Humboldt Bay at the North Spit

Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area

Manila Dunes Recreation Area

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The OpenStreetMap version of Mendocino National Forest looks a lot closer to reality after more work than anyone might care to know. There's also mapping for a chunk of forest north to Hayfork where the Bigfoot Trail goes that is vastly improved. However, it might be a bit more fun to generate some content rather than stare at the computer, particularly if I can find a little something new to show off. Well, there's this mildly mysterious little picnic area next to the old tracks for something new. I checked (every two months after the Saturday DERT day) on the "mysterious leaves" I found in March and now there's some orchids to show off. In between, I could wander some less new areas among dunes and beach.

00: three colorful tables — Picnic tables painted by the nearby school children for a public rest stop.

In this section of the North Spit, the old tracks edge along the side of Humboldt Bay and are surrounded by a bit of the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area. The right-of-way is the subject of plans for multiuse trails or maybe lesser developed California Coastal Trail (with dreams of a ferry service or something to get hikers across the bay entry between the North Spit and South Spit) or, well, something. Currently, it's a walk full of gravel between the rails as I headed north. It's squishy and loose under foot, but clear of vegetation and practically inviting.

01: tracks filled with large gravel — Tracks heading north along the edge of Humboldt Bay. Blackberries wish to come over, but there's a free space for walking.

02: tracks to the south and a bridge — The tracks continue on to the south for a bit, but they go inland after the bridge.

To my left, water started to separate the tracks and highway. It poured into the bay although the tide was coming in.

03: flat 'grass' blades floating in water — The eel grass(?) floats out long in the current of water flowing into the bay.

04: bleached wood twisting out over water, then up — Once there was a small tree stretching out over the channel.

06: low tide and much is exposed, like the decaying beams in the mud — The mud flats at low tide show a multitude of channels and the discards from other eras.

07: tiny birds in the mud — Least sandpipers poke around for what critters might be uncovered.

09: rocky shore — The beach along here, where more wooden mysteries are decaying away.

10: yellow and succulent — Bright marsh flowers? (Marsh Jaumea)

11: stalks with anthers, looks like — Flowers? Technically. (Pacific glasswort)

12: supports of wood decaying — A line of supports for another track come to meet the remaining tracks.

Past the supports of long gone tracks crossing the mud flats, I found the path along the tracks less used, but still quite clear. The channel to my left filled in with vegetation and the railroad ties became exposed, but the blackberries never blocked.

13: mud with topography — Mists rise from the channeled mud flats.

15: lots of green — Alders and willows and rushes fill in the channel.

16: purple flowers — Coastal hedgenettle in the channel.

18: island and such and rock layer shore — The changing textures of the edge. Some of the mud is even showing drying cracks.

19: bushy — As bushy as it got, which actually wasn't as bad as it looks.

The tracks come inland passing by a bit of Manila.

20: tracks with trees — Tracks now framed by trees and bushes.

I followed along until the start of the short bike path on the other side of the highway. Unfortunately, there was water between roadway and tracks again there, so I backtracked and followed Dean to the highway and path.

21: paved path through part of Manila — The path and a little bit of Manila, with garden escapees (large-flowered evening primrose) lining it.

24: tall building — There's a sign about halfway along to point out places of interest, like the lighthouse that hoses miniature golf.

The short path ends at Lupin, which has official trail at its end, just pass by the pump station of the local services district. It was smelling a little of what it pumps. It's adorned with a mural, though. They're part of a recent beautification project.

25: gravel road — A short way on gravel Lupin to the sandy Lupin Trail.

26: historic tooter — The air raid siren is now a tsunami warning system. This one is on the high ground you should run for if it toots.

I actually turned to the left and followed a well established trail along the dunes instead of going out to the beach.

29: track among plants — Trail through a spot of many native and some not-so-native plants.

31: trail in sand — The trail gets a little less obvious, but still defined, in a sandy area.

32: crashing breakers beyond vegetation covered sand hills — The nearby ocean crashes its breakers into the shore.

33: pink puffs on stalks — Seaside buckwheat is getting on and there's many more dark seed heads than pink flower puffs.

34: dark insects — This particular one was crawling all over with wasps. The Aporus attacks spiders.

35: wasp with yellowy rump — And the thread waisted wasp attacks grasshoppers.

36: yellow balls — Yellow sand verbena has leafed and flowered now.

37: open water surrounded by big brush — Very much a wetland between the dunes here and the houses of Manila.

38: brown bird on a stick — A house finch stops to look.

39: block of concrete with windows — Mystery building in the dunes.

I got to feeling too close to private property, which was silly. There's perfectly good trails on public land I'd have been following if I kept going. I doubled back on a trail that got rather indistinct before joining up with Lupin Trail once more. I turned left again, this time on the Blackberry Trail along the water line.

40: trail in wetlands — Blackberry Trail isn't muddy in this season, so reasonable to follow.

41: bright flowers — Springbank clover (native) and bird's-foot trefoils (not) line the path.

But I did wonder what the ocean might be washing up this week, so I headed out to the beach by one of the trails.

43: sand and waves — Trail down to the beach.

45: sand, mostly — Looking north along a fairly clean beach.

46: lots of sand and a little water — Walking the beach south.

After a while, I found a thin trail where I could get up the small cliff the invasive beach grass creates and head inland. That quickly got to regularly used trail and I wound this way and that, looking for the exact spot just past a particular intersection where the orchids would be blooming.

47: sand dunes with green topping — Back among the sand dunes with their beach suncups dotting the area with yellow.

50: sandy trail above forest — The orchids grow among the forested inland dunes.

51: water over growth topped dunes — One last look at the ocean from that wide sandy trail at the top of the dunes, that same spot as above.

52: sandy trail past trees — Still a bit sandy often, even by the trees.

53: bigger trees — Some bigger trees. I rather like this one that hosts loads of ferns on its huge branches.

54: ferns on huge branch — A closer look at the leathery polypody ferns populating the abnormally large branch.

I wandered briefly down a trail I wasn't intending to take before righting myself and getting directly to the still blooming orchids. In fact, the top part of the flowers are still in bud.

57: stalk of little flowers — A few flowers open on an elegant rein orchid.

58: tiny white flowers — A close up view of another stalk of these tiny orchid flowers.

59: bent stalk — And another close view of a third stalk. There are six I found here.

I wound my way the most direct way back to the picnic area. This got me to a space that looked like it should be an entry, but the old gate was adorned with bright new barbed wire and some private property signs. As near as I can tell, there's nothing between the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area and the highway right-of-way here, so the difficulty in crossing is confusing.

60: parking — Barbed wire to cross to get back to the picnic area beside the Manila sign.

Once I managed the barbed wire and highway crossing, I popped back out to the tracks to check the bay once more. The tide had come in, giving Wigi a very different look.

61: water and grass — No more mud flats with the tide come in.

I decided against continuing along the tracks to the bridge or thereabouts. It's rather less interesting with the water covering everything.

*photo album*

©2024 Valerie Norton
Written 11 Aug 2024

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