Sierra Club Hiker's Hut at Sam McDonald Park

The Sierra Club Hiker's Hut is accessible from the Heritage Grove Trailhead at Sam McDonald Park (the small parking lot near Alpine Road is a great entrance point). I have written about this park before (see here) when I went hiking with my mom. This was my first solo hike since I gave birth to my daughter, and I wanted to return to one of my old favorites!

This particular trip was interesting for a number of reasons. The Bay Area is in the middle of a heat wave, and temperatures are reaching record highs this Labor Day Weekend. Smoke from wildfires in the Sierras has drifted down onto the bay and its environs, which only makes the heat worse.

Luckily, the heat is not too bad up in the Santa Cruz mountains! Even though the traffic was quite bad on CA Highway 84, people passed right by Sam McDonald on their way to the coast.

So... I not only beat the heat, but also had the park almost entirely to myself! The smokiness from far-away fires made the early afternoon light quite red, almost like the beginning of dusk. This reddish light made the color of the redwoods just glow.

There was an awful lot of stinging nettle growing near the edge of the path. Next time I make this journey, I will be wearing long pant for sure!