Moments in Dirt and Ink

Arcata Community Forest Click for interactive map Speaking of new trails, the city of Arcata has been getting some built. The Beith Creek Loop in the Arcata Community Forest has a nice windy bit that dips deep into another stream canyon, making a lovely reroute for a skid road that passed as steep and slippery trail before. I keep meaning to show it off although likely very few will find any meaning in it. They've also been hard at work on their end of the Annie & Mary Trail. A while back when I hiked the Arcata Ridge Trail, I found the base layers in and it was getting close. A couple weeks ago , it was paved with a bike zooming past. I've been told that the section still under construction is quite beautiful as it goes along the Mad (Baduwa't) River. So, with the caveat that I don't want to be pressing gravel about and slowing down the process of the trail coming together, I headed out for an Arcata Ridge Trail "thru hike plus". Past the first ...

Redwood National Park Click for interactive map On the prior Thursday, I joined the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee's invasive species tour of Eureka. It was at the last minute because I figured I knew all about these things since I spend a bit of time each week hacking them down as a volunteer. Of course, they were talking about the lesser known things and the tour started out with aphids that affect Sitka spruce terribly as we toured Mouralherwaqh, a patch of land that is Wiyot again. This one is not open to the general public, but we also visited the 'O Rew Redwood Gateway, a piece of land that is Yurok again, and is open to the public as of 1 Aug and where I discovered a new trail. I also noted that although this was most recently an abandoned mill site, there are some nice rounded tree tops poking out of the forest nearby, one of the signs of old growth. I decided I would be back to try that new trail. The sign at the after hours/overflow parking a...