Del Norte Coast Redwoods, Mill Creek (3)

We really love this campground. It is by far the most picturesque of any we’ve stayed at this trip, and one of the most beautiful settings of any campgrounds we’ve been to. The price you have to pay to sleep amongst old growth redwood giants is a steep descent of a little over two miles from 101 and you must endure terrible roads the whole way. The loop roads aren’t any better and they’re tight, but if you can fit and you’re ok with the bumps, you will be treated to otherworldly forests. The campground is named for what was once a logging operation where many of the old giants were cut down before the land could be protected. There are stumps the size of small cabins that have since been taken over by new redwoods. There are scatterings of deciduous trees and the floor is carpeted with ferns. It’s prime real estate for fairies, dinosaurs, and mythical creatures. Our site was nice and spacious, with total privacy.

Before heading down into what we knew was a cell hole, we stopped and restocked at the Safeway in Crescent City. We got caught up on service things, I blogged, and we made some fancy purchases, like a new watch for Richard, and a cast iron skillet for Dory. The skillet was a direct result of getting that delicious cranberry syrup and we were able to test it out by having a taco recipe we normally only do on the grill. I’m excited at how well the skillet fit four street taco tortillas and that will open up a bunch of recipes to being done indoory in Dory when we’re too wimpy to cook outside.

The trails in this area are all going to be very uppy downy. We had to figure out some logistics in order to do the Damnation Creek Trail because the trailhead is closed due to road construction. It turns out to be a simple fix if you just park at the pull out for the Coastal Trail, about a mile to the south. That turns out to be a very pleasant way to start and end that particular trail because you get to enjoy a mile of pretty flat going before you hit the down, down, down. Last time we did this trail, we were welcomed by a host of rhododendrons in bloom. They weren’t in full swing at this time of the summer, but what was blooming were those Tiger Lilies I love so much. I thought they were a rare spotting, but this area was just lousy with them. There were patches along the side of the road that make them seem like weeds. I was still pretty excited to admire them, even if they are more ubiquitous than I thought.

The Damnation Creek Trail is about a two mile trek that descends a thousand feet to a secluded beach. It seemed more overgrown to me this time, perhaps because of the trailhead closure, and there were a couple of downed trees we had to get over. We annoyed a couple of garter snakes with our presence and didn’t see any other people until we were almost back at the top. It was a cloudy day and we were inside the clouds. The mist drifted through the treetops, with occasional rays of sunlight punching through to make an absolutely magical scene. It was mystical. On the climb to the top, we tried a new hiking trick to cope with our diverse paces. Rather than have me struggle to keep up with Richard (which I can’t), and rather than have him try to hold himself to my pace (which he can, but it’s hard for him), I tried going ahead. He set a timer for three minutes on his phone and read a book. Timer goes off, he heads up to catch me. It made a big difference for me. No longer did I fee like a pacing drag and I got to hike at my own speed. It kind of felt like a game of chase and we were both elated every time he caught me. It’s a good uphill trick that adds another accommodation tool to our tool belt.

We talked about maybe doing the Fern Canyon Trail, but that would require either a reservation to drive the six miles of unpaved road to the trailhead, or hike five and a half miles one way to get there, do the loop, and hike it all back. It’s also a thirty mile drive from Mill Creek. All of those things made us decide to save that for a time when we camp at the Prairie Creek Redwoods campground. Logistics would be simplified greatly, and maybe I could get a reservation if I plan ahead for it. So instead, since we were pleased and intrigued by the Coastal Trail, we went to Endert’s Beach to pick it up and do a little out and back.

When we were on the Coastal Trail going to Damnation Creek, we noticed it was not only paved, but had remnants of white lines painted on it, as if it was previously a road. We speculated about what it could have been, but ruled out the idea that it was ever an old version of 101. It turns out, that is exactly what it was. As hard as it still is for me to believe, the old highway used to run along the cliff’s edge. It must have been narrow as hell and quite the exhilarating drive. Over time, parts of it have fallen off and been swept up by the sea, so they just keep moving it inland. On Endert’s Beach, we noticed large rocks that look suspiciously like concrete that has been worn and rounded by the ocean. I guess that’s old 101 there. Incredible.

If you keep going south from Endert’s Beach, you can climb steeply up a thousand feet for two miles and continue with the Coastal Trail. It goes on and on, so we just went until we were convinced we were not going to get a view of the ocean, then we turned back. Actually, Richard went on a little more while I turned back, and then he caught me on the downhill. You can definitely see that the ocean is right there, and you can hear it, but the trees are so dense, you can only get glimpses of water from above.

This part of the Coastal Trail is less used and more overgrown. We were curious about whether people through hike it, and if so, where do they camp? There’s a whole lot of nothing between Crescent City and Arcata/Eureka, so it would be beautiful for sure, but you’d be on your own in terms of provisions.

Back in the campground, there is one big uppy downy loop trail that gets you level with 101. Part of it is in disrepair from collapsed short bridges, but Richard was able to do it as an exercise hike several times. Unfortunately he got stung by something on one of his jaunts and it swelled up pretty badly. He called the doctor for advice and we think he’s going to be fine, but that was no fun for him. Meanwhile, knitting continues slowly and carefully. I got to the heel part and needed to stop until I had enough service to watch tutorial videos a bunch of times. Great stay in a great campground.

Total miles from Cape Blanco: 101.8, 15.8 mpg, 7 hours 38 min with long stop in Crescent City for shopping and restocking. Site 70 no hookups. No cell. Wifi at kiosk is good. Good free dump with potable water. Campground roads are terrible. Big descent down to campground from 101. No service to the south for about thirty miles. Service comes back pretty soon heading north toward Crescent City. Weirdly good service on Damnation Creek beach.