Day 4: Overlooks and Mesmerizing Roads

Today we tackled a mix of things.  We are only here for a couple more days, so we wanted to squeeze in as much as possible.  To kick things off, we made the long drive back up into the park along Highway 101.  We headed off down Requa Road to wind our way up a 500 to 600 ft. hill to the Klamath River Overlook.  The neat thing about this location is that it offers one of the few, rare spots in the entire area where you can see miles in all directions.  Besides being able to see the beginning of the Coastal Trail to the north, one also has a magnificent view of the shoreline to the south.  From the parking lot at the peak, there is a little trail that heads off down the hill to an outward spot that sits closer to the ocean.  It was only a half-mile trek, but it was a 300 ft elevation change.  While the picture opportunity was pretty amazing out at this location, the walk back up was grueling to say the least.

After pausing for some snacks (and our breath) up in the parking lot, we headed back on our way.  Today we were bent on making it to the furthest northern reach of the park, the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  Aside from offering another unique scenic drive and various hiking trails, this park was located east of Crescent City and was home to many beautiful rivers.  And of course, the park was the home a couple old growth stands, one of which we were aiming to see today.

What we didn't actually plan for was the road heading into and through the park.  We didn't take the scenic route via Howland Hill Road; rather, we followed 101 up through town and eventually hopped onto Highway 199.  While we were intending to stop at a roadside lot to jump onto the Stout Grove trail, we ended up missing the target entirely.  The highway, you see, was incredible.  It wound its way up through hills and into a beautiful section of redwood forest.  Quite literally, we were mesmerized.  It was similar to the deep, lush stand of forest we had hiked through two days prior, though we were driving through this one.  The road was wet and the air was damp.  The windshield was slowly collecting water, though it wasn't raining at all.  There was a light fog throughout the landscape, one that brought out the deepest of greens in the surrounding foliage.

Needless to say, we drove right through the last little town of Hiouchi and cruised down the road for miles before realizing our mistake.  Despite the loss of time, we didn't really complain with getting the opportunity to drive back through the forest.

I have to say, the trail (once we found it) didn't seem to be the greatest.  Initially it was very close to the highway, so for the first half mile you could hear cars and such going by.  After dropping down and ending up near the Smith River, the trail evolves into something completely new.  It takes on a different character, winding around the landscape overlooking the river.  There were various streams and downed trees here, adding a varied characteristic similar to that of the Tall Trees Trail from the day before.  It was beautiful and well worth the work.  The Stout Grove we came to at the end of the trail was serene in nature.  It was peaceful.  These trees, like all of their brethren we have encountered in the last few days, command an incredible presence.  When you walk among these giants, you just can't help but look up and strain your neck to look higher.  You feel them, without ever touching them.  There is no other way I can put it.

At the end of the day, my family brought me into Crescent City and treated me to dinner at a random hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant.  It was my 21st birthday, you see.  And, lo and behold, the food was incredible.  So if you ever find yourself in Crescent City, go find Los Compadres.  It doesn't look like much, but their food is wonderfully authentic and they offer a host of Mexican imported beer.  So go there.

Here is the link to the photo album for the day on my Facebook page: Day 4 photos

Day 3: Into the Fog

Much better start today.  I can't really express with words the feeling I get every day that we've been walking around these trees, but it is breathtaking.  Today, we were able to get a special access permit to the Tall Trees Grove up Bald Hills Road.  This is a grove that, prior to 2006, was the home to the world's tallest trees.  As they are a major attraction, they restrict access to only 50 visitors a day to prevent the complete trampling and destruction of these beautiful trees.  The restriction is well worth it: this grove of redwoods is absolutely stunning.

Of all of the places I have had the chance to travel to, many have been beautiful and spectacular, but very few have left me in utter awe and silence.  The Tall Trees Trail weaves its way through a mixed forest down a 600 ft. decline over a mile and a half to the Tall Trees Grove, a stand of redwoods as incredible as they are wondrous.  The traditional redwoods dominated the path and the actual trail, but there was a beautiful section of trail around the back end that was entirely unexpected.  Laying in the lowland between multiple hills, moisture from the fog clouds that rolled through often collected here, creating an incredibly moist, lush environment.  The trees around this back section were coated head to toe in moss; all sides were covered in a soft, green blanket of growth.  Not only that, but the moss-covered wonders also held various species of ferns on its branches.  They had plenty of moisture and moss in which to live and take root, so they all got along really well.  But indeed, it had to be one the most stunning things I've ever seen.

