I wanted old growth redwoods....
I got what I came searching for.....
Day 1...10.5 miles...
Wow.... What a day... Left Sacramento at 3:05 AM today and hit the trail at 10 AM...
Ok... I was a bit tired last night and I didn't type after that last sentence. So ....I will type on night 2 as well as for night 1. After talking to the Ranger for a bit I had to get back in my car.... Later....don't want to type on this....Ok….at Peets in Sacramento on Friday at 9:30 AM….quite the change of venue….here’s how it all happened. The bottom line is that I don’t like to type on my Blackberry in the woods….there is just something inherently wrong with those little letters on the phone is the world of GIANTS I just spent time in.
So…back to Day 1…
After I got my permit…I hit the trail. It was a quick .3 of mile on the James Irvine Trail until it hooked up with the West Ridge Trail…Up up and up it went into the land of God….Walking under, over, around and through trees that have stood to see the last 800-1500 years of history…with the oldest tree being over 2200 years old….Amazing….
These trees were here long before the Gold Rush….They witnessed the Bear Flag Rebellion….Mexico rule over CA….Spanish rule over CA….and some of the original European explores like Sir Francis Drake, Gaspar Portola, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo...but not only that far…we’ve just made it back 500 years…These trees have also witnessed the Hupa, Chumash, Piute, and Yurok tribes since they were seedlings….Sometime between 500-700 BC, these trees might just have watched Polynesians visit CA and teach the Chumash how to build the types of canoes they would then build for hundreds and hundreds of years. In 100 BC…..the oldest California Redwoods were saplings…..
My walk up to the West Ridge and then the next 7.2 miles were spectacular. I didn’t think it could get any more beautiful….then I took a few more steps… Words don’t explain the size and silence of this world. Going out….is coming home….
At about mile point 4.7 I got a shock to the system. I was forced to walk though a mile of devastation and sadness. A mile that had been clear cut in the late 1800’s. The entire ecosystem was decimated. Once the giant Redwoods were cut, the shaded world below covered in ferns, moss and other delicate growth, was quickly burned by the sun’s rays to oblivion. The Alders and other deciduous trees fought for space among the spiny collection of vines that were now left free to wreak havoc on the “forest” floor. And now….even more than 150 years later, this area looks like it was just cut. There are Coastal Redwoods…but they at 150 years old at the very oldest, are mere children in comparison to their parents in the surrounding forest. Luckily, this was a quick area to make it though…but it sure did demonstrate to me…without a doubt…why protecting every last one of these giants in CA is not necessary…but MANDATORY!
As I continued in a north-west direction I began to hear the distant roll of waves hitting the shore. The further I hiked, the louder the sound became until I finally got a peek through the trees at the distant ocean. Before I knew it, I dipped out of the forest of giants and onto the sand dunes. I walked for about 200 yards before just deciding it would be better to take off my boots and walk barefoot. There were numerous streams pouring out of the hills onto the beach…and as this happened…many marshy areas and small to medium sized ponds were formed. All were filled with freshwater only and most looked no deeper than about knee high. The first few were pretty easy crossings…not too deep, too cold, or too rocky a surface to walk on. I found the campsite but then I got onto the beach and was able to walk another 3 miles before the height of the tide made going any further impossible. I walked back to the campsite and decided that camping about 100 yards from the Ossagon Creek Trail Camp…and up on the bluff would be more comfortable. I hadn’t seen anyone since the Ranger’s Office…so I didn’t think it really mattered.
Great night….Terrific dinner of Curry….no tent…no tarp…no bug screen….just my sleeping bag on my pad on the sand….blissful!
Day 2... 11.6 miles...
Wonderful night sleep….Oatmeal and coffee from my sleeping bag….Life is good.
I was supposed to stay here two nights but I can have the coast anywhere….I want back in the trees. So, I decided to head towards Miners’ Ridge Hiker’s Camp where I’m scheduled on my 3rd night.
Up at 8:00 and out of camp by 9:00. My first 2 miles were a repeat of yesterday’s hike….the West Ridge Trail took me right within a few tenths of a mile from the clear cut I saw yesterday….But then I turned off onto the Friendship Ridge Trail. Another beautiful 2.8 mile section until I hit the Fern Canyon side trail. Fern Canyon was used for some of the filming of Jurassic Park. I needed to see it! It was a loop trail where the northern side of the loop was up above the canyon looking down into it. The southern part of the loop was right up through the middle of the canyon…no bridges. It was a quick .8 to the bottom of the canyon using the northern trail…then boots off…and a slow, long walk back up the gullet of the canyon. It was beautiful. But somehow, it just didn’t impress me the way the dense forests did. I ate some lunch deep in the canyon…no sounds except for the creek and water dripping down the fern and moss covered walls. Nothing….no one… I still had not seen a sole.
