Leaving the Coast and Into the Redwoods

May 19 and 20, 2014

Tuesday morning we created a plan to do a five mile hike at Jug Handle State Preserve a short drive north. The description of the hike said that we would climb up the three stair-step marine terraces formed over the last 300,000 years as the coastline rose up out of the ocean. Afterward, we could stop in the highly rated brewpub in Fort Bragg for lunch and try the local brews. The parking lot at the trailhead was almost full, seriously? A week day and pretty far from San Francisco, we still couldn't get away from the crowds. There were no trailside brochures to describe the hike left in the box, so we figured that Greg had studied enough of the geology to figure it out. We followed the trail out onto the scenic headlands, but couldn't find where the trail we wanted branched off. Finally, we found it and it took us under the highway and up into the woods. What? We expected to be on the beach and climbing the cliffs. After hiking farther away from the coast, in admittedly beautiful woods, we turned back. We can walk in the woods other places, but we came for the rugged coast.

Our Russian Gulch campsite

Jughandle Ecological Preserve

On the edge of the first marine terrace, looking down at the surf zone

Salt spray encourages trees to grow horizontally but not up.

The pine and Sitka Spruce woods of the first marine terrace

Lush vegetation of the first marine terrace, in the sheltered riparian zone where salt spray does not reach.

Based on what we saw, each marine terrace has its own ecology based on distance from salt spray and leaching of nutrients out of the sandy soils (former beach and dune). The lowest terrace had lush vegetation on rich soil with some stunting from salt spray; the second (about 100 feet higher) had tall pines and redwoods growing on moderately leached, sandy soil; and the higher terraces had a pygmy forest of dwarf pines growing on highly leached, nutrient poor sands.


It was too soon for lunch so we trundled through Fort Bragg and its McDonalds and chain stores. Quite a shock after so many cute, uncommercialized villages. Further driving took us to a less populated part of the coast until we reached Highway 1's eastward turn into the mountains. We had reached the beginning of the Lost Coast, too rugged to put a highway along the cliffs because of the King Mountain range that comes straight down to the water. The Lost Coast and its wilderness can only be tackled in a few places by four-wheel drive and long distance back packing. One winding road goes in from the east.


We followed Highway 1 east into the mountains and redwood forests. Many very twisting and hairpin turning miles later we intersected Highway 101, the main route in the interior to redwood country. In fact, it is called the Redwood Highway. After a few days of driving twisty two-lane roads, Greg was ready for dualized highway and cruise control. We made the choice not to go west again to explore the Lost Coast. We zipped along north until we reached the controversial Richardson Grove where the road goes back to two lanes and drivers have to be careful not to add more scrapes to the sides of the huge redwood trees literally growing in the shoulders. The state wants to widen this stretch but it would mean taking down many beautiful old redwoods. My reaction was, so people have to slow down for a few miles and enjoy beauty, what's the problem? Greg said maybe they get tired of people wrapping their cars around the trees!

Highway 101 with redwoods right on the white shoulder line

Coastal fog hanging in the redwoods

We continued on past the old tourist traps; the drive through trees, the tree trunk house, the Confusion Hill Gravity House, and went in search of Ferndale, a small town south of Eureka, where Highway 101 finally reaches the coast again. Ferndale sits in the delta of the Eel River where it joins the Pacific, a fertile flat area filled with dairy farms. We found the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, the oldest fair in the state. Sheep were grazing on the property, and cats and chickens wandering the field that serves as a campground. $10 bought us a dry camping spot for the night, $25 if we wanted water and electric. We can fill up our water, use the dump, and take showers. The racetrack grandstand is behind us and fields in front of us. A few other RV's have found this site, but it is mostly empty. We seem to have lost the San Francisco crowds at last.

Ferndale wanted us to stay longer. $10 camping and good restaurants within an easy walk convinced us.

After driving those hills and curves, biking them did not sound like fun!

The Gingerbread Inn

Actually, the restaurants we went to were the ones ignored by Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives

For some reason, they named this the Victorian Inn.

The woman who checked us in brought out a map and showed us a walking tour of town. The whole town is considered a state and federal historic landmark because of all the beautiful Victorian houses. Next she informed us that Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, the Food Network show, grew up here. As a middle-schooler, he sold pretzels in the fairground grandstand behind our site. In recent years he came back to town and picked out a few restaurants to be featured on his show. He also finances middle-schoolers around the area in their own pretzels businesses.


We took a walk downtown, but by 5 pm most businesses were already closed. The Victorian houses were painted in great detail, and the landscaping was fabulous. This area has enough moderate temperatures to grow amazing flowers as well as redwoods, and an occasional palm tree. We came back to the rig and cooked up a great California meal, steamed artichokes, sauteed zucchini, onions, fennel and garlic, and cooked the fresh sausage we bought in San Francisco at the Ferry Building at Boccolone. It was spicy Italian, made from pastured, organically raised pigs, pricey, but so worth the splurge. Hands down the best sausage I have ever tasted. We have been working our was through their Orange and Fennel Salume, and that is exquisite too. The food splurges are worth it. Part of the California experience!


Today we made the decision to stay another night and slow down. Greg walked downtown and had a big breakfast with the local elderly poker playing men at Poppa Joe's. (Note from Greg - after 11 hours, the breakfast burrito is just beginning to wear off after walking 3 miles and doing a few hours of chores.) We are five miles from the ocean. The sun is shining, but the blustery wind is blowing a layer of fog in from the ocean. We can see it weaving its way into the redwoods on the nearby hills, but the sun is still shining over our part of the delta. We have good internet, and local TV, and the price is great. Time to plan the next few weeks. Our ferry reservation for the Inside Passage of British Columbia, is July 1^st, so we need to consider where to go in Oregon and Washington in the meantime. We are getting closer to Oregon. Time to leave the pricey California campgrounds behind!