I caught a brief window (almost) in the eternal winter and motored south. At Grants Pass, I drove through the cold tail end of another atmospheric river that was slamming California and the Oregon borderlands. Grants Pass was a winter wonderland but already beginning to melt out. At Cave Junction there was a foot of heavy wet snow, but Highway 199 had already been ploughed all the way through.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods
After crossing the Smith River, I parked near the bridge and took the Hiouchi Trail above the river to stretch my legs. There were some views of the river itself as the trail ploughs through the big trees in a thick undergrowth of evergreen huckleberry, tan oak, and myrtle. There’s a typical grove of giant redwoods where the Hiouchi Trail ends at Mill Creek. In summer, a temporary bridge is put across here to connect to the campground across the Smith River. Some months, you can also wade across Mill Creek to visit the Stout Grove, off Howland Hill Road, which was closed because of storm damage.
Not able to visit the Stout Grove, I drove down gravel Walker Road and walked the Leiffer and Ellsworth loop trails in the north part of the park. Everything was very wet after the day’s storm, which also caused a widespread power outage. I took the long way, so hiked a stretch along Walker Road to get back to the car.
Del Norte Coast Redwoods
I had found that Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, which has many trails, was entirely closed because of storm damage. However, the Damnation Creek Trail, right off Highway 101, was hikeable. This trail drops through large redwoods and then Sitka spruce for 1,000 feet, first crossing Old Highway 101, which is now part of the California Coastal Trail. The closed bridge is so close to a nice little bluff overlook that no one goes down that far and turns back. (Parts for a new bridge have been staged near here, so that situation should finally be fixed this year.) Like all the others, I scrambled down into the small ravine and came out at the bluff, which offer views south to Patricks Point and to various sea stacks. Damnation Creek reaches the ocean here, and the giant purple trilliums were blooming in splendor.
Craigs Creek
This hike, about 3 ¾ miles one-way, is along the South Fork Smith River and then Craigs Creek. There are redwoods here too, but also a typical Siskiyou evergreen woodland of knobcone pine, myrtle, tanoak, madrone, and chinquapin. The well-constructed trail, originally a pack route for gold and platinum prospectors, works its way high over the South Fork offering few views. Then the route makes a big switchback above Craigs Creek and traverses down to its mouth where an old prospector’s camp remains, complete with cabin platform, a donkey engine, compressor, and other mining paraphernalia.
Redwoods and South Fork Smith River 3-29-23
Redwoods and South Fork Smith River 3-29-23
Last edited by bobcat on April 2nd, 2023, 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Wrong forum
Reason: Wrong forum