After lunch I hiked out the of canyon, put my boots back on and hiked back up to re-join the intersection of the Friendship Ridge Trail and the James Irvine Trail. I took the JIT for another 1.4 miles of old growth forest before heading south on the Clintonia Trail for 1.6 miles. This section had the most (although there had been many throughout the entire trip) dedicated groves and benches with plaques to enjoy the sights. I took advantage of MANY of these. After a bit of meander I hit the Miners’ Ridge Trail and took it west for another 2.2 miles to the Miners’ Ridge Hikers’ Camp. Three empty sites to choose from…nice. A privy…nice. A water tank with a spigot at the bottom….nice!
Another nice night….Pasta Alfredo….yum. Just the bug net tonight to keep the few skeeters at bay.
Day 3..16.5 miles..
Today was going to be a big day no matter how I looked at it. I wanted to see as much of the rest of the park as possible. I knew that I would see little to nothing on Friday morning…since I would be leaving so early…maybe even hiking in the dark.
So…I woke up to a hot cup of coffee and some maple-brown sugar oatmeal…mmm…mmm…good.
Hit the trail at 8:00 AM and headed back up Miners’ Ridge Trail. Again, I only doubled back 2 miles before hitting new ground. The “new ground” was all old growth forest along the 1.6 mile second section of the Miners’ Ridge Trail. I turned onto the James Irvine Trail and walked the .6 of a mile before being able to join my already favorite trail in the park; the West Ridge Trail. I had planned to re-walk this amazing trail in order to make it to the north end of the park. My plan was to drop down into the valley, across the road, and head back up the opposite side of the valley while making my way back south. This would be a transverse of virtually the entire length of the park; twice. I turned north on the West Ridge Trail and hiked 3.7 miles (just shy of the clear cut that saddened me so the day before yesterday.) I turned east on the Zig Zag #2 trail and dropped the .5 of a mile/ 500+feet to the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway. Then I hit the Rhododendron Trail…the trail I would continue on throughout the day. This trail lived up to its name. The sky was filled with old growth giants…and just above my head, there was a second canopy…this one made up of Rhododendron. Though not in bloom, the contrast they provided was very different than any other trail I had hiked thus far. I REALLY want to come back here when the Rhododendron are in bloom. I can just imagine the contrast that they would create then!
This trail was just beautiful…much wetter and much slipperier (from the decomposing dropped Rhododendron leaves)…but well worth every step. The fog rolled in and out many times throughout the day creating some spectacular scenery. As I hiked on it got darker and darker. The sun was in and out (behind the veil of fog,) but the forest canopy was so dense that it got dark very quickly. Even by 3:30 PM, there were parts of the trail that could have used a headlight, if I put out the effort to get it from my pack.
After another 8.1 miles, it was 6:10 PM, and I was back at the car. Here I had choices. I had just put in a 10 hour, 16.5 mile day filled with lots of relaxation and photography. I felt good. Not too tired. Where my car was parked, there was still quite a bit of refracted light from the fog. But I was out of the trees. I was fine walking in the dark…I had a great headlight…hmmmm
My choices:
A. Continue on the Miners’ Ridge Trail for 4.2 miles back to the same trail camp I had been at the night before. If I did this I would walk there in the dark, and walk back in the early morning either all in the dark….or most of the way. 8.4 miles of nearly all dark hiking…hmmm
B. Find a place to “poach” or camp “illegally” in the woods around the car…get up early and walk out to drive home.
C. Get into the car and see how I felt…do a combination of sleeping, driving, eating and caffeine intake on the way home.
I chose “C.” I saw that there was an open bathroom across the street. It had hot water. Score! Got cleaned up, changed my clothes, and hit the road. Decided that it I was going to drive most of the night and wanted opportunities to stop, I would drive 101 to 20 to get home. (I drove 5 to 299 to get to the Park and it was downright desolate at times!) Made it to Eureka and stopped for these things in this order:
1. Beer
2. Grilled Cheese/Fries
3. Soda
Got all three at the Village Pantry….mmm…mmm goodness.
Got gas….hit the road…and the rest is history. I got home in the same 6 hours (minus the Eureka food/drink stop) that it took me to get to the Park in the first place. Opened my front door at 1:30 AM…glad to be home on “Friday morning” with an extra day with my family.
This was an amazing trip….I look forward to traveling to more groves of California Coastal Redwoods….there aren’t many left…I’d like to see as many of them as my legs will allow.
