Traveler III
We were in the throes of what would qualify as an average winter in Northern California. But after 10+ years of severe drought, it seems that most of us have forgotten what a normal winter feels like. It means significant amounts of snow in the mountains, and numerous winter storms delivering healthy amounts of rainfall and snow. After four months of what seemed like rain every other day, I was getting antsy to get out, but as is typical in March, all of the high elevation trails were buried under deep snow, and I wasn't in the mood to consider making the 8-10 hour drive to the SoCal deserts. So where does one go? Well, if you hug the coastal corridor, even well into Oregon, the chances of running into snow are rather minimal unless you really begin to climb high up in elevation. I'd also had relatively good luck in terms of catching mild and dry weather when visiting the coast in the North State (North Staters are quick to let you know that what we refer to as Northern California, should really be called Central Cal and they are the true Northern Californians!). It would still be a 6-7 hour drive from the North Bay to Crescent City, but at least the drive home would only be about 3 hours from the Mendocino Coast-- so it was off to the Redwood Coast we go.
Redwood Coast Adventure Trail
The RedCAT is a 470+ mile route that visits some of the crown jewels of the Redwood Coast, along with many lesser known and visited areas, like the dirt backroads of Humboldt and Mendocino County. Most folks end up burning nearly all pavement when visiting the Redwood Coast, naive to the fact that much of the travel can in fact be done on dirt. The track travels from north to south, beginning in Crescent City, and ends near the quaint seaside village of Mendocino. The vast majority of the roads can be easily traveled in an AWD vehicle, but there are a few sections through the Smith River and Hoopa Tribal lands where the ride is more pleasant in a 4x4, or AWD with aftermarket suspension-- but there's nothing remotely technical on this track.
The 472 Mile Redwood Coast Adventure Trail
You can also catch our trip on the Youtubes
The Drive to Humboldt
The plan was to meet a small group of folks in Crescent City on Wednesday morning. I decided to head out Tuesday afternoon and make the 4-5 hour drive up to northern Humboldt County, specifically Big Lagoon County Park and Campground. The nice thing about Humboldt County Parks, is they have no reservation system, so everything is first come first serve. We were able to secure a couple of sites for the group, and settled into camp with a nice campfire and tasty cervezas to fight the cold, damp, Humboldt climate. Now, if you get a chance to visit the Redwood Coast, I highly recommend trying to camp at least one night at Big Lagoon. While the campground itself isn't anything too special (the lagoon and beach are rather nice, but the campground itself could use a little TLC), it's the campground host, Dude who makes the visit worthwhile. With a birthname of Dude W______, and raised on a hippie commune in Washington State, I'm not sure there's anyone more Humboldt County than Dude, who refers to himself as either the OG Dude or Original Dude. Dude Lives in a small 8x12 shack with his feline friends, and enjoys making instruments out of driftwood that he's found at the nearby beach.
Dude's humble abode. You can see him hanging out by the fire in his camp chair.
Dude, spreading the gospel of positivity!
Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Smith River NRA, Prairie Creek Redwoods
We'd kick off things with a bang by jumping right into the thick of it. After meeting the group at Sea Quake Brewery, we made a beeline to Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill is an 8 mile dirt road that passes through the ancient redwood forest, featuring some of the tallest, and largest trees on earth. This would be my 5th or so time driving Howland Hill, but I could feel the buzz of energy in our small convoy as we slowly moved through the ancient forest. We'd make a stop along the way to hike the newly complated Grove of Titans boardwalk trail, that leads to the Grove of Titans, featuring some of the largest coast redwoods on earth, like Lost Monarch and Del Norte Titan.
These giants make Big Blue (Ram 3500) appear small!
Screaming Titans, one of many impressive Redwoods featured along the Grove of Titans trail.
