This has to be one of the most contorted oak trees in Santa Cruz County. It is located in Piper Gulch on Forest Road 72A (Piper Gulch Road) approximately three miles from where FR-72A branches off FR-72 in Temporal Gulch. The entrance to FR-72A is nine-tenths of a mile north of the Arizona Trail Parking Area on FR-72.
To get to FR-72, leave Patagonia on First Avenue heading north. First Avenue becomes Gringo Road and then Temporal Gulch Road after it crosses a broad ridge separating Gringo and Temporal Gulches.
Previously in “Great Trees of Eastern Santa Cruz County”:
“The Grand Sycamore of Harshaw Road” by Angie Soto Jessup
“The Mesquite on Santa Rita Ave.” by German Quiroga
“The Cottonwood at the Lochiel Schoolhouse” by Angie Soto Jessup
“A Most Magnificent Cottonwood in Canelo” by Bill Steen
“Elgin’s Movie Star Cottonwood” by Sue Downing
“The Wise Old Emory Oak of Mowry” by Perin McNelis
“A Pleistocene Juniper” by Jim Koweek
“The Leaning Pine of Duquesne” by Bekki Jaynes
“The Hollow Tree of Harshaw Townsite” by Cassina Farley
“The Mexican Blue Oak of Sonoita Creek” by Vince Pinto
Do you know a great tree? Submit photos (or artwork!) and text about your favorite tree to prtadast@gmail.com. It can be any tree on public or private property in Eastern Santa Cruz County. (You don’t have to disclose the tree’s exact location unless you want to.) Tell us what makes the tree great: maybe it’s the tree’s size, shape or age; or its leaf color; or the animals and insects who inhabit it; or the special events or family traditions associated with it; or perhaps something more personal. Whatever it is, share it with us. Let’s celebrate our area’s natural splendor and heritage!