Boy Scout Tree Trail

With perseverance comes success, they say!  I called in advance to be sure the road was open (since a fallen tree had it closed when I made the attempt a few days ago), then drove south once more yesterday to hike this trail, which is well worth the extra effort.  It's interesting that the sign doesn't say how far it is to the Boy Scout Tree, and that there's NO sign directing one to the tree from the trail.  It's almost as if they don't want you to find it.  I first hiked this trail in August, 1996 and didn't go all the way to the falls then, nor did I do so yesterday.  There are some discrepancies in directions -- William Sullivan's book says the trail rises 500' over 2.4 miles to the Boy Scout Tree, and the falls is another mile beyond.  That can't be right, if the total trail is only 2.8 miles.  I'm no great mathematician, but I can get that far.

The trail is accessed off Howland Hill Road, which cuts deep into the heart of the Jedidiah Smith Redwoods and is by itself a lovely drive through quiet forests of big trees.  Running from Crescent City to the Smith River off Hwy 199, the road is unpaved, a bit rough, and quite narrow.  Pullouts allow cars to pass when they meet.  This road also accesses the Stout Grove, which was the first grove to be dedicated back in 1929, and I saw numerous other side trails all along its length.  I opted to travel east to west, because I wanted to enjoy the forest, see it all.  If one is in a hurry, this trail is much closer to Crescent City on the western end.

 One big tree after another!

Unlike other trails I've hiked lately, this one is so deep in the forest that unless other hikers are around, there are no sounds not produced by nature.  Quiet, peaceful, utterly beautiful.  It's also a bit rough in places -- lots of big roots to cross, very narrow in places, lots of ups and downs. Everything was also quite wet, and therefore slippery, even though it hasn't rained lately.  I don't think these trails ever dry out completely, and that moisture is what makes these big babies happy. I wore my leather hiking boots for the first time in years, and I'm so glad I did -- would not have liked to try that trail in sneakers although some young folks passed me at some point literally running on the trail, so it's probably an age thing.

I don't have a lot of photos from this day -- issues between the new camera and its operator, who resists having to learn digital photography beyond point-and-shoot.  The day was beautiful -- morning mists cleared about the time I arrived and the sun speared through the trees.  I've been so spoiled by our summer-like weather that I was surprised that the air was chilled back in these deep forests.  It is, after all, December!

I can't tell you the distance to the big tree, but it's a good hike.  All in all, with maybe a 15 minute stop at the tree for lunch and photos, I was on the trail for about three and a half hours.  Finding the tree isn't all that easy, as I suggested above.  Perhaps there is normally a sign off the main trail, but there wasn't one today.  I was a little confused when I reached a trail angling uphill and to the right, wondering which way I was supposed to go, then memory from the first trip began filtering in.  I knew the tree was a bit off the trail and to the right, but I didn't remember it was that far off the trail.  If you try to find it, this is the only trail that angles off to the right, and it circles the tree.

According to Sullivan's book this tree is 20 feet thick, and I believe that is possible.  Sorry I couldn't manage to include anything in the photo for scale and it's also not a great photo but it helps illustrate the tree.  I used the self timer and took a self-portrait, arms spread and still looking miniscule,  but ego prevents me from using it.  This is a lovely and peaceful spot, with lots of room for sitting and looking at this wondrous tree, having lunch, or merely taking a rest.

I love that thick, shaggy bark with the moss on the north side.  Still hard to see any scale, but those ferns are rather large, like the ones in other photos. 

From the bottom looking up and it's still impossible to capture a real sense of its size as it reaches for the sky.

Prairie Creek Redwoods

 

A neighbor and I made an impromptu visit to the redwoods today.  When we left home, I had in mind the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park about 30 minutes from home.  But as I drove, I picked up a wild hair to keep going south, so we did, all the way to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park south of Klamath, one of my favorite places.  Once in the park, we picked a random trail and walked back into the trees for quite awhile, joyous with the deep foresty scents and the sunrays slashing through the giant trees.

Not the greatest photo -- the darkness in the forest is a bit much for hand-held (and admittedly, sloppy operator) photography.  I include it here merely for proportion.  My friend is an average-sized person, and she is dwarfed by this tree, which is only one of many of similar size we encountered.

