Day 27: 6/13/15 (Redwood National Park)
103 miles
This morning we
couldn’t believe how warm it had stayed throughout the night. We were both half out of our sleeping bags
when we woke up. If only every night
camping was like that. It didn’t take
long to pack up camp, mainly because everything was already dry. We took off towards the coast to start down
the next redwood park – there are three state parks and a national park. We stopped in at the park information center
and got a few maps and tips and we picked up a seed kit for a giant sequoia for
Jillian’s dad. He kept mentioning how he
wanted us to bring back a redwood saying we could just strap it to the car and
drag it behind us. As an alternative, we
decided to get a seed kit, but we had to go with the sequoia because redwoods
don’t fare well in harsh weather and let’s be real, New England’s last winter
was rough. While we were in the city, we
walked to the coast line for our first close-up view of the Pacific. We were hoping to see some whales or seals,
but the summer isn’t really the best time.
The drive through the park started off along the coast before it cut into the forests. Our first stop along the route was to an overlook of the water. We didn’t know if it was just cloudy or if it was the smog, but it was hard to see far out towards the horizon. We realized we were close to one of the drive-thru trees so we set out to find it. After passing the entrance a few times, we finally spotted it! There are a few different drive-thru trees south of the where we were, but we decided to go ahead and go through the one in Klamath. It’s a $5 fee, but it’s worth it – and we drove through three times so we definitely got our money’s worth. Rico took the first drive through while Jillian took some pictures and a video, next it was vice versa. The last time we suctioned the GoPro to the roof of our car and drove on through. In between we were the only ones up there so we were able to explore a bit more, and of course, Jillian was able to take some handstand photos. Finally, we moved on and took the old Route 101, Newton B Drury Scenic Parkway, for a more scenic drive through the Prairie Creek State Park.
As we were driving
along, we saw a sign for the corkscrew tree so we pulled over and hiked
in. The trunks of several different
redwoods had started intertwining and growing together. We were informed that some of the areas in
the park were used to film Jurassic Park II, and once you’re down in the forest
surrounded by all these prehistoric trees, you really feel like a dinosaur may
be hiding around the corner. We hiked a
little further past the tree and then turned back; all the running water was
making Jillian have to pee. A few more miles
down the road we stopped at the location of The Big Tree. The tree stands at 304 feet tall and 21.6 feet
wide with a 66 foot circumference, aka really big. It was a short hike in so we just sat and
enjoyed ourselves underneath the giant.
We ended the scenic drive at the Elk Prairie Campground where we may or
may not have had camping reservations.
We made reservations online intending to camp by the beach at Gold
Bluffs, but the website was a bit confusing and, long story short, we did in
fact have a campsite at Elk Prairie, not Gold Bluffs. Our site was a bit out in the open, but we
figured we’d get a nice view of elk from our tent window in the morning. While we were there, we set up camp and made
some sandwiches before getting on the road again.
Our next stop was to Gold Bluffs Beach to check out the coastline and to hike into Fern Canyon. We took a short walk along the beach, but the sand was a little too hot so we ended up running back to the car at one point. We continued up a little further to the trailhead for Fern Canyon. The hike in was like going across a jungle gym. We were crossing small streams and crawling over and under fallen trees. The fifty foot walls are completely green, covered in several different types of ferns. Although there weren’t any giant redwoods around, there was a similar feeling of solitude while standing in the canyon.
Next, we backed
tracked back to 101 and started down another scenic route towards Ladybird
Grove. The grove represents the efforts
to protect, preserve, and regrow redwoods on the California coast. We did a self-guided tour through the mile
loop visiting a young forest planted in the 1980’s, a living tree hollowed out
from fire, and the dedication site for Ladybird Johnson. While walking around, Rico spotted a four-leaf clover out of the blue - Jillian couldn't find one for the life of her afterwards. Our final stop of the day was the redwood
creek overlook which provided a view over the tops of the redwoods. The trees don’t grow at high elevations or on
hillsides because they can’t withstand strong winds so we were able to see down
into the forests, but not very far out.
After soaking in as much as we could we headed back to camp for
dinner. We cooked up some more sausages
and some pasta for a makeshift meal. The
rest of the night we studied a map of California and read up on some of the
towns we would be driving through. We
turned in early hoping to be packed up and out by 6:30am to get a jump start on
Route 1.
Fact:
Of the original
2,000,000 acres of redwoods, less than 5% remains
Lesson:
You really can’t
appreciate these 1500-year-old giants until you’re standing among them
Eat Well; Travel Often
Rico & Jillian
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