Hiking in Big Basin

Since our San Diego trip got canceled this weekend, we decided to explore one of the best local Bay Area hikes - the Waterfall Loop at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. There are many good easy and moderate hikes in Big Basin, but we wanted to see the BEST waterfalls so we did the strenuous loop, Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail to Berry Creek Falls, returning on the Sunset trail. 10.5 miles with 2000 feet of elevation changes! We are insane.
When we ran into this sign about an hour into our hike we knew we were in for quite a day.
We encountered fallen trees everywhere, many were very recent from the winter storms and last year's fires.
The family at Berry Creek falls.
Luke and Dave checking out Golden falls. All these cool waterfalls (Cascade falls was another one, but not pictured) were well worth the hike; we loved seeing this beautiful area that is so close to home.
Natalie with her favorite Banana slug - 8 inches long!
Luke loves nature! He didn't even cry once throughout our entire 6+ hour hike. The $8 hiking kid-pack that we got at a garage sale held up well.We wanted to test our gear and our endurance limits in preparation for our Yosemite camping trip in May. Right now, 6 miles of this tough terrain is our limit -- 10 miles was a bit over the top -- we'll have to get in better shape before trying a hike like this again.