As usual, I got carried away with the sunrays, but they are so exquisite!

We were fortunate to have bright sunshine and only a little fog here and there once we arrived at the park.

It's been so long since I've been mushrooming that I passed these by at first, without even a hint of recognition.  A sure sign of fall in this part of the world is these golden beauties!  These two are Yellowfoot, I think, and we found some Chanterelles as well. Now I'm itching to go on a mushrooming expedition.

A few of them made it home with me and will be part of my dinner.

The trail we followed was spectacular, winding its way through groves of big trees and all that lovely fern undergrowth.

 After we returned to the car from the first trail, we continued on down the road to see "Big Tree".  Indeed, it's a very large redwood!  This photo of the base doesn't look much larger than other redwoods, but it's when you look up -- way up -- and see the massiveness of the trunk that you realize just how big it really is. If you look closely, you will see that the thick trunk stops abruptly, an indication that "Big Tree" was once much taller, but lost it's top to a lightning strike or some such many years ago.  Normally, they do taper towards the top.

Although much of the coast we drove past was foggy, our area has a high surf warning today and some unusually large waves which, when they could be seen, were truly magnificent.  That alone was a treat.  The redwoods were just the icing.  Chocolate icing, to be sure, but the surf was spectacular.  I wish I'd had a chance to photograph it, but alas....maybe tomorrow.

Stout Grove via Hiouchi Trail

Today dawned one of those picture-perfect, chamber-of-commerce days that simply call for an excursion, so who am I to argue? I wasn't sure where I wanted to go -- but by the time I finished my morning weight-work I felt a call to the redwoods so off I went. I was curious about the Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, because it's so well-known, but didn't want to drive down there merely for 1/2 mile loop trail. I wanted some hiking.

A quick look at William Sullivan's Oregon Coast Hikes book (which includes Crescent City, CA and the redwoods), and I'd found a perfect trail. The Hiouchi Trail leaves from the Highway 199 bridge over the Smith River and follows the river for about 2 miles, then crosses Mill Creek before reaching the Stout Grove. Later in the year I believe there is a footbridge over the creek, as there is over the river at the same place, but today I had to ford the stream on foot. Thanks to Sullivan's book I had been fore-warned and wore my river sandals. The creek was only about 10 feet across and no more than mid-calf at it's deepest. The cool water felt great on my feet. The round trip took me about 3 hours, with lots of dawdling along the way. Beautiful!

Not far from the highway the trail passes through this old redwood stump, which was really cool. Kind of like a hobbit hole -- I found lots of those today.

Ever been inside a redwood? This was a first for me. Cool view up.

Another hobbit hole. I found the lighting on this spider web interesting.

Much of this trail travels through a mixed forest and it's very beautiful -- and beautifully maintained with lots of stair-work such as this, many of them much steeper!

Another hobbit hole - but I loved this knarly old stump for much more than that. It called to me for some reason.

Lots of wildflowers along the trail, including these tiny roses with a great big scent. Only a few were blooming, but the air was filled with their aroma.

Wild honeysuckle just about to open -- and right next to the roses. I can only imagine how wonderful this spot would smell when both are in full bloom.

And what would a hike in this are be without wild Rhododendron? Quite a few still blooming, although I think it's fairly late in their season.

The wild and wonderful Smith River is visible through the trees for most of the trail, but now and then a wide vista like this opens up. It's a lot tamer looking than when I was here a few months back, in the rainy season, but it's still impossibly green and clear and utterly beautiful. Look at all those tall trees!

I loved this brilliantly-lit tree in the midst of the dark forest.

I think this is the Stout Grove, but I wouldn't swear to it. One big bunch of redwoods looks very much like another, and it's very difficult to capture the scope of these forests, so I tend to focus more on scenes that catch my eye for one reason or another.

This big boy is definitely in the Stout Grove -- don't you just love those knarly roots and burl?

Again, not sure where these are -- but does it really matter? What matters is that there are 10,000 acres of first-growth redwoods in this park that have been saved forever. It matters a lot.