Near Klamath, we exited HWY 101 and took Alder Camp Road to the trailhead. The short .5 trail took us to a windy bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On each side of the trail were beautiful wildflowers. To the north was an old WWII radar station cabin. The trail crossed the Coastal Trail that we hiked much further south the following day. As we drove back to HWY 101, we picked up two hikers who somehow got lost on the coastal trail. We had them hop in the back of the pickup to protect us if they had Covid 19 or if they were serial killers. Miraculously, we drove them seven miles south onto another park road and returned them to their car.
Just off famous Pacific Coast HWY 101 along the Pacific Ocean, we hiked 3.2 miles of the long Coastal Trail. Near the trailhead was a sandy beach with both tide pools and a rushing stream cut in the sand. I picked up a couple of small starfish in the tide pool. Sea stacks and other enormous rocks were just offshore. The trail paralleled the ocean coast just inland and the pine trees offered us some shade. The trail occasionally opened to waist high to chest high prairie grass and wildflowers giving us beautiful views of the coast looking south. Twice snakes crossed our path along with squirrels and the sounds of sea gulls. Similar to the other trails in this park, the isolation in the wooded areas just made us uneasy.
This 2.6 trail off Newton Drury Parkway, the main road through the park, snaked through old growth redwood, pine, and conifer forest. We then crossed and headed north a bit on the Rhododendron Trail before circling back. A small steam paralleled the trail in some areas. The forest had the feel of a “rain forest” as besides the giant redwood trees the lush area was green with ferns, shamrocks, and moss. The forest was so deadly quiet, broken only by a rare bird sound, the whistle of a marmot or the gentle rush of the stream. Very peaceful but very ominous.
After only hiked .3 mile on the trail when we encountered a bunch of the animals the trail is named after – elks. At least a half dozen elk crossed the trail and majestically stood in the open prairie while we snapped photos. Since we were smart enough not to approach them and couldn’t get past them, we turned around and hiked back.
At Big Tree Wayside, this 1.1-mile trail took us to one enormous Big Tree! The dimensions of this tree were – Height: 286 feet; Diameter: 23.7 feet; Circumference 74.5 feet; Estimated age: 1500 years old. Rosie looked like a midget standing in front of this majestic redwood tree. The trail continued to a grove of unique cathedral trees. Interesting fact: redwood trees are the tallest trees on the planet, but their root system doesn’t go below 12 feet deep.
At the Trees of Mystery theme park created in 1931, is a 49-foot-tall talking Paul Bunyan with Babe the Blue Ox beside him. Bunyan slowly raises his hand and nods his head. I asked him how often he changes his underwear and got a corny recorded response.
A unique roadside attraction because all the wood used to make all 36 rooms and lobby came from one giant curly redwood tree. The tree came from along the Klamath River in 1952 (second photo) and the lodge was completed in 1957. The motel has an old retro look with older room fixtures and details.
From Oregon we entered coastal northwestern California. We were greeted immediately with gas prices of $6.65 per gallon and rest area unisex restrooms. We were relieved when we eventually left this liberal state. Redwoods NP is jointly managed as a National Park and a California State Park since the 133,000 acres is one contiguous redwood parkland. The park, established in 1968, is home to the world’s tallest trees and old-growth redwood forests. Many of the trees are over 300 feet tall and over 2,000 years old. If you travel inland more than 25 miles, the redwood trees thin out. This is because the trees get 40% of its water from the coastal fogs that roll in each night. The worlds tallest tree, a Redwood named “Hyperion”, is 379 feet tall and over 700 years old.
In addition to the redwood trees, the park protects prairies, oak woodlands, wild rivers and 40 miles of rugged coastline. We drove and hiked seven trails in the upper and lower parts of the park and along the coastline ever mindful that we were in tsunami and earthquake country. We visited a haunted lighthouse on the coast, eating lunch at a picnic table watching the tide rise which, if you hadn’t left the lighthouse on time, you would be stuck there until low tide came. One clear evening we bought dinner at the Good Harvest Café and had dinner on the beach, watching the Pacific Ocean waves come crashing in. I enjoyed fish tacos and clam chowder while Rosie enjoyed fish and chips. The other two evenings where we camped at the KOA campground amid giant trees, the eerie fog blocked out the night stars.
I hiked the .5 mile of the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint Trail which paralleled the east side of the river. The steep basalt lava gorge walls as narrow as 10 feet as the river thundered through. The unique landmarks that made this trail special were two lava tubes on the western gorge walls. Four Rogue River Gorge viewpoints, an interpretive kiosk and trail signs tell the geological history. This trail leads north 3.5 miles to the Natural Bridge and larger lava tubes. Interestingly, a big 1996 flood changed the course of the river just before it entered the gorge.
We drove down from the crater rim about three miles and stopped at this 1.2-mile loop trail. The trail took us through an old growth forest overlooking a canyon with pinnacles. The waters of Duwee Falls tumble over Munson Creek and tore through the steep-walled V-shape canyon at a rapid pace. Once past the creek the trail circled back to a quieter forest where we saw deer among the red fire and mountain hemlock trees, dwarf huckleberry and good old horsehair lichen hanging from some trees. This time I did not eat the lichen. That evening we ordered salmon, rice and vegetables from the famous Prospect Historic Hotel and Dinner House, a National Registered Historic Building, built in 1889 and enjoyed them in our travel trailer.
