INCH Hike: Phleger Estate

89. Phleger Estate (10/10/98)

Hikers (5): Beth, Mary, Russ, Steve, Wei-Kai
Distance: 8 miles
Rating: 3 difficulty, 8 beauty
Park info: Phleger Estate in Woodside

Write-up by Russ

Phleger Estate was recently spotlighted in a recent episode of Bay Area Backroads by Tom Stienstra, who writes for the San Francisco Chronicle and more importantly is co-author of our hiking bible California Hiking . Stienstra said, "The Phleger Estate has challenging hiking and true wilderness." Say no more.

1, 2, 3, ... INCH!

This hike is really an extension of the usual Huddart Park Loop , but with the addition of a hike through the newly opened Phleger Estate. It was a nice leisurely hike through Huddart and a perfect day for a hike. Actually once we were in the Redwoods, it was a bit on the chilly side. Unlike the previous hike this trail was fairly well marked and Phleger Estate has cool looking street sign trail markers.

It was a fairly leisurely hike through Huddart and the first half of Phleger Estate. In the middle of the Lonely Trail there is a bench that invites one to "Rest and be filled with the beauty of the forest." No one can resist such an invitation and I did indeed rest (not that I needed it). I even convinced Steve to be filled with the beauty of the forest, but all he got was Wei-Kai standing in front of him.

Once past this point there is a semi-decent uphill stretch which I assume is some "challenging" hiking that Stienstra was referring to. With a fair amount of heavy breathing, we managed to get through it unscathed.

After we reached the top of the Lonely Trail, it was smooth sailing. There was a brief moment where we weren't sure about how to find the primitive trail that takes you back to Huddart Park. The others didn't believe Steve and I actually knew where we were going when we started down the trail. We were finally able to convince them that we indeed knew where we were going and it was a pleasant hike though Huddart Park to get back to the car.

This wasn't the typical INCH hike. We hardly ate any food and no one got lost. But it was a pleasant change.