I got what I came searching for.....
Day 1...10.5 miles...
Wow.... What a day... Left Sacramento at 3:05 AM today and hit the trail at 10 AM...
Ok... I was a bit tired last night and I didn't type after that last sentence. So ....I will type on night 2 as well as for night 1. After talking to the Ranger for a bit I had to get back in my car.... Later....don't want to type on this....Ok….at Peets in Sacramento on Friday at 9:30 AM….quite the change of venue….here’s how it all happened. The bottom line is that I don’t like to type on my Blackberry in the woods….there is just something inherently wrong with those little letters on the phone is the world of GIANTS I just spent time in.
So…back to Day 1…
After I got my permit…I hit the trail. It was a quick .3 of mile on the James Irvine Trail until it hooked up with the West Ridge Trail…Up up and up it went into the land of God….Walking under, over, around and through trees that have stood to see the last 800-1500 years of history…with the oldest tree being over 2200 years old….Amazing….
These trees were here long before the Gold Rush….They witnessed the Bear Flag Rebellion….Mexico rule over CA….Spanish rule over CA….and some of the original European explores like Sir Francis Drake, Gaspar Portola, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo...but not only that far…we’ve just made it back 500 years…These trees have also witnessed the Hupa, Chumash, Piute, and Yurok tribes since they were seedlings….Sometime between 500-700 BC, these trees might just have watched Polynesians visit CA and teach the Chumash how to build the types of canoes they would then build for hundreds and hundreds of years. In 100 BC…..the oldest California Redwoods were saplings…..
My walk up to the West Ridge and then the next 7.2 miles were spectacular. I didn’t think it could get any more beautiful….then I took a few more steps… Words don’t explain the size and silence of this world. Going out….is coming home….
At about mile point 4.7 I got a shock to the system. I was forced to walk though a mile of devastation and sadness. A mile that had been clear cut in the late 1800’s. The entire ecosystem was decimated. Once the giant Redwoods were cut, the shaded world below covered in ferns, moss and other delicate growth, was quickly burned by the sun’s rays to oblivion. The Alders and other deciduous trees fought for space among the spiny collection of vines that were now left free to wreak havoc on the “forest” floor. And now….even more than 150 years later, this area looks like it was just cut. There are Coastal Redwoods…but they at 150 years old at the very oldest, are mere children in comparison to their parents in the surrounding forest. Luckily, this was a quick area to make it though…but it sure did demonstrate to me…without a doubt…why protecting every last one of these giants in CA is not necessary…but MANDATORY!
As I continued in a north-west direction I began to hear the distant roll of waves hitting the shore. The further I hiked, the louder the sound became until I finally got a peek through the trees at the distant ocean. Before I knew it, I dipped out of the forest of giants and onto the sand dunes. I walked for about 200 yards before just deciding it would be better to take off my boots and walk barefoot. There were numerous streams pouring out of the hills onto the beach…and as this happened…many marshy areas and small to medium sized ponds were formed. All were filled with freshwater only and most looked no deeper than about knee high. The first few were pretty easy crossings…not too deep, too cold, or too rocky a surface to walk on. I found the campsite but then I got onto the beach and was able to walk another 3 miles before the height of the tide made going any further impossible. I walked back to the campsite and decided that camping about 100 yards from the Ossagon Creek Trail Camp…and up on the bluff would be more comfortable. I hadn’t seen anyone since the Ranger’s Office…so I didn’t think it really mattered.
Great night….Terrific dinner of Curry….no tent…no tarp…no bug screen….just my sleeping bag on my pad on the sand….blissful!
Day 2... 11.6 miles...
Wonderful night sleep….Oatmeal and coffee from my sleeping bag….Life is good.
I was supposed to stay here two nights but I can have the coast anywhere….I want back in the trees. So, I decided to head towards Miners’ Ridge Hiker’s Camp where I’m scheduled on my 3rd night.
Up at 8:00 and out of camp by 9:00. My first 2 miles were a repeat of yesterday’s hike….the West Ridge Trail took me right within a few tenths of a mile from the clear cut I saw yesterday….But then I turned off onto the Friendship Ridge Trail. Another beautiful 2.8 mile section until I hit the Fern Canyon side trail. Fern Canyon was used for some of the filming of Jurassic Park. I needed to see it! It was a loop trail where the northern side of the loop was up above the canyon looking down into it. The southern part of the loop was right up through the middle of the canyon…no bridges. It was a quick .8 to the bottom of the canyon using the northern trail…then boots off…and a slow, long walk back up the gullet of the canyon. It was beautiful. But somehow, it just didn’t impress me the way the dense forests did. I ate some lunch deep in the canyon…no sounds except for the creek and water dripping down the fern and moss covered walls. Nothing….no one… I still had not seen a sole.