On our climb out of this enchanting landscape, we noticed that the air was becoming more humid.  While it had been a bit drier than the day before, today was still pretty humid and cool.  It wasn't until we reached the  trail head again and were driving back out down the road that we saw an overlook shot through some trees and witnessed and ocean of fog rolling through the hills.  After driving a bit further to the Redwood Creek Overlook, we witnessed one of the coolest sights:  A thick fog was rolling off of the Pacific over the hills and covering the landscape.

This shot was taken just as the sun had gone down in the late evening.  Crazy, isn't it?  Here is photo of the same area just that afternoon before the fog came in.

Anyway, that's it for me.  I think I'm going to try uploading all of my pictures to my Facebook account tomorrow, then linking the album over here.  By doing this, I figure anyone who wants to see more of my shots of these redwoods can do so.  That sounds pretty good, wouldn't you say?  Anyway, that's it for today.  More happening tomorrow, so see ya for now!

Here is the link to my photos for today: Day 3 photos

Day 2: Into the Forest

Starting off on a slow note (my fault, I slept in this morning), we headed down Highway 101 into the park.  Admission is free, as well as use of the trails also being free, so getting around was very easy.  After stopping at the first visitor's center to pick up a map of the trails, we headed down the road on one of the many scenic drives throughout the park.  I have to say, it was breathtaking.  These Redwoods are truly something to be seen.  In this region, most of the forest is old growth stands, so the forest is thick and the trees tall.  And when I say tall, I mean it.  For those of you unfamiliar to Redwoods, these trees are only found on this small stretch of coastline in northern California and into southern Oregon.  Averaging between 150 to 350 feet in height, they are by far the tallest trees on the planet and live for hundreds of years, though some have lived for over 2000 years.  This specific species of tree can trace its kind all the way back to the Jurassic Period over 150 million years ago.  As John Steinbeck recounts, author of Travels with Charley, "They are not like any trees we know.  They are ambassadors from another time."

To help give you some perspective, I want to share with you a picture of mine from the 6 mile hike we did later that day.  The forest was damp and cool, with the faint smell of the Pacific breeze mixing with the smell of earth and woods.  The sun was again shining brightly today, though under the canopy of these magnificent trees it seemed like a dark, cloudy day.  The air was pure and crisp; nothing like the city air of the city we just drove up from.  The biggest thing, though was the sense of awe it put you in.  It was like walking back in time to a long-forgotten era.  From fallen trees grew more life, and from the earth stood giants unlike anything on this earth today.  You feel small, almost insignificant to them.  They have stood here for many years, some have even lived to see the rise and fall of many empires in human history.  The oldest of them were sprouting when Jesus walked the earth.  They were incredible, to say the least.

Well, it seems to be getting late once again, so I will end my report here.  We plan to hit up some more trails tomorrow and for the next few days, so expect to hear more about the landscape and such in the future.  See ya!

Here is the link to my photos for today: Day 2 photos

Day 1: San Francisco

Didn't have too much time to sit and relax at the end of my week, so I apologize for not giving any updates.  Anyway, let me just jump right into this and explain my adventure thus far.  Woke up fairly early to catch a flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco, where we were greeted to wonderful scenery right off the bat.

Hell of a cityscape, eh?  Coming from Minnesota, it was wet, dark and dreary day.  35 degrees and rainy.  But here, well, it was a whole different story.  65 degrees and sunny as can be!  How neat is that?  ;D

Anyway, after landing we hopped in a rental car and made the long 5 hour drive upstate to a hotel outside of the Redwood National Park where we would be spending the next four days.  at that, I will leave the story, as it has really been a long day.  Adios for now!

Prepping for Spring Break

Today is day one of hell week.  We are fast approaching Spring Break here at Bemidji State University, which means every professor wants tests and papers to grade over break.  It happens to be a Monday today, though by this time one week from now I will be on the west coast of the United States.  But hey, this brings me to the point I wanted to bring up!  My next adventure will begin in San Francisco, California as I get a rare opportunity to travel with my family for a week.  So far, the plan is to spend a considerable amount of time up in the Redwood Forest along the Pacific coast, so you can expect a considerable amount of pictures to go along with the stories.  I wanted to try something new on this trip and actually update this page at least a few times over the course of the trip.  We will see how that goes.  Anyway, that's it for now.  Be ready for updates come the end of this week!  Chow.