Fun Fact
Did you know that big tree hunters now believe that coast redwoods exceed the size of their cousins, the giant sequoia and can live up to 4,000 years old? Big tree hunters like Mario Vaden and Dr Stephen Sillett of Cal Poly Humboldt are still making new discoveries that rival the size of giant sequoias, but have decided to keep the locations of these trees secret to prevent would-be big tree hunters from romping through and damaging these delicate ecosystems. The National Register of Champion Trees uses a points system that's based on this Formula: Trunk Circumference (in inches) + Height (in feet) + 1/4 Average Crown Spread (in feet) = Total Points
With over 3000 growth rings, it's believe this monster tree is believed to be over 4,000 years old. With its 40' wide truck, it's achieved 1359 points, compared to General Sherman's 1321 points. Recent scientific studies also indicate that General Sherman is NOT a single-stem/trunk tree, which would pretty much invalidate any record breaking claims. For folks interested in learning more about big trees, I'd recommend check out Mario Vaden's website and also researching the Crannell Creek Giant, an absolutely massive tree that was significantly larger than any known tree of today.
This massive redwood is thought to be 4,000 years old, and has achieved an impressive 1359 points, eclipsing the 1321 points of General Sherman.
Photo credit: Mario Vaden
From Howland Hill, I'd take the group one of my favorite locations in the North State-- Forks of Smith. I'm always amazed that this place is overlooked by folks who visit the surrounding Redwood parks. Named after the two forks of the Smith River that converge into the main fork, the Forks of Smith can be reached by a short 5 minute hike from parking lot, and it's always a highlight whenever I get a chance to introduce the Forks to new folks. From the Forks, we'd burn a quick 15-20 mile loop into the mountains of Smith River NRA, taking in the views of the Pacific several thousand feet below us. We'd head south along the pavement of highway 101 making a quick stop at Trees of Mystery for quick photo op with Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox (they also have a fantastic sky trail through the forest canopy). From Trees of Mystery, it was off to Prairie Creek Redwoods. We'd begin with the quick gravel loop along Coastal Drive that features fantastic views of the coastline and the Klamath River mouth. If you're lucky, you may even catch members of the local Yurok tribe spearfishing or smoking salmon along the banks of the mighty Klamath. We'd finish things off by heading to Gold Bluffs Beach, where we'd smartly secured reservations in advanced. As far as developed campgrounds go, Gold Bluffs is easily one of my favorite. The cliffs draped in emerald evergreens is an impressive site to behold against the rugged northern California coastline. The weather was perfect at Gold Bluff's beach, with temps in the mid to high 50s, with barely a breeze. Perfect flannel weather if you ask me! We'd settle into camp, not realizing that we'd be in for quite a surprise the following day as we'd make our way into the mountains.
The boys were mesmerized by the Smith River's clear and turquoise waters.
Coast Drive
It seems that Paul is proud of his rather impressive chest beard! And Babe may have the biggest man-sac on earth!
Looking back at camp from Gold Bluffs Beach
Day 2: Elk Herds, Redwood NP, Hoopa Tribal Lands, snowdrifts and deadfall
Now I'm not sure what it is, but every time I stay at Gold Bluffs beach the weathers seems to be perfect. We awoke to the crashing sound of the surf and blue skies. We begrudgingly packed up camp, ready to hit the trail once again. The first order of business would be to track down one of the local elk herds, which turned out to be quite a bit easier than expected. Just as we crested the hill leaving Gold Bluffs Beach behind us, one of the herds was congregating at one of the many elk viewing areas in Redwood National and State Parks. We made a quick 10 minute stop, keeping a safe distance so as not to disturb any of the elk. It's a shame that so many folks feel that wildlife are simply there to entertain us, failing to give these magnificent beasts the respect and space they deserve. We'd make a quick trip to Big Tree (around a 1.5 mile hike), before making our way into the backroads of Humboldt County.
Remember those seldom driven backroads I'd mentioned in the original post? That would be a big part of day 2. First, we'd head up Bald Hills Road, which used to be mostly dirt, but has since been mostly paved over. Once you get near Schoolhouse Peak, the pavement gives way to dirt. These high elevation prairies are largely the work of hundreds of years of forest management by local tribes like the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa peoples, who used "good fire" to keep the meadows open. The meadows thrived with biodiversity, and attracted large out of the forest, like Elk. We'd make a stop at Schoolhouse Fire Lookout for lunch, and make the short hike to the top-- man was it windy!
