Along the Road - California 14 Mojave to Inyokern

The next stop after Channel Islands National Park on our February 2015 trip to southern California was Death Valley National Park. Our route took us from Ventura through Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster before leaving the freeways of the greater Los Angeles area. Once out of the traffic and in the desert again, we saw some beautiful scenery as we traveled along CA 14, US 395 and CA 190 as we approached Death Valley.

 In Mojave

Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC) west of Mojave is the largest wind farm in the U.S.

AWEC has an installed capacity of 1,574 MW

Twelve miles north of the town of Mojave

El Paso Mountains

Barren Ridge with Sweet Ridge (6335') beyond

Black Hills

Red Cliffs Natural Preserve

California 14 bisects Red Rock Canyon State Park and is adjacent to the Red Cliffs. Twenty-four miles from Mojave, a side road to a day use parking area provides access to the cliffs and a loop trail. The initial 200 feet of the road is paved. Due to the rain the previous day and overnight, the ground was way too soft for our rental vehicle and too soft for me to hike through as well.

The Red Cliffs are over 250' high

Looking up the canyon

A side canyon across the highway

The main canyon with CA 14

These green hills to the southeast block views of the El Paso Mountains

More hills to the east

Looking back down the canyon

Thirty-two miles north of Mojave

Cloud reflection and the Scodie Mountains

A closer view of the Scodie Mountains

Ridge between Bird Spring Canyon and Horse Canyon leading up to Skinner Peak and the Pacific Crest Trail

Snow covering Black Mountain

Clouds over the Red Buttes

Joshua Trees in Indian Wells Valley

The Red Rock Canyon State Park website is http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=631.

Avenue of the Giants - Humboldt Redwoods State Park

The Avenue of the Giants is a 31 mile section of the old two-lane US 101 that was bypassed in the 1960's by the current US 101 freeway.  This scenic byway passes through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California's largest redwood park.  Interpretive signs are located at both the north and south entrances to the byway and a visitor center is located at approximately the midpoint of the route.  The visitor center houses a bookstore, theater, exhibits and offices for the employees and volunteers.  Restroom facilities with running water are also available. The park also has nearly 100 miles of trails, numerous picnic areas and several campgrounds.  Additional lodging is available at several towns along the way.  We visited the park on our way from Redwood National and State Parks to Point Reyes National Seashore in late August 2013.  

The appropriately named Avenue of the Giants

Looking over 200 feet up at a giant

Even trees that aren't giants are six to eight feet in diameter

Looking downstream on the Eel River

The Eel River just downstream of the confluence of the South Fork Eel River

While at the visitor center, we watched a movie about the the devastating Christmas 1964 flood of the Eel River.  In some locations, the river was more than 70 feet higher than its normal level.  Sections of the Avenue of the Giants were underwater as well as the visitor center and adjacent campground.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center south of Weott

"This tree fell near Bear Creek December 26, 2006.
The cut the date tags are mounted on is a third cut
about 70 feet above the base.  The beginning ring at
the center of this cut is from 912 A.D."

Date markers from "1000 Vikings discover North America" to "1928 California State Park system established"

The following text is from an outdoor display at the Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center:

Distinctive Qualities of Redwoods

Coast redwood has been referred to as "eternal" or "immortal" and in fact the scientific name, sempervirens, means, "ever-living."  However, it just seems so in the human timeframe.  Most redwoods live for 500+ years, with some over 2,000 years.  Unique adaptations, which contribute to their longevity, include:

• A network of shallow roots which extend radially for many feet interconnecting with other trees to hug the earth and hold the trees during windstorms.

• A thick, fibrous bark which protects the trees from fire and insects.

• Concentrations of tannic acid throughout the tree act as a deterrent to insects and decomposition.

• A root system that is able to re-establish itself after flooding or siltation.

• The ability to sprout from root collar burl tissue located near the base of the tree.  Sometimes you will see a tree with hundreds of sprouts coming from the base.  Some of these sprouts will survive and eventually form a cluster or ring of trees all from a single root, which may be centuries old.

At the north end, the byway parallels the north-flowing Eel River.  At the confluence of the South Fork Eel River, the avenue follows the South Fork upstream.  Almost 400 miles of this river system have been designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers by Congress including all the sections within and near the park.

