Jedediah Smith Redwoods SP (2)

We wrap up our time in the great coastal redwood forests with a stay in the heart of Redwoods National Park. We have learned that the entire area covering Del Norte and the Jedediah Smith area is a combination of national park owned and state park owned land. Both agencies have secured sections of the forests for decades, in efforts to protect the great trees, and now it is a patchwork. The campgrounds used to be controlled by national parks, but are both now under state park management. Doesn’t really matter, as long as the trees get protected.

We arrived around noon and were not allowed to go into the campground yet. We instead parked in the day use area and I got caught up on blogging our last stay. There is not really much in terms of RV parking besides some long spaces on the sides. We were fine and it was good to get there early. We had no trouble being productive for two hours and then proceeded to our site.

We both remembered a little bridge across the Smith River to get to the Stout Grove, but it turns out that only comes out in the summer. More than that, it seems that putting out the bridge is a task assigned to convicts, who wade in the water to set up and secure the bridge. Park officials never know when the convicts are going to arrive to do this, but with river levels over five feet, they guesstimate it will be another month before it goes in. I certainly never knew any of that.

Instead of a short walk across a foot bridge, your only option for getting to the other side of the river is to go up the road a bit, to where there is an overpass. We pulled our bikes out and rode two miles down Highway 199 to get to the turn off that leads to a dirt road. The grading of the road is good, but it is narrow in places. It’s about a mile to then get to the parking area for Stout Grove. You can go another two miles on that road to get to the trailhead to visit the Grove of Titans. We didn’t do that part on our first day, just Stout.

The trees are every bit as awe inspiring as we remembered. Stout Grove has so many huge trees in one place it’s impossible to capture on an iPhone. There were people walking the short loop trail, but there is a quiet reverence in this place that inspires silent reflection, and wonder, in the face of majestic beauty.

We rode back on the highway, and that is a busy road, with some curves that lose the shoulder almost entirely. It’s short, but not that fun. We made a quick stop at a little food mart in Hiouchi. We were thinking there would be more of a deli, but it was closer to a gas station market type place. Even so, I didn’t want to cook that night, so we picked up some safe looking salads and a wrap. Note for future dinner planning: the salads, in fact, were not all that safe. Luckily, the store is super close and also carries various medications to treat digestion issues. Oh my.

We planned a big hike for the next day. Rather than do any of the driving or biking to the trailheads, we parked at the trailhead for the Hiouchi Trail. The ranger said this was a very nice, and mostly forgotten trail. It follows the river about two miles before catching the Mill Creek Trail. That one takes a little over two miles to get to the Grove of Titans. With a quick wade across Mill Creek and a loop around Stout Grove, this turned into a ten mile day.

If you can do a ten mile hike, I highly recommend this one. Every part of all of the trails was just fabulous. There were very few people on the trails, so you get to feel a true sense of peace and solitude in the mighty forests. Every so often, you are treated to views of the Smith River, and later to Mill Creek. There are wildflowers and banana slugs to keep you entertained if you get sick of tall trees. We even got a glimpse of a river otter from a viewpoint above the river, as if to say: “Humans, you are doing this right. Therefore I will gift you with a demonstration of my munching.”

Once you reach the Grove of Titans, the trail suddenly stops and you are greeted with signs informing you that you are about to enter the heart of a sacred forest. “We are all connected in this place.” From there on, you walk on raised metal boardwalks through the grove. This was put in place to protect the trees from over trampling of the floor. I was skeptical of whether there could really be a grove that much more titanic than the trees we had already been seeing, but this grove does not disappoint. Some of them meld several living trees into one massive trunk before separating way overhead. Some have smaller trees that have grown right from the side of a massive trunk and then shoot up along host’s side.

We had lunch at the foot of a couple of titans while I actively scanned the brush for martens. Sadly, they eluded me. We then doubled back down the trail to the junction of Mill Creek with Smith River. When we were here before, it was later in the summer and the creek level must have been very low. We didn’t even remember a water crossing. This time, we took off our shoes and socks to wade over to the rocky banks. The water was cold, but didn’t reach our knees. Then we were able to do a repeat loop through Stout Grove.

It was a long two miles back to the car on the Hiouchi Trail but we both felt a deep sense of satisfaction. We had a great dinner and used up the last of our eggs in a Miso Mushroom Brown Rice Bowl with Bok Choy, fried eggs, and spicy mayo.

The last day was an errand day in the town of Crescent City. First off, we needed to do some laundry. We’re about two and a half weeks in at this point, which is usually around the time we’d like to refresh the socks and towels. We found a decent laundromat and got the job done. In addition, I decided I do after all want an Apple Watch. I’ve been a hold out for a long time, but it turns out it’s really handy to be able to see who is texting me while I’m riding my bike and not have to stop and pull out my phone. It also turns out, I freaking love my Apple Watch. So much heart rate data to feed into Strava for workouts, and LoseIt for calorie counting. I’ve joined the world of fitness rings and calorie burn bonuses, and I’m not even annoyed yet.

We looked for super fun things to explore in Crescent City, I mean, besides the generator place, the laundromat, and Walmart. About all we could come up with was to check out the Battery Point Lighthouse, walk along the jetty, and go look at the “dolosse,” massive concrete sculptures designed to dissipate the energy of crashing waves. Those were kinda cool.

From here, we leave the forests and continue up the coast into Oregon. Bye for now California!

Total miles from Mill Creek: 18.2 with stop in Crescent City, 13.7 mpg, 57 min. Site 79 no hookups. Ran the new generator for a few hours two of the three days. No solar. Good dump and potable water. Good cell for both. Kiosk ranger will not let you check in before 2.