From Schoolhouse Peak, we'd push on and into Hoopa Tribal Lands. Things started out simple enough, with the occasional encounter of deadfall (typically less than 4" here and there), that was quickly handled by my trust 18" electric chainsaw. As we started to climb higher, the frequency and size of deadfall began to increase. And what should have been recognized as a rather ominous sign (an abandoned and shot up car sat at the intersection of our next turn), would lead to more deadfall, and then snowdrifts! We ran into a decently sized downed tree, that we'd try to move across the trail with my winch, except the line was dragging the tree further into the bed of the dirt road. The tree was also in a rather precarious position, hanging off the steep bench of the road. I was concerned after making a cut, the section would allow the tree to slide down the bench, potentially injuring anyone in the vicinity (ie me who was doing all the chainsaw work). After an hour or so, we managed to cut the tree into smaller sections and clear the trail. And that's when we hit the snow!
I was aware there was some minimal snow on the Hoopa Tribal lands as I'd check the NOAA snowdepth layer prior to heading out on the trip. The most recent storm was a cold one that had dumped snow down as low as 3,000' along some of the coastal mountains. Since we were mostly softroading, and still covering a decent amount of pavement in between dirt segments, I was fully aired up. The first bits of snow we easy, but then it got deeper, and deeper, and I managed to get Big Blue stuck, and she nearly slide off the side of the trail. One of the guys secured Big Blue's rear bumper, I aired her down, and was able to get her back on track. After airing down, driving through the snow become a breeze, except the snow only got deeper, and there was more deadfall ahead. Recognizing that we were only 3 miles at most from our turnoff to camp, I was intent on pushing on through-- except it was getting late in the day, and not everyone had the same gusto to keep on keepin' on.
I've led maybe two dozen group overland adventures over the past few years, and one thing you become rather skilled at is reading the mood of the group. We definitely had some folks that didn't seem to thrilled about doing recoveries and chainsawing in the cold and dark. I made the executive decision that we'd backtrack, drop down to the pavement of Hoopa, and then take Bair Road to camp, which I suspected would be clear as it was one of the main thoroughfares leading to Hoopa. Se dropped down to town, amazed at the swelling banks of the Trinity. A local native women standing above the river smiled and waved as we passed by-- this must have been another omen, but a postive one unlike the shot-up car! We were able to cover the 20 or so miles to camp in about 45 minutes. There was quite a bit of snow near the summit of Bair Road, but it had all been plowed or moved aside from the regular traffic this route sees. With maybe 20 minutes left until darkness, we dropped down to Lacks Creek, happy to find one of the larger campsites completely vacant.
Who wouldn't wan to wake up to this?
California is the only state that is home to all three subspecies of elk: Roosevelt (here), Tule, and Rocky Mountain
The Big Tree was definitely big!
Visit the Redwood Coast in early spring and you'll be greeted with scenery like this around every corner!
Schoolhouse Peak
Sum up the Hoopa Tribal lands with one word: "deadfall"
The first bit of snow was rather easy to pass through, but it got a lot deeper just a short way up the mountain!
Day 3: Rain, Humboldt Backroads, Mattole River and the Lost Coast
The pitter patter atop my camper's aluminum roof indicated that the rain had begun. I'd checked the forecast earlier on our trip, and there was a chance of rain going into the weekend, but forecasts indicated that it would be minimal. Well, if there's any chance of rain when visiting places like Humboldt and Del Norte counties, a chance of rain often leads to a day's worth of moderate to heavy rain. I'd experienced this while visiting Smith River NRA in the past, when a 24 hour rainstorm surprised us. The pitter patter picked up, and had become a constant drone of large raindrops on the camper and surrounding camp. Water was accumulating quickly, and the dirt parking lot became enveloped with shallow pools of water and mud. We hurriedly jumped in our rigs, intent to stay dry and warm.