South Fork Eel River

Entrance to Humboldt Redwoods State Park is free.  However, a day use fee of $8.00 per vehicle is charged at Williams Grove Day Use Area.

The park website is http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=425.

Trillium Falls Trail - Redwood National and State Parks

Our August 2013 visit to Redwood National and State Parks continued with a hike of the Trillium Falls Trail.  A paved parking area at the end of the paved section of Davison Road provides access to the trail head.  In addition, restrooms with running cold water are also provided.  The area now known as the Elk Meadow just below the parking area was once the site of a large sawmill.  Due to the work of a Save-the-Redwoods League program to protect the redwood trees, a quarter-mile wide swath of hillside forest was preserved within site of the old sawmill complex.  

The trail is a 2.8 mile loop beginning and ending at the parking area.  The trail is rated moderate in difficulty due to the climb from an elevation of about 50 feet to around 350 feet.  We hiked the trail in the recommended counter-clockwise direction.  There are ten named groves located along the trail.  These groves commemorate a donation to the parks on behalf of individuals, couples, families or organizations.  Benches are provided at four of these groves.  The first bench is at the top of the climb up out of the valley from Trillium Falls while the other three are near the mid-point of the trail at the far end of the loop from the parking area.  

In addition to a fiberglass foot bridge over the creek near the falls, there are ten additional wooden foot bridges.  Six of the foot bridges do not have handrails.  A portion of the Davison Trail provides a connecting path from the parking area to the trail head.  It is a wide gravel lane open to bicyclists as well as hikers.  The Trillium Falls Trail is wide enough to meet other hikers, but not wide enough to hike side by side.  Its surface is packed dirt and humus.  This combination provides a spongier and more erosion resistant surface than dirt alone. 

Due to our visiting late in the dry season, there wasn't much water flowing over the falls and the western trillium blooms were long gone.  Even with the occasional noise from the nearby highway, this was a lovely walk in the woods.

The trail heads quickly heads uphill

Large redwoods dwarf the trail

A break in the canopy due to a fallen giant

The open vista is due to logging over fifty years ago

The size of  a redwood is almost incomprehensible

A new tree sprouts from the roots of an old one

Only a very wide-angle lens can capture the canopy and the forest floor

Trail, sky and 300 foot tall trees

A fallen branch spans the trail

Tall trees and green ferns

The open forest provides light for a diverse understory

The Redwood Volunteers Grove

Another giant stands vigil along the trail

The enormous size of these trees cannot be portrayed

A small footbridge spans a seasonal stream

A switchback leading down to the creek

Fiberglass bridge at Trillium Falls

Ten foot high Trillium Falls

The Sierra Club Presidents Grove

Redwood sorrel

The purplish underside of redwood sorrel

Root ball of a fallen redwood

The only damp place along the trail

The ferns seem intent on taking back the trail

Note the tree root snaking around the lower log to find the ground

Another majestic redwood

Bench and marker

Doris and Richard Leonard Grove

Fire damage and new growth

The Jeangerard Family Grove

More of the Jeangerard Family Grove

Light streams down through the forest

Western skunk cabbage

A towering giant reaches skyward

A new tree grows out of an old one

About halfway around the loop, the trail crosses a logging road

The logging road provides a longer range view

The Donald and Ann Bernstein Family Grove

This apparent tight squeeze is much wider than it looks

Fallen trees become nurseries for the forest

A well-maintained trail through a forest cathedral

The Charles C Wagner Grove

Looking straight up

The Schneider Grove

Richard J. Mazurek, M.D. Grove

These burls make it almost appears that the bark is sliding down the tree

Saperstein Family Grove

Looking back at the fallen log that marks the end of a switchback

About 300 feet high

Redwoods and deer fern

Lighter and spiraled

Althea P. Lang Grove

Only the tallest of hikers would need to duck under this fallen tree

This fallen tree is about six feet in diameter

The final section of the trail follows an old logging road

Davison Trail bridge over Prairie Creek

Prairie Creek

Elk Meadow from the Davison Trail bridge over Prairie Creek

Entrance to Redwood National Park is free.  However, Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek Redwoods California State Parks have a day-use fee of $8 per vehicle at campground entrance stations.  All three state parks honor the America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.  This pass is valid for one year for $80.  A lifetime National Park Senior Pass is available for $10 for those 62 years of age or older.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm.