We left Crescent City early on a foggy morning heading south along the coast; our destination was Redwood Rides, the adventure outfitter, near Jediah Smith State Park, who’d rented us bikes for the day. We caught our first glimpse of towering redwoods along the side of the road as we drove. Seeing a redwood, with its distinctive reddish-brown furrowed bark, even with its full canopy blocked from view by the roof of the car is awe-inspiring; the sheer size and girth of these ancient trees makes one feel small in comparison.
We picked up our bikes and drove to the parking area in Jediah Smith Redwoods State Park, impatient to be among the giant trees. Biking gave us the opportunity to cover more ground with plenty of time to stop, look up and marvel at the granduer of these 300 plus foot trees that have been a constant of the landscape for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Parking our bikes, we continued on foot on the Stout Grove Trail, frequently pausing to marvel at the many toppled trees along the path. A fallen redwood is a dramatic sight with its gigantic trunk, often 20 feet in diameter and over 300 feet long, splayed across the forest floor, crushing all the vegetation beneath it. The trunk continues to retain its rich reddish-brown bark, although sometimes a fall splits the tree allowing a glimpse of its lighter interior wood often accompanied by a fragrant resinous smell.
The exposed root system of the fallen tree is equally remarkable, a gnarled web of twisted roots intersprsed with clumps of dirt and rock, standing fifteen feet high. Redwoods, despite their massive size and strength have shallow root systems that spread wide but not deep. This makes them prone to topple due to erosion, strong winds, disease, human activities and even old age. The root system extends only about 6 to 12 feet deep into the soil but spread out widely, often covering an area equal to the tree’s height. When the tree falls, this shallow but extensive root system is ripped from the ground, creating a spectacular display of tangled roots and clinging earth.
Back on our bikes, we continued cycling through the park, occassionaly stopping to marvel at some of the unusual features of these ancient trees; multiple intertwining limbs, assorted cavities and caves in the trunks and the feature I found most fascinating, the gnarly knobs growing on roots, trunks and branches. Called burls, these knobs form when a tree undergoes stress or injury from disease, insects or physical damage; the tree’s response to these stressors results in the irregular growth of its wood or bark, creating this organic, gnarly appearance. Wandering though a grove of burled trees, is like walking through an enchanted forest.
The roads in the park were great for tree gazing, but because they were so narrow and winding, we kept having to pull over for approaching cars. So we made our way to the main paved road at the periphery of the park for a bit easier ride. Much to our delight, we crossed a rustic covered bridge traversing the Sheep Pen Creek. Although reminiscent of bridges constructed at the turn of the 19th century, this bridge was actually build in the 1970’s.
Continuing on this main road, we paralleled the Smith River, the same river we had kayaked on further north. Here the water level was quite low, with large exposed stretches of sand and gravel. No kayaking this stretch of the river!
We still had a couple hours left on our bike rental so we decided to take a recommendation from our outfitter and bike the trails in Tolowa Dunes State Park. As we left the redwood forest and headed towards the coast, not only the ecosystem but the weather changed. Leaving the sun behind, we headed into cool, heavy overcast. The park’s topography is a mix of coastal dunes and wetlands. No traffic here and as we biked through wetlands towards the dunes, we saw one lone fisherman. The wetlands were rife with birdlife and we pedaled past many an egret, standing tall and statuesque in the tall autumnal grass.
After returning our bikes, we headed south planning to spend the night in Orick, near Redwoods National Park. We’d heard about the famous redwoods with openings in their trunks so large that cars could drive through so when we saw the signs for the Klamath Tour Through Tree, we decided to check it out. After depositing our $15 in a mail slot, we proceeded ahead to the Kalmath tree only to discover that the cavity in this old tree was not natural; it had been saw cut to not only allow cars but even full size SUVs to pass through. We did the touristy thing and drove through the tree together, then circled around, and I hopped out to snap a photo as my husband drove through. At least our baby blue Toyota looked cool.
As we continued south along the coast, we watched the fog form as the warm moist air from the interior connected with the cooler ocean air. Fog occurs along the coast regularly at dusk because the land cools rapidly after the sun sets, creating a temperature difference between the land and the cooler ocean, condensing into tiny droplets of water vapor. This fog sustains the redwood forest ecosystem; it is this amazing species’ ability to capture fog, providing a ‘platform’ for the water vapor to condense on the tree’s needles and drip down to the forest floor, supplying moisture not only for itself but for the diverse plant and animal life on the forest floor below.
Tomorrow, we will officially visit Redwoods National Park, a new national park visit for us; we also plan to visit several of the adjacent state parks with their famous trees and trails before spending a couple nights at the historic Benbow Inn and returning home via San Francisco.
October, 2023