One of the more pleasant things about visiting the Redwood Coast in late winter or early spring, is the insanely beautiful verdant rolling hills that are often cloaked with oak and douglas fir. We'd explore the dirt backroads in the Kneeland area. The mist and rain created and otherworldly experience as we shuffled along on our journey. As pretty as the scenery was (and it definitely was!), there's only so much driving you can do without getting out of your vehicle. But when you're dealing with heavy rain, you don't have much choice! We were making good time, but sensing the group needed a break, I proposed we head into the town of Fortuna and grab a hot lunch at Eel River Brewing Company. Let's just say no one in the group objected!
After a nice dry lunch, we exited the establishment to be greeted by clouds giving way to blue skies. We hopped back in our rigs and began the ascent up Bear River Ridge. The section of the route that climbs up Bear River Ridge and follows the pock-marked pavement of Mattole Road along the Lost Coast is probably my favorite. The views atop Bear River Ridge are impressive, but the wind was absolutely whipping (40-50mph gusts). The dirt gives way to perhaps the most pathetic stretch of pavement in California. Now the views are absolutely sublime, aspecially as you drop down through the quaint outpost of Capetown, but the asphalt is in an absolutely miserable state. We took in the views of King Range that juts out of the Pacific like a geological monolith. This the only section of the California Coast that I would find remotely comparable to the ruggedness of Big Sur. As we passed through Petrolia, sprinkles began to fall on our wind shield, which soon turned into a light rain. We pulled into AW Way County Park, that sits along the banks of the Mattole River. Unsurprisingly, we were the only ones in camp. The evening was filled with periods of no rain, light rain, and moderate rain. Honeydew sees just shy of 100" of year during an average year, so I wasn't at all surprised by the amount of rain we were getting.
Mattole means clear water in one of the local indigenous languages, but the recent storms had turned the normally clear Mattole to a milky brown. We explored the banks of the Mattole between showers, and even spotted a seasonal waterfall high up on the mountain that I'd never seen before. AW Way is a fantastic place to visit during the summer, as it's inland location tends to see temps that are 10-20 degrees warmer than the coast. And since the majority of groundwater is not derived from snowmelt, the water is quite comfortable during the warm season.
If you look at trees to the right of the powerlines, you can tell the wind is whipping through them with serious force!
One of my favorite places in the Golden State!
Just one of the many downpours that we experienced while staying at AW Way.
Redwood Coast Adventure Trail
The RedCAT is a 470+ mile route that visits some of the crown jewels of the Redwood Coast, along with many lesser known and visited areas, like the dirt backroads of Humboldt and Mendocino County. Most folks end up burning nearly all pavement when visiting the Redwood Coast, naive to the fact that much of the travel can in fact be done on dirt. The track travels from north to south, beginning in Crescent City, and ends near the quaint seaside village of Mendocino. The vast majority of the roads can be easily traveled in an AWD vehicle, but there are a few sections through the Smith River and Hoopa Tribal lands where the ride is more pleasant in a 4x4, or AWD with aftermarket suspension-- but there's nothing remotely technical on this track.
The 472 Mile Redwood Coast Adventure Trail
You can also catch our trip on the Youtubes
The Drive to Humboldt
The plan was to meet a small group of folks in Crescent City on Wednesday morning. I decided to head out Tuesday afternoon and make the 4-5 hour drive up to northern Humboldt County, specifically Big Lagoon County Park and Campground. The nice thing about Humboldt County Parks, is they have no reservation system, so everything is first come first serve. We were able to secure a couple of sites for the group, and settled into camp with a nice campfire and tasty cervezas to fight the cold, damp, Humboldt climate. Now, if you get a chance to visit the Redwood Coast, I highly recommend trying to camp at least one night at Big Lagoon. While the campground itself isn't anything too special (the lagoon and beach are rather nice, but the campground itself could use a little TLC), it's the campground host, Dude who makes the visit worthwhile. With a birthname of Dude W______, and raised on a hippie commune in Washington State, I'm not sure there's anyone more Humboldt County than Dude, who refers to himself as either the OG Dude or Original Dude. Dude Lives in a small 8x12 shack with his feline friends, and enjoys making instruments out of driftwood that he's found at the nearby beach.
