Redwoods

The people in Eureka were super nice. But I didn't see much around town that I wanted to explore. They did have some well stocked stores though, so I bought some organic fruit and headed up the highway.

One of the places I was very interested to stop was Redwood National Park. It's actually a mix of state and federal parks. I think the state likes to handle the campgrounds since there don't seem to be many federal ones.

The park stretches along the coast from just a little north of Eureka almost to the Oregon border.

I stopped at the national park office in Orick for some information. I was considering staying in one of their campgrounds. This seemed like a worthwhile place to throw down a few bucks for camping. They were mostly full though. You really need to make reservations this time of year. They had some less popular ones available, but they were still $35 and not in the old redwoods. They suggested I camp outside the park and come in for day use which seemed like a good idea, although one day I'd really like to camp in there. The ranger suggested I drive up Newton B. Drury Parkway which parallels the 101 through the forest. It is actually the old route 101 but they wanted to get trucks out of there so built a new piece of highway for them.

In no time I was smack in the middle of probably the most amazing forest I have ever seen. Thick with sky high redwoods. The ground covered with waist high ferns and big bright green clover underneath. It was truly breathtaking. The canopy obscures the light to give it almost the feel of a movie set rather than real nature.

I hiked and explored. I read some stories about how the forest was saved from destruction by San Francisco environmentalists back in 1918. Nice to know the folks were still keeping it real as activists even back then. I knew I wasn't done with this place. I'd return again for sure. But I can't stay long. I must reach Portland by Sunday.

My goal for the evening was to reach Crescent City which is at the north end of the redwood park. Just east of there is the Smith River National Forest. One of the few things I actually researched for my trip is overnight camping rules, and I knew that US national forests (not parks) are basically a camping free-for-all. Outside developed campgrounds, you can basically camp wherever you want as long as you abide by some park rules. If you want to build a fire, you need a free campfire permit also. But I didn't need that. Just a place to park Rusty.

So I drove to the beach in Crescent City to eat lunch and do some writing by the ocean with the redwood forest acting as the background. Pleasant to say the least. This was actually my first bit of sunshine since I left San Francisco.

Then as the sun began to set, with about an hour left of sunlight, I headed about ten miles east into the national forest.

Again, I fumbled around with where to park. I thought once I passed the entrance sign, I could just park anywhere. But there are private homes inside the boundaries also. Who knew? So using trial and error, with light fading fast, I finally found a little road just past the Panther Flat Campground. It didn't seem to lead anywhere and was otherwise deserted, but did have a little waterfall right next to it.

I'll take it.

Just as it was getting dark, I parked Rusty and pulled the curtains.

This time I was really out in the boonies. The park information I grabbed from the ranger station gave the usual warnings about storing food properly to avoid mishaps with bears. But my problem was that I didn't have a trunk and didn't have a bear canister. Nor could I really use one. I am stocked up with groceries in here.

I suddenly found myself really worried about bears smelling my food. I wanted to cook some chili on my little stove inside Rusty, but I figured that would waft quite an aroma through the air. I opened a pack of beef jerky and even the smell from that made me nervous.

I know it was just that it was my first night in the wilderness. Note to self: I should probably try and eat dinner while it's still a little bit light out if I'm going to be in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black of night in bear country.

I popped a Netflix DVD into my Macbook, sipped a little Jameson, and went to sleep.

I awoke to a warm van. The sun outside was intense. I was parked by a river, so I took the opportunity to get my first bath of the trip. Normally I give myself baby wipe baths, a trick I learned at Burning Man. It works great, but after a few days you still crave a real shower or bath. The water was freezing cold. But I felt invigorated by it.

Before I headed north again, I wanted to visit the redwoods one more time. I needed to find a place to eat my breakfast.

The forest I stayed in was only a few minutes from Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, which is absolutely jaw dropping. I vowed to make a reservation and stay here in the park, if not this trip, then sometime soon. The main park costs $8 for day use, but I found a little street up the road called Walker Road Scenic Drive. It's a bumpy gravel road, but goes straight through some amazing forest and ends up at a sunny river. Just perfect for a fruit and granola breakfast, my favorite.

From here I'll head into Oregon. I still haven't decided on a destination for tonight yet.