Saratoga News

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Esther Seehof, co-owner of the Laurel Mill Lodge, sips her morning coffee. Weddings, retreats and other functions take place here. Lodgers rent out nearby cabins.

Detours

Country roads lead curious travelers off the beaten track

By Shari Kaplan

There may not be gold in them thar hills, but there is a veritable gold mine of things to see and do in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Saratoga and Los Gatos. These are the places and faces off the beaten track of Highway 17, which like a river carries a constant flow of tourists and commuters between Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.

Experiencing the variety the mountains offer requires leaving the familiar current and venturing up and down its tributaries--many of which are interconnected--to see just where the backroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains lead.

Castle Rock State Park

One of the few state parks in Santa Clara County, Castle Rock is surprisingly close. Heading south on 17, the first exit past Lexington Reservoir is a frontage road that leads to Black Road and some mountainous driving before it intersects Skyline Boulevard. The entrance to the park is a few miles to the right, on the left side of Skyline. The park is also accessible from downtown Saratoga by traveling west on Highway 9 through the mountains, then turning left at Skyline. The park is then on the right.

The park is on the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains; its 3,231-foot Mt. Bielawski was once a California Department of Forestry lookout. The forest within the park varies depending on the terrain and altitude and includes redwood groves, mixed evergreens, chaparral, oak woodlands and grasslands, according to resident ranger Miles Standish.

Standish says most visitors come to hike one of the many scenic trails--ranging from a 0.3-mile jaunt to a Santa Cruz coast trek--or to climb the park's namesake rock or others like it. Composed of a 60- million-year-old variety of sandstone, many rock outcroppings contain unusual holes and structures called tafoni, or windcaves.

Among the fans of Castle Rock are Andi Rossi and Hal Aronson, who arrive decked out in climbing garb, ropes and safety devices.

"It's a wonderful thing--it's balance, grace, strength and communing with nature, all at the same time. It's also very challenging. You really test all your limits," Rossi says about rock climbing. A counselor at C.T. English Middle School, the Soquel resident got interested in the sport a few years ago at Joshua Tree National Park.

Aronson, who lives in Santa Cruz, says he first tried rock climbing about 20 years ago as a camp counselor for troubled teens in the Rocky Mountains.

Other state parks slightly farther away include Big Basin Redwoods, Henry Cowell Redwoods and the Forest of Nisene Marks. Nearby Santa Clara County parks include Sanborn Skyline and Lexington Reservoir. There are many open space preserves as well.

Castle Rock State Park, 15000 Skyline Blvd. 867-2952.

Los Altos Rod and Gun Club

A neighbor of sorts to Castle Rock is the Los Altos Rod and Gun Club, a shooting range off Skyline Boulevard that is eclectic in both clientele and facilities.

Organized and run by members since 1953, the range is open to the public Thursday through Sunday. Men, women and adult-supervised teens and children have seven shooting areas to choose from, depending upon their firearms and targets. Handguns, rifles and shotguns are allowed in different areas, which shooters aim at targets such as paper bulls-eyes, paper silhouettes, tin cans, plastic bottles and round clay disks called "birds" used in trap-shooting.

"We have people from all walks of life, from all over the Bay Area. Some people are practicing for shooting events, some come to pattern their shotguns and some shoot just for fun," explains resident range master Mike Hopkins. Castle Rock rangers sometimes practice on the facilities, he says.

"We're seeing more women than in years past. There's a lot of people who are more into defending themselves," adds Mike, whose wife, Jacqui, manages the range office and is also a shooter.

The Hopkinses make their home on the range in a trailer behind the office, which sells targets, ammunition, earplugs and food and offers rentable eye and ear protection.

The couple also own a recreational vehicle, which they used in traversing the country until four years ago, when they read in an RVer magazine that the range sought people to live and work on-site. The Hopkinses now offer temporary work/lodging arrangements to other RVing couples.

"This range has a lot of diversity, and the scenery is pretty. Most everybody who comes to the [office] window is in a good mood. They're here because they're doing what they want to do," Jacqui says.

Among the other personnel are range officers who keep their eyes on all shooters, enforce a long list of safety rules and inspect firearms during cease-fires. Another range officer works from a control tower, surveying the facilities and calling cease-fires every 15 minutes via a public address system.

"A lot of people see movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and they think that's what shooting is all about," says range officer Kurt Hoffman. "You sometimes have to nicely and quietly straighten them out. I enjoy helping people out who are new--teaching them safety and marksmanship."

Los Altos Rod and Gun Club, 14750 Skyline Blvd. 867-3106.

Icelandic Crest Horse Ranch

Although there are many horse stables in the mountains, Icelandic Crest--set quietly back from Summit Road--is the only ranch in the Bay Area where people can learn about, ride or buy these stocky equines from the rugged island of Iceland.

The horses themselves are equally rugged, surviving as breed for more than 1,100 years, when Vikings crossed the North Sea and settled in the island country. The Vikings' small, stocky Germanic horses interbred with the more lithe horses introduced by Celtic seafarers, thus beginning the Icelandic breed.