Dude's humble abode. You can see him hanging out by the fire in his camp chair.
Dude, spreading the gospel of positivity!
Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Smith River NRA, Prairie Creek Redwoods
We'd kick off things with a bang by jumping right into the thick of it. After meeting the group at Sea Quake Brewery, we made a beeline to Howland Hill Road. Howland Hill is an 8 mile dirt road that passes through the ancient redwood forest, featuring some of the tallest, and largest trees on earth. This would be my 5th or so time driving Howland Hill, but I could feel the buzz of energy in our small convoy as we slowly moved through the ancient forest. We'd make a stop along the way to hike the newly complated Grove of Titans boardwalk trail, that leads to the Grove of Titans, featuring some of the largest coast redwoods on earth, like Lost Monarch and Del Norte Titan.
These giants make Big Blue (Ram 3500) appear small!
Screaming Titans, one of many impressive Redwoods featured along the Grove of Titans trail.
Fun Fact
Did you know that big tree hunters now believe that coast redwoods exceed the size of their cousins, the giant sequoia and can live up to 4,000 years old? Big tree hunters like Mario Vaden and Dr Stephen Sillett of Cal Poly Humboldt are still making new discoveries that rival the size of giant sequoias, but have decided to keep the locations of these trees secret to prevent would-be big tree hunters from romping through and damaging these delicate ecosystems. The National Register of Champion Trees uses a points system that's based on this Formula: Trunk Circumference (in inches) + Height (in feet) + 1/4 Average Crown Spread (in feet) = Total Points
With over 3000 growth rings, it's believe this monster tree is believed to be over 4,000 years old. With its 40' wide truck, it's achieved 1359 points, compared to General Sherman's 1321 points. Recent scientific studies also indicate that General Sherman is NOT a single-stem/trunk tree, which would pretty much invalidate any record breaking claims. For folks interested in learning more about big trees, I'd recommend check out Mario Vaden's website and also researching the Crannell Creek Giant, an absolutely massive tree that was significantly larger than any known tree of today.
This massive redwood is thought to be 4,000 years old, and has achieved an impressive 1359 points, eclipsing the 1321 points of General Sherman.
Photo credit: Mario Vaden
From Howland Hill, I'd take the group one of my favorite locations in the North State-- Forks of Smith. I'm always amazed that this place is overlooked by folks who visit the surrounding Redwood parks. Named after the two forks of the Smith River that converge into the main fork, the Forks of Smith can be reached by a short 5 minute hike from parking lot, and it's always a highlight whenever I get a chance to introduce the Forks to new folks. From the Forks, we'd burn a quick 15-20 mile loop into the mountains of Smith River NRA, taking in the views of the Pacific several thousand feet below us. We'd head south along the pavement of highway 101 making a quick stop at Trees of Mystery for quick photo op with Paul Bunyon and Babe the Blue Ox (they also have a fantastic sky trail through the forest canopy). From Trees of Mystery, it was off to Prairie Creek Redwoods. We'd begin with the quick gravel loop along Coastal Drive that features fantastic views of the coastline and the Klamath River mouth. If you're lucky, you may even catch members of the local Yurok tribe spearfishing or smoking salmon along the banks of the mighty Klamath. We'd finish things off by heading to Gold Bluffs Beach, where we'd smartly secured reservations in advanced. As far as developed campgrounds go, Gold Bluffs is easily one of my favorite. The cliffs draped in emerald evergreens is an impressive site to behold against the rugged northern California coastline. The weather was perfect at Gold Bluff's beach, with temps in the mid to high 50s, with barely a breeze. Perfect flannel weather if you ask me! We'd settle into camp, not realizing that we'd be in for quite a surprise the following day as we'd make our way into the mountains.
