas' squirrel will not be letting go of the acorn.

A spring by the trail that is not much more than a muddy spot with a skin of water.

Signed at the top as it leaves an old, closed road. Getting greener up here.

Once at the top, the trail is on an old road. There's a big bump to show it is closed and it looks like folks aren't using it. Perhaps for a bit of parking. When I was hiking the other end, I spotted a short trail shortcutting the road. I took that, but it sort of fails right at the edge of the road to the lookout. Not quite so badly as some of the south end trail fails.

Where to continue for the south side of this trail. There's a slapstick sign there on the right about ⅓ up to say so.

The view on the Salt Creek side.

I followed one the roads back to find that the stub end of the old road is signed as the trail with another slapstick, er, I mean carsonite sign. Yes to hikers and horses (and presumably to bicycles) and no to ATVs (and motorcycles). I stopped a while in some shade to eat before retracing my steps. The trail is a whole lot more attractive than road option.

One cardinal catchfly left. Almost all of the flowers this day.

A little rock outcrop beside the trail.

The dry stream is paved in white rocks.

Back to some real water.

I stopped again under the yews. It hadn't been all that much cooler in the shade above, but it was extra nice down next to the flowing East Tule Creek.

A chunky coastal giant salamander came squirming down the creek, mostly just under the surface, to shelter under a rock right next to where I was about to soak my feet in the cold.

When I was really ready, I got going once more. Around past all the little streams. Down the hill. Over the slightly cut log to fight the brush pushing me down the trail. Through the brushy and log cluttered forest where I wandered a somewhat harder route than the way up. Finally past the gate posts to where it is all maintained again.

Down the hill. The big cedar tree on the right really caught my eye as an interesting specimen.

It's quite green down low where the streams flow.

Back to looking out over Hayfork.

I happily took the missed switchback, then tried another that was getting left out. There might be a reason. I found a funky blaze and a more difficult way to the main stem of Tule Creek. I ended up just wandering back to the current trail along the creek gravel.

So what does vertical dot-dash-dot mean? I only find reassurance markers (vertical dot-dash) in the 1935 trail building manual.

Stonecrops poking out of the moss.

I checked the big pool for more frogs or salamanders.

So back across Tule Creek with the shadows setting in and back to the parking.

Fremont's western rosenweed. That's two flowers!

More hay bails had joined the ones already there, but now they were signed as part of some noxious weed restoration by the Watershed Center. There is hope for this trail. It has already seen some more maintenance since I was on it.

*photo album*




©2024 Valerie Norton
Written 11 Nov 2024