Moments in Dirt and Ink

Six Rivers National Forest Smith River National Recreation Area DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 Click for map. I found the Bigfoot Trail and even briefly thought I might like to hike it, but I just can't get too much excitement about hiking a long trail, roads and all, even if it is only 400 miles. The guide book does set it up as a scavenger hunt for conifers which sounds a little interesting. Hike a while getting to know a tree or two a day. There's 32 of them. I also found a couple trail journals that indicate the parts through Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness and Siskiyou Wilderness are the spots where the trail gets hard to find. They're also the major bit of wildernesses in Six Rivers National Forest. I found the Bigfoot Trail Alliance which mentioned various work outings helping the trail out. I found the South Kelsey National Recreation Trail. Surely I can trust a NRT? Okay, that's just naive. Anyway, I picked out a loop because that...

Six Rivers National Forest Click for map. I have to admit that in planning, Bug Creek Butte didn't even get a notice until I was looking on Peakbagger and noticed the "1k" marked on it. The trail I was looking at goes to Chaparral Mountain. I tried to do it