The boys were mesmerized by the Smith River's clear and turquoise waters.
Coast Drive
It seems that Paul is proud of his rather impressive chest beard! And Babe may have the biggest man-sac on earth!
Looking back at camp from Gold Bluffs Beach
Day 2: Elk Herds, Redwood NP, Hoopa Tribal Lands, snowdrifts and deadfall
Now I'm not sure what it is, but every time I stay at Gold Bluffs beach the weathers seems to be perfect. We awoke to the crashing sound of the surf and blue skies. We begrudgingly packed up camp, ready to hit the trail once again. The first order of business would be to track down one of the local elk herds, which turned out to be quite a bit easier than expected. Just as we crested the hill leaving Gold Bluffs Beach behind us, one of the herds was congregating at one of the many elk viewing areas in Redwood National and State Parks. We made a quick 10 minute stop, keeping a safe distance so as not to disturb any of the elk. It's a shame that so many folks feel that wildlife are simply there to entertain us, failing to give these magnificent beasts the respect and space they deserve. We'd make a quick trip to Big Tree (around a 1.5 mile hike), before making our way into the backroads of Humboldt County.
Remember those seldom driven backroads I'd mentioned in the original post? That would be a big part of day 2. First, we'd head up Bald Hills Road, which used to be mostly dirt, but has since been mostly paved over. Once you get near Schoolhouse Peak, the pavement gives way to dirt. These high elevation prairies are largely the work of hundreds of years of forest management by local tribes like the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa peoples, who used "good fire" to keep the meadows open. The meadows thrived with biodiversity, and attracted large out of the forest, like Elk. We'd make a stop at Schoolhouse Fire Lookout for lunch, and make the short hike to the top-- man was it windy!
From Schoolhouse Peak, we'd push on and into Hoopa Tribal Lands. Things started out simple enough, with the occasional encounter of deadfall (typically less than 4" here and there), that was quickly handled by my trust 18" electric chainsaw. As we started to climb higher, the frequency and size of deadfall began to increase. And what should have been recognized as a rather ominous sign (an abandoned and shot up car sat at the intersection of our next turn), would lead to more deadfall, and then snowdrifts! We ran into a decently sized downed tree, that we'd try to move across the trail with my winch, except the line was dragging the tree further into the bed of the dirt road. The tree was also in a rather precarious position, hanging off the steep bench of the road. I was concerned after making a cut, the section would allow the tree to slide down the bench, potentially injuring anyone in the vicinity (ie me who was doing all the chainsaw work). After an hour or so, we managed to cut the tree into smaller sections and clear the trail. And that's when we hit the snow!
I was aware there was some minimal snow on the Hoopa Tribal lands as I'd check the NOAA snowdepth layer prior to heading out on the trip. The most recent storm was a cold one that had dumped snow down as low as 3,000' along some of the coastal mountains. Since we were mostly softroading, and still covering a decent amount of pavement in between dirt segments, I was fully aired up. The first bits of snow we easy, but then it got deeper, and deeper, and I managed to get Big Blue stuck, and she nearly slide off the side of the trail. One of the guys secured Big Blue's rear bumper, I aired her down, and was able to get her back on track. After airing down, driving through the snow become a breeze, except the snow only got deeper, and there was more deadfall ahead. Recognizing that we were only 3 miles at most from our turnoff to camp, I was intent on pushing on through-- except it was getting late in the day, and not everyone had the same gusto to keep on keepin' on.
I've led maybe two dozen group overland adventures over the past few years, and one thing you become rather skilled at is reading the mood of the group. We definitely had some folks that didn't seem to thrilled about doing recoveries and chainsawing in the cold and dark. I made the executive decision that we'd backtrack, drop down to the pavement of Hoopa, and then take Bair Road to camp, which I suspected would be clear as it was one of the main thoroughfares leading to Hoopa. Se dropped down to town, amazed at the swelling banks of the Trinity. A local native women standing above the river smiled and waved as we passed by-- this must have been another omen, but a postive one unlike the shot-up car! We were able to cover the 20 or so miles to camp in about 45 minutes. There was quite a bit of snow near the summit of Bair Road, but it had all been plowed or moved aside from the regular traffic this route sees. With maybe 20 minutes left until darkness, we dropped down to Lacks Creek, happy to find one of the larger campsites completely vacant.
