Redwoods, northern California

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First stop on the Redwoods tour was Albee Creek campground in Humboldt Redwoods state park….one of Shane’s favorite campgrounds of the whole trip. Perfect summer weather here in mid-June. We successfully tried a new camping experiment, grilling a pizza on our Weber grill (thanks Devon!)….a welcome treat after a long backpack (and apple pie for dessert!). The next day we did a long 14 mile hike up to the mountain ridge and down into the big Redwood Grove. Passed through lots of mountain meadows and more wildflowers along the way, interspersed with some really giant trees. The old growth grove was truly enchanting. We saw the biggest Redwood in the state (based on both height and volume) as well as the tallest tree. Sad that only 4% of the redwoods remain from the original forests.
Headed up to Patrick’s Point State Park the next day, stopping in Eureka for Indian buffet lunch (we’re addicted). Patrick’s Point was a nice campground, complete with some rocky coast trails, a big rock (Patrick’s Point), and a reconstructed native village. Went for a jog the next day after some delicious strawberry pancakes and enjoyed the coastal scenery. Checked out the native village, parts of which were still under construction. All the houses had little tiny doors, not Shane-friendly at all. After two nights at Patrick’s Point, we went north to Prairie Redwoods State Park, which abounds with Roosevelt elk, which were showing off their huge velvety antlers. Did a coastal drive and another mountain drive through a redwood grove. We never tired of looking at the enormous trees.
Decided to spend a couple nights in the backcountry of Redwood National Park, camping along Redwood Creek. On the drive to the trailhead we stopped at an overlook for a picnic lunch, which we ended up having to wolf down as the shit-sucker truck showed up to drain the pit toilets (we wanted no part of that smell). The trail to the creek winds a couple miles downhill to the Tall Trees Redwood Grove. It felt like dinosaurs could come ambling by at any moment. There were also a ton of moss-draped big leaf maples, which were beautiful. Hiked a couple more miles down the creek trail and then bushwhacked down to the creek and set up camp under a couple giant trees. Fell asleep being serenaded by frogs. Redwood Creek is gorgeous and we spent a lot of time wading around exploring. Shane went for a nice swim and found some sections of the creek well over his head. On night two, we heard some crashing in the stream heading in our direction, but scared Mr. Bear back to the other side with our headlamps and some loud noises, and never heard from him (or her) again. Hiked back through the Tall Trees on the way out, watching out for the many banana slugs on the trail. Off to Oregon!

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