The two-year-old ranch, run by Heather Thordarson, husband Gunnar and family members and employees, is home to eight horses--four owned by the family and the rest boarders. Thordarson also has access to dozens of sale horses.

"They're perfect for the novice as well as the expert rider--they have such exceptional patience, good tempers and willingness," Thordarson says. Other adjectives she uses in describing Icelandics are "loving," "gentle," "unintimidating" and "intelligent." And when frightened, she adds, they neither rear up nor bolt. They simply plant their feet on the ground and stare.

Currently, Thordarson holds educational clinics every other month and trail rides about every month. Schools and Girl Scout troops come frequently for field trips as well. At clinics, Thordarson, sometimes accompanied by other trainers or breeders, teaches about Icelandic culture and about the history and care of the horses. A riding lesson is included.

Trail rides are usually all-day affairs. Many participants bring their own Icelandics, although some are available for rental. With Thordarson at the helm, riders bring bag lunches and trek along beaches or through county or state parks and forests.

Icelandic Crest Horse Ranch, 23271 Summit Road. 353-8170.

Summit Store

A few miles past Thordarson's horse ranch is the Summit Store.

The current building, which houses a supermarket along with an independent real estate office, has been in place since the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 damaged the original store beyond repair. According to Darrell Osborn, store owner since 1985, the store area was originally a stagecoach stop in the 1800s. Later, it housed a packing shed and then an auto garage before becoming a small grocery store.

It is now a large grocery store with a meat market, produce section and six aisles loaded with everything large supermarket chains carry--just in smaller quantities. Its magazine rack is unique in its row of local-interest books on topics such as mountain trails, memoirs of mountain residents and county and state parks and preserves.

Because mountain residents can't or don't want to make frequent trips to town, the store also carries a full wall of video movie rentals as well as tools and hardware.

In the winter, the year-round supply at least doubles of such items as flashlights, batteries, candles, propane and bottled water--all necessities during the winter storms that cause power outages. Osborn remembers a winter storm a few years back in which the cars of people without power or supplies jam-packed not only the parking lot but Summit Road itself.

"The guy who usually stocks produce was making coffee all day," Osborn recalls. That kind of personal attention is another aspect of the store he says sets it apart from chain supermarkets.

"When you walk in, people greet you and know you. We go from [customers] who are living in a tent to those who are worth a hundred million," he says. "That's probably what's kept me here so long. I love the people and the variety."

Early weekday mornings often bring mountain construction workers for breakfast food; many of the same return at lunch. Local residents, who frequent the store throughout the day, account for about 90 percent of business, Osborn says. Hikers, campers, bicyclists or tourists taking the backroads to Santa Cruz account for a noticeable amount of business on weekends, he says.

Summit Store, 24197 Summit Road. 353-2186.

Laurel Mill Lodge

The Laurel Mill Lodge is ensconced deep in the woods on Redwood Lodge Road, accessible from the Laurel Road exit on Highway 17 or directly from San Jose-Soquel Road.

Proprietor Esther Seehof acquired much history when she acquired the building and its surrounding 27 acres in about 1985. The land originally belonged to settlers by way of a land grant. In the mid-1800s, they lost it to the grocery store owner with whom they ran up a large bill, according to Seehof.

The owner later sold it to a mill company when the Laurel area experienced its heyday as a railroad and mill town. Much of the wood used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake came from the old Laurel Mill, powered by the western branch of Soquel Creek.

A pear-tree grower came next, followed by an enterprising man who ran a group foster home and later a kids' camp. It then became a massage school and retreat center, followed by a nudist recreational facility. Then it fell into disrepair and housed a drifter before Seehof and co-proprietor Bob Kundus came along.

After rebuilding and remodeling the lodge, grounds and nearly a dozen rustic wood cabins dotting the property, Seehof and Kundus opened their doors.

"I'm a psychologist and was looking for a place to hold workshops. I wanted property in the woods or the beach, or some place beautiful," Seehof explains.

"The place was being reclaimed by the jungle--everywhere you looked was Scotch broom and blackberry vines. It took goats to get through it," she adds with a chuckle. Three goats--more effective than machetes, she says--still live on the property as pets and milk-givers.

Seehof holds seminars and workshops in the lodge's conference room, as have other professionals in various fields. The lodge also hosts weddings, family reunions and other private parties. Currently, weekly or monthly renters live in most of the cabins, cooking their food in the lodge's large kitchen.

There is room outdoors for campers as well as the frame for a Native American sweat lodge. A sauna, hot tub, showers, vegetable garden, weathered dojo, elusive cat and quaint bridge over Soquel Creek are just a few of the discoveries visitors make if they take time to explore.

"It's peaceful and quiet; 27 acres of redwoods make a great buffer! You can be isolated but not lost," Kundus says with a smile.

"I am at home here," Seehof agrees. "I like the natural beauty. There's a very nice energy in this area for people who feel that and believe in that."

Down the line, the couple may expand the operation into a bed-and-breakfast. In the meantime, they're enjoying the life they've found on the backroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Laurel Mill Lodge, Redwood Lodge Road. 353-5851.

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