On somewhat of a whim, I decided to make a day trip down to the Redwoods National park. I was planning on heading out for the day but got a bit of inspiration to check the Redwoods off my National Park list. I've been down there before, but only to the State Park. It turns out that they are all one in the same, three state parks and the national, that now operates as a federal/state park. It was going to make for a very long day is around 250 miles away, so I hit the road bright and early to make my way.
I got to the Parks visitor center around 10 am and worked out a plan for my day with a Park Ranger. I would take the old dirt Stage Coach road to an old growth area called Stout Grove. This road was awesome! It was nearly 7 miles of a single track dirt road through these wondrous trees. I pulled off a little early for Stout Grove and took a river trail down to the area. After so long in the truck, it felt great to stretch my legs. The further I made it down the trial, the larger the trees became. The size of these trees is nearly unfathomable.
After finishing up Howland Hill Road, my next stop was to Elk Prairie., there was supposed to be a Bachelor Heard in the area. I took the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway down to the prairie, but unfortunately, there were no elk to be seen. I checked in with the ranger station by the meadow and found out the elk hadn't been seen in a while. I was bummed but kept moving down towards another pasture, but still, no elk to be seen.
Pushing forward, I made my way towards Fern Canyon. The road to the canyon takes you over a small mountain through some new growth Redwoods on another dirt road. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it all the way to the Fern Canyon trailhead because of a recent landslide that took out the road, so I had to head out on foot to get there. Fern Canyon was as incredible as it sounds, but it's pretty impossible to explore without getting wet. If you're willing to get wet, you don't have to go too far up the canyon to find yourself alone. I would love to come back in the summer to see all the vegetation on the canyon in bloom.
On my way out, I decided it would be a fun idea to make my way to the beach and hike out that way; I was hoping too that maybe I could see some elk on the beach. I headed down a marked trail that slowly got wetter and wetter. I was warned that there was a marsh in the area, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The further I went, the trickier it was getting to stay dry and the more committed I was to move forward as moving back would be just as delicate. It got to the point where I was jumping from one tuff of this swamp grass to another, the tuffs were about 12 inches above the water, and the water was about 18 inches till the mud started. It was pretty hard to make these jumps because you had to land square in the middle and that was hard to see since they all grew together. As was inevitable, I miss judged a jump and found myself nearly waist deep in the swamp...
If I was committed to getting to the beach on this path before, now I was all in with no options for turning around. The swamp went on for another 100 yards and falling in was pretty much guaranteed at some point. All sorts of thoughts of snakes and leeches went through my head, but I just focused and kept on. I got soaked and that swamp mud smelled horrible, also with heavy soaked boots, the hike back to the truck was tedious.
The final stop of the day was going to be the Klamath River Overlook. The first ranger I spoke to in the day said I might be able to see some whales, so I excited for that chance but was also trying to be realistic as well. Regardless, I was blown away by wildlife only a few moments later. There on the side of the road was the Bachelor Heard grazing their dinner and roughhousing. I'm consistently blown away by the things I get to see. There before me were a dozen bull elk eating dinner and locking antlers. I honestly have no reference for how long I was there, but I knew I needed to get moving to make my next destination for some more exploring and sunset.
The overlook was not at all what I was expecting. The road towards it was probably 30 feet above sea level, but before I knew it, I was up over 400 feet. The overlook was just that; it overlooked the Klamath River estuary. Once I made it to the top, I was surprised a second time, the fog had rolled in and rolled in thick. It looked like I was sitting above the clouds in an airplane. The only way I can put it was that it felt quite surreal. I had about 30 minutes till sunset and just an overlook to explore. After taking a few pictures, I spotted a small trail that led to another overlook a little further down and out, so that's where I headed.
There is something so special about watching a sunset over the ocean then you throw in the fog, and the whole scene becomes more mysterious than it was before. I now had a long drive ahead of me. All said and done; the trip was about 500 miles and around 10 hours of driving. Trips like this are not the norm, as they are brutal but so worth it. Something else worth mentioning. Within the last year I was able to knock a 3 part item off my bucket list: To see the tallest, oldest, and most massive trees in the world.
