AMONG
THE GIANTS
We
found our assigned spot in Mill Creek Campground, which was (unfortunately)
right next to the bathroom. The
campground doesn’t allow hammocks, but the trees surrounding our site were too
large for our hammock straps anyway. I
set up the tent and we went straight to bed.
We
got up early the next morning and had a quick breakfast. First on the agenda was the Hiouchi Information Center.
I hoped to do a backpacking trip on Redwood Creek the next day, but we
needed a permit. We arrived a few
minutes before they opened, where a few people were already waiting. The ranger that worked with us was very
helpful. We got our permit to camp, and
they also gave us a permit to access the trailhead for the Tall Trees
Grove. That would make our hike much
easier. That was a relief, since
Christy’s knees were still bothering her.
From
there we drove through Crescent City and out past Crescent Beach to the
Crescent Beach Overlook and Picnic Area.
We were almost there when we had to stop to let a pair of elk cross the
road. Then we continued on through the
inevitable fog to a small parking area.
From the end of the road, it is a short, easy hike to Enderts Beach. We
hit Enderts Beach at low tide so we could check out
the tide pools. We headed for the north
end of the beach, which features cliffs and rock formations around extensive
tide pools. We found lots of starfish,
along with oysters, crabs, and sea anemone.
When
we started the hike back, we discovered that the trail passes over a small
arch. It’s a neat spot that adds some
flavor to the area.
From
there we drove back over towards the Hiouchi
Information Center. We took the back
way, following Howland Hill Road. We
passed through a towering, though dusty forest on our way to the Stout Memorial
Grove. We did the short walk among the
redwoods there before taking a spur trail over to a beach on the Smith
River. It’s a popular spot, directly
across from the campground in Jedidiah Smith Redwoods State Park. We hung out on the beach, and we both had a
swim in the cold, clear water of the Smith River. Afterwards, we completed the loop in the
Stout Memorial Grove.
Howland
Hill Road crosses bridges over the South and North Forks of the Smith
River. Just upstream on the South Fork
is an impressive canyon. That looks like
an awesome place for a float trip. The
water was calm there, though there may be rapids upstream.
Our
last stop of the day was the Simpson-Reed Grove. We did the loop hike there, enjoying more
towering redwoods. Afterwards we returned
to the campground for dinner and a campfire.
The
next morning we had breakfast, broke camp, and drove
south on Highway 101. Our first stop was
in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. We
did a short hike there, starting from the Big Tree Wayside. After seeing THE Big Tree, we made a loop on
the Cathedral Trees Trail and Foothills Trail among many other big trees. The highlight was what some people call the
Cathedral Trees. It’s a group of trees
that have grown together into one intertwined network of redwoods. It is possible to climb up inside that knot
of trees for a unique perspective.
Next,
I wanted to see the Corkscrew Tree. My
map shows it, but the best route to it wasn’t apparent. We drove up the road a short distance before
parking. We hiked over to the Prairie
Creek Trail and headed north. We
eventually reached a side trail that goes to the Corkscrew Tree and out to the
road. The route I picked worked, but it
definitely wasn’t the shortest or easiest approach. Regardless, the Corkscrew Tree is really
cool. Like the Cathedral Trees, it is
actually a group of trees that are intertwined.
These actually twist around one another.
The Corkscrew Tree is something that can’t really be described. It has to be seen.
We
drove south and stopped at the Elk Meadow Picnic Area for lunch. Then we drove up Bald Hills Road to access
the Tall Trees parking area. Bald Hills
Road was terrifying. It’s a narrow road,
and a fully loaded logging truck went flying past us about once per minute,
typically taking up about 2/3 of the road.
This was scary, and also strangely ironic. Apparently, there are a lot of redwoods
growing outside of the National Park boundaries.
We
found the turn off without any trouble, and used the code we had received from
the ranger to unlock the gate. The
parking lot was mostly full when we arrived, but it was mid-afternoon. I expected the crowds to thin out that
evening.
My
primary motivation for backpacking into Redwood Creek was to be able to access
the Tall Trees Grove in the evening after the crowds had departed. Camping isn’t allowed in or near the Tall
Trees Grove. We hiked down the Emerald
Ridge Trail, which took us directly to Redwood Creek about a mile upstream from
the Tall Trees Grove. It is a good,
well-graded trail, and Christy didn’t have any trouble with it. It doesn’t get much traffic, since most
people just hike to the Tall Trees Grove and back. We didn’t see anyone on that trail, or along
Redwood Creek.
Our
backpacking permit allowed us to camp on any sandbar adjacent to Redwood Creek,
as long as it was at least a ¼ mile from the Tall Trees Grove. The Emerald Ridge Trail ended at a sandbar,
but it was pretty rocky. We headed
downstream, and after a couple of minutes we arrive at a much nicer
sandbar. There was a good spot for the
tent, and a fallen Redwood made a great back rest.
We
set up camp in the late afternoon heat.
By the time we finished, we were ready to get in the water. We hiked downstream, starting out on River
Right. Almost immediately we had to wade
in the creek to get around a huge fallen tree.
That was actually quite refreshing.
From there, we were able to stay on one bank or the other most of the
time. There were several creek
crossings, but the water was low and the crossings were easy wades. We were almost to the Tall Trees Grove when
we spotted a young buck on a sandbar. He let us take his photo before heading
up into the woods.
There
were two people at the Tall Trees Grove when we arrived. They departed a few minutes later, leaving us
with the entire grove to ourselves. We
hiked the one mile loop trail through the grove,
strolling past the trunks of massive redwoods.
Occasionally we craned our necks to look up at the canopy, some 300’
above us. It was a peaceful walk, since
there wasn’t anyone else around.
Ironically,
my favorite tree on the loop wasn’t a redwood, and it wasn’t particularly
large. It was some sort of hardwood, and
its mossy, twisted limbs presented quite a contrast to the tall, straight
redwoods towering around it.
Although
it was evening, initially the light was still poor for photos. Towards the end of the loop, the sun finally
dropped low enough for better photos. We
had completed the hike from our campsite to the grove in about an hour. We still had plenty of time to get back to
camp before dark. I decided to repeat
the first part of the loop to get better photos. Meanwhile, Christy decided to get a head
start on the return hike.
I
was primarily interested in one particular tree, or group of trees. I walked about a ¼ of the way around the loop
and stopped at a cluster of redwoods. I
believe it was a group of separate trees that had grown together at the
base. The base was hollowed out, so I
was able to climb up into the ring in the middle of them. Above me, the trees arched upwards and
inwards in a fascinating pattern. I took
numerous photos there before returning to rejoin Christy at the beginning of
the loop.
We
hiked back upstream and arrived at camp before dusk. We slept well that night, and packed up early
the next morning. We hiked out quickly,
and hit the road for San Francisco. The
drive was long but largely uneventful, though we did get off the highway for a
while to drive a portion of the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State
Park. That provided a fitting conclusion
to the “large trees” portion of our trip.
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