I like Big Basins and I cannot lie

I arrived in San Francisco a day early for DrupalCon so I could get some hiking in. I was hoping to return to the Dipsea Trail, where I hiked the last time I was in San Francisco. But unfortunately I ran out of time. But luckily I did manage to squeeze in one hike during the trip. I headed south of the city this time, to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The drive was around an hour and a half and took me through some beautiful, albeit harrowing, winding mountain roads.

Big Basin boasts a variety of trails and campsites. I chose the Berry Creek Falls Trail Loop, which I've seen listed anywhere from 10.5-11.6 miles in length. It meanders through canyons and along creeks.

The first half of the trail (headed headed counter-clockwise around the loop) had a lot more fir trees than redwoods, and didn't look much different than some areas of the Smoky Mountains. However, the second half of the loop contained waterfalls and impressive redwoods. And, not unexpetedly, large crowds of people.

The trail's namesake is the 60-ft Berry Creek Falls. The waterfall was spectacular, but the Golden Cascade and Silver Falls were lovely too. HIkers had to use ladders and handholds for some sections of the trail that meandered along side the waterfalls. I thought that part was especially fun, like a little obstacle course. The acrophobic among my fellow adventurers felt differently, however.