The bridge over which you cross the San Lorenzo River to the cache reminds me of the bridges of the last century built over most of the local rivers and creeks, planks of wood set sideways that rattle and shake as you cross over them leaving you wondering if you might be the one who plummets into the river as they collapse from one end to the other! This historical bridge will soon be replaced with a cement bridge, enjoy it while you can.
In the 1920's my grandfather built such a bridge constructed with redwood and Douglas fir over Bean Creek to access his house. Back in those days a person used whatever local materials he could, in fact Grandpa used redwood rounds for his house's foundation and 2 x 4 Douglas fir studs that really were 2" x 4"!
The San Lorenzo River itself begins its journey at the 2500’ elevation in Castle Rock State Park and flows 30 miles to the Pacific Ocean at the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. One mile upriver from Monterey Bay a large village was once occupied by the Chatu-mu Ohlone for over 2000 years.
The Ohlone’s demise was portended by the arrival of the Spanish explorer Don Gaspar de Portola who named the river San Lorenzo in honor of Saint Lawrence. He called the rolling hills above the river Santa Cruz, which means holy cross.
The river was once one of the most popular steelhead and coho salmon rivers in Northern California until its numbers were reduced from 30,000 in 1960 to 1000 a decade later due to septic tank bacteria contamination and mining siltation.
This situation prompted the Califonia Department of Fish and Game to designate the San Lorenzo a "catch and release" stream in 1982.
A 9.1 mile long section of the river from Boulder Creek to Felton is popular among whitewater rafters and kayakers, and is rated by American Whitewater as a class II with several of the sections considered to be “not easy.”
In 1982, 1995, and 1998 the San Lorenzo flooded due to intense precipitation and the small size of the river’s drainage basin, resulting in significant property damage and loss. To read more about the San Lorenzo River Flood Control and Environmental Restoration Project go here