Clintonia Loop and Fern Canyon

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

(Map link.)

Since I've noticed that I've walked almost every trail in Prairie Creek, the ones that I haven't have started to stand out. There's a mess of little things interconnecting by the campground that I might not ever do short of finding myself actually camping there, but the Clintonia Trail is a stretch up high in the Murrelet State Wilderness that makes some shorter (and perhaps more approachable) loops available through the old growth redwood trees. So I headed out for it with a thought to maybe visit the ghost pipes again afterward. There were still quite a few other visitors around and I needed a bit of luck to grab a shady parking space between the visitor center and campground, then wandered the tracks over to the biggest trailhead in the whole park behind the visitor center with its big sign of historical destinations. (I keep focusing on "Butler Backpack Camp", which presumably became Ossagon Camp, which became an overgrown, washed out spot along the trail. The rest of it is still there although the James Irvine Trail has been rerouted, likely changing the length.)

The historic sign flanked by interesting facts signs on the left and accessibility information on the right.

I circled around on the nature trail, past a couple junctions, to James Irvine to start climbing. It winds upward to the split with Miners Ridge.

Some signs aren't doing quite as well in the rainforest environment under the redwoods.

Tall trees along Godwood Creek.

Tall trees along the trail along the ridge.

The two trails don't split off very quickly and I could actually spot James Irvine winding along a short way below in a couple places. They eventually split off properly as Miners Ridge stayed high on the ridge.

Red huckleberry is fruiting.

The clintonia are big blue baubles now instead of bright pink flowers.

The retreating tail of a garter snake. They're hard to find but they do live here.

A few big trees along the trail on the ridge.

A squirrel that was chirping in the tree.

I got to the junction. Miners Ridge actually drops to Squashan Creek soon after, so following the Clintonia Trail means more ridge time.

The sign at the Miners Ridge end of Clintonia Trail.

I had been thinking to show off the clintonia on the Clintonia Trail, but it winds along passing absolutely none of them. It's just a name. (The NPS description assures me that there is a "bright seasonal display of fuchsia blooms", but they should be quite noticeable with their big blue seeds now.) It does pass a couple of memorial groves. I started down the first surprised to see a trail that appears to get some use. It cuts deeply into hills even though there is lots of room off to the side, which is what clued me in to the fact that it was once a road. I didn't go far down it, but it was easy to see once noticed.

The first memorial grove along the first spur trail off the Clintonia Trail.

Once I'd seen the memorial grove trail was a road, I couldn't not see that the Clintonia Trail was also once a road. It is generally a very wide trail and has an odd look to it. There are still plenty of big trees beside it, but there are also some medium sized stumps and spots where the "dog hair" of many tree shoots, this time not redwoods, are growing. They line much of the old road too, giving them a greater presence in the impression than they actually occupy.

Spindly trees and big trees line the old road cut.

Some tiny mushrooms among the redwood litter.

Huckleberries arch over a section of wide trail through big trees.

I passed another old road spur that seems to be getting some foot travel before the trail turned to start down off the ridge through a particularly lush bit of forest.

The last few redwood sorrel flowers among some huge leaves.

A few more big trees.

I had decided to extend the hike out to Fern Canyon by the time I got down to the James Irvine Trail again. It's only a mile and a half so the ghost pipes would just have to wait.

Nice, easy trail.

Watching the water flow under the bridge.

There seemed to be more flowers close to the ocean, but still very few and those quite small.

I stayed high when I got to Fern Canyon. I guess that little piece of James Irvine Trail is also a piece of trail I'd not yet hiked. I noticed a spur down some built steps on the way and followed it down across a meadow full of invasive flowers to a lookout on the edge of the canyon.

So close to the ocean, the James Irvine Trail passes through Sitka spruce instead of redwoods.

Part of the large flat above the cliffs of Fern Canyon is open meadow. The trail travels through the trees to the right.

Fern Canyon from a different overlook.

A hardy fuchsia hanging over the edge. Probably not what the NPS web site meant by "fuchsia blooms".

At the mouth of the canyon, the cliff wall sort of curves around and joins the higher coastal cliffs. The trail navigates a steep area down to the general washout that is the trail at Fern Canyon. Time to turn back, I started up the canyon. It's one of the more crowded areas, but there were people all along the way all day.

The squared off canyon is softened in shape by very lush vegetation.

More of the squared off Fern Canyon, which has a few log bridges above.

It's not all ferns papering the walls of the canyon.

There's numerous waterfalls that come over the edge, but they were all a few drips this late in the season. I kept going a little way past the exit trail, but one really needs to go ahead and splash through the creek to continue. I wasn't feeling particularly splashy. There is plenty of travel further, but eventually the growth closes along the bottom of the canyon.

Standing under one of the waterfalls with a spattering of drops coming down.

The trails aren't quite as thick if one continues past the end of the official trail within Fern Canyon.

I headed up and back along the James Irvine Trail. I did pause at one memorial grove trail. It went as far as a fallen tree and everything behind hadn't been used enough to maintain a trail. People were leaving notes to wisdom and other such things at one tree making a little shrine. It was an improvement over the papers usually found around the back of a tree.

Looking down on the canyon and its tangle of growth.

Sage, papers, and stones beside a tree.

There's just enough odd shaped trees to keep it interesting.

Back at the junction with Miners Ridge Trail, I noticed that if one takes the mileages as accurate, it is actually shorter to Fern Canyon along my route there rather than the apparently more direct route back. The difference is a tenth of a mile, so it isn't much. One may as well take both routes.

One of the longer bridges along the trail.

Back to Prairie Creek, which will flow much higher soon.

As expected, there wasn't enough time at the end to go see the ghost pipes, but it was still a grand day out under the tall trees.

*photo album*




©2021 Valerie Norton
Written 6 Sep 2021