Who wouldn't wan to wake up to this?
California is the only state that is home to all three subspecies of elk: Roosevelt (here), Tule, and Rocky Mountain
The Big Tree was definitely big!
Visit the Redwood Coast in early spring and you'll be greeted with scenery like this around every corner!
Schoolhouse Peak
Sum up the Hoopa Tribal lands with one word: "deadfall"
The first bit of snow was rather easy to pass through, but it got a lot deeper just a short way up the mountain!
Day 3: Rain, Humboldt Backroads, Mattole River and the Lost Coast
The pitter patter atop my camper's aluminum roof indicated that the rain had begun. I'd checked the forecast earlier on our trip, and there was a chance of rain going into the weekend, but forecasts indicated that it would be minimal. Well, if there's any chance of rain when visiting places like Humboldt and Del Norte counties, a chance of rain often leads to a day's worth of moderate to heavy rain. I'd experienced this while visiting Smith River NRA in the past, when a 24 hour rainstorm surprised us. The pitter patter picked up, and had become a constant drone of large raindrops on the camper and surrounding camp. Water was accumulating quickly, and the dirt parking lot became enveloped with shallow pools of water and mud. We hurriedly jumped in our rigs, intent to stay dry and warm.
One of the more pleasant things about visiting the Redwood Coast in late winter or early spring, is the insanely beautiful verdant rolling hills that are often cloaked with oak and douglas fir. We'd explore the dirt backroads in the Kneeland area. The mist and rain created and otherworldly experience as we shuffled along on our journey. As pretty as the scenery was (and it definitely was!), there's only so much driving you can do without getting out of your vehicle. But when you're dealing with heavy rain, you don't have much choice! We were making good time, but sensing the group needed a break, I proposed we head into the town of Fortuna and grab a hot lunch at Eel River Brewing Company. Let's just say no one in the group objected!
After a nice dry lunch, we exited the establishment to be greeted by clouds giving way to blue skies. We hopped back in our rigs and began the ascent up Bear River Ridge. The section of the route that climbs up Bear River Ridge and follows the pock-marked pavement of Mattole Road along the Lost Coast is probably my favorite. The views atop Bear River Ridge are impressive, but the wind was absolutely whipping (40-50mph gusts). The dirt gives way to perhaps the most pathetic stretch of pavement in California. Now the views are absolutely sublime, aspecially as you drop down through the quaint outpost of Capetown, but the asphalt is in an absolutely miserable state. We took in the views of King Range that juts out of the Pacific like a geological monolith. This the only section of the California Coast that I would find remotely comparable to the ruggedness of Big Sur. As we passed through Petrolia, sprinkles began to fall on our wind shield, which soon turned into a light rain. We pulled into AW Way County Park, that sits along the banks of the Mattole River. Unsurprisingly, we were the only ones in camp. The evening was filled with periods of no rain, light rain, and moderate rain. Honeydew sees just shy of 100" of year during an average year, so I wasn't at all surprised by the amount of rain we were getting.
Mattole means clear water in one of the local indigenous languages, but the recent storms had turned the normally clear Mattole to a milky brown. We explored the banks of the Mattole between showers, and even spotted a seasonal waterfall high up on the mountain that I'd never seen before. AW Way is a fantastic place to visit during the summer, as it's inland location tends to see temps that are 10-20 degrees warmer than the coast. And since the majority of groundwater is not derived from snowmelt, the water is quite comfortable during the warm season.
If you look at trees to the right of the powerlines, you can tell the wind is whipping through them with serious force!
One of my favorite places in the Golden State!
Just one of the many downpours that we experienced while staying at AW Way.