After lunch I hiked out the of canyon, put my boots back on and hiked back up to re-join the intersection of the Friendship Ridge Trail and the James Irvine Trail. I took the JIT for another 1.4 miles of old growth forest before heading south on the Clintonia Trail for 1.6 miles. This section had the most (although there had been many throughout the entire trip) dedicated groves and benches with plaques to enjoy the sights. I took advantage of MANY of these. After a bit of meander I hit the Miners’ Ridge Trail and took it west for another 2.2 miles to the Miners’ Ridge Hikers’ Camp. Three empty sites to choose from…nice. A privy…nice. A water tank with a spigot at the bottom….nice!
Another nice night….Pasta Alfredo….yum. Just the bug net tonight to keep the few skeeters at bay.
Day 3..16.5 miles..
Today was going to be a big day no matter how I looked at it. I wanted to see as much of the rest of the park as possible. I knew that I would see little to nothing on Friday morning…since I would be leaving so early…maybe even hiking in the dark.
So…I woke up to a hot cup of coffee and some maple-brown sugar oatmeal…mmm…mmm…good.
Hit the trail at 8:00 AM and headed back up Miners’ Ridge Trail. Again, I only doubled back 2 miles before hitting new ground. The “new ground” was all old growth forest along the 1.6 mile second section of the Miners’ Ridge Trail. I turned onto the James Irvine Trail and walked the .6 of a mile before being able to join my already favorite trail in the park; the West Ridge Trail. I had planned to re-walk this amazing trail in order to make it to the north end of the park. My plan was to drop down into the valley, across the road, and head back up the opposite side of the valley while making my way back south. This would be a transverse of virtually the entire length of the park; twice. I turned north on the West Ridge Trail and hiked 3.7 miles (just shy of the clear cut that saddened me so the day before yesterday.) I turned east on the Zig Zag #2 trail and dropped the .5 of a mile/ 500+feet to the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway. Then I hit the Rhododendron Trail…the trail I would continue on throughout the day. This trail lived up to its name. The sky was filled with old growth giants…and just above my head, there was a second canopy…this one made up of Rhododendron. Though not in bloom, the contrast they provided was very different than any other trail I had hiked thus far. I REALLY want to come back here when the Rhododendron are in bloom. I can just imagine the contrast that they would create then!
This trail was just beautiful…much wetter and much slipperier (from the decomposing dropped Rhododendron leaves)…but well worth every step. The fog rolled in and out many times throughout the day creating some spectacular scenery. As I hiked on it got darker and darker. The sun was in and out (behind the veil of fog,) but the forest canopy was so dense that it got dark very quickly. Even by 3:30 PM, there were parts of the trail that could have used a headlight, if I put out the effort to get it from my pack.
After another 8.1 miles, it was 6:10 PM, and I was back at the car. Here I had choices. I had just put in a 10 hour, 16.5 mile day filled with lots of relaxation and photography. I felt good. Not too tired. Where my car was parked, there was still quite a bit of refracted light from the fog. But I was out of the trees. I was fine walking in the dark…I had a great headlight…hmmmm
My choices:
A. Continue on the Miners’ Ridge Trail for 4.2 miles back to the same trail camp I had been at the night before. If I did this I would walk there in the dark, and walk back in the early morning either all in the dark….or most of the way. 8.4 miles of nearly all dark hiking…hmmm
B. Find a place to “poach” or camp “illegally” in the woods around the car…get up early and walk out to drive home.
C. Get into the car and see how I felt…do a combination of sleeping, driving, eating and caffeine intake on the way home.
I chose “C.” I saw that there was an open bathroom across the street. It had hot water. Score! Got cleaned up, changed my clothes, and hit the road. Decided that it I was going to drive most of the night and wanted opportunities to stop, I would drive 101 to 20 to get home. (I drove 5 to 299 to get to the Park and it was downright desolate at times!) Made it to Eureka and stopped for these things in this order:
1. Beer
2. Grilled Cheese/Fries
3. Soda
Got all three at the Village Pantry….mmm…mmm goodness.
Got gas….hit the road…and the rest is history. I got home in the same 6 hours (minus the Eureka food/drink stop) that it took me to get to the Park in the first place. Opened my front door at 1:30 AM…glad to be home on “Friday morning” with an extra day with my family.
This was an amazing trip….I look forward to traveling to more groves of California Coastal Redwoods….there aren’t many left…I’d like to see as many of them as my legs will allow.