Day 6: Into Endor

After leaving Medford this morning, we had to make a stop for supplies in Grants Pass and the only thing available was Walmart.  I won't normally shop there, but we were in a pinch (no diaper wipes).  It was gray and depressing and it was my thorn.  Moving on...

James napped well in the car, so we made it all the way to the splendiferous Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park, aka Endor.  Words fail.  Pictures don't really give the sense of the hugeness of the trees, either, but they're better.  Lot of vertical, "hotdog" style photos today, as opposed to the normal "hamburger" ones, owning the need to capture tree height.  Our first stop was the legendary Stout Grove, where the following was seen:

Man (center)

Posing with roots, taken from atop a fallen tree

The eponymous Stout Tree, but with us by it

Having completed the relatively flat and stroller friendly Stout Grove loop, we headed in the car up Howland Hill Drive--the "world's best redwood drive"--and unpaved gravel track that darts between massive trees.  I have for some time been sort of obsessed with record trees.  In preparation for this trip, I sussed out the approximate location, using various clues interspersed throughout the internet, of the so-called "Grove of the Titans", and secret, unmarked redwood grove home to three of the world's five largest Coastal Redwoods.  The Grove's exact location is kept secret by the government to minimize foot traffic (a decision that is controversial; in the age of the internet, the location is an open secret, and the Grove now gets plenty of visitors daily.  Sensible folks are calling for the state to mark it and provide appropriate infrastructure to ensure its well-being).  I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to find it, what with a sketchy map and a 4.5 month old in a carrier in tow.  But we had plenty of time and enough will, so we gave it a shot.

We parked out car at a roadside turnoff and took the stunning Mill Creek trail south from where it intersected the road.  The first section of the trail was mostly uphill and, like all of our hikes today, stunning.

After half a mile, the trail began to descend toward the stream. At the bottom of the valley, we found ourselves amid some fallen giants.

Once we cleared the tunnel, I knew we had to be close. I was looking for a spot where the trail switchbacked just before the stream.  And, sure, enough, right where I thought it would be, it was there.  I went in part way, but refrained from going up to the trees themselves.  James was in the carrier, and the small footpath, such as it was, led through a bog and was not a great place to risk taking an infant.  As such, Erica and I (and James, who had just woken up), enjoyed the majesty of the Grove from about 50 feet away.  James was, frankly, nonplussed, and dared to crab about some inconsequence in front of leviathans who stood here a thousand years before Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.  From across the small glade, I snapped this picture of the Lost Monarch, the world's largest Coastal Redwood tree:

The Lost Monarch

After staring our eyes out for awhile at the bohemoths of the Grove, we headed back to the car.  James was more or less done with the carrier, so I carried him in my arms all the way back, which he LOVED.  We managed to snap this picture just before the end of the hike.

We squeezed in one more easy hike, the Simspon-Reed loop, where I got to stand in between two trees and put my arms out.

Like this.

With eyeballs full of tree, we made our way into Crescent City, a fishing community on the California/Oregon border where it's foggy and cold 90% of the year (including today).  Tonight we're bedded down in the Curly Redwood Lodge, a late 50's-style kitsch motel that's unfortunately more 50's than kitsch.  Fun fact: then entire motel is made from the wood of a single redwood tree!  Neato! (note: sheets may be made of same).

Thorn: Walmart :(

Rose: Grove of the Titans

Bud: More trees, please.

Car Miles: 116

Total Miles: 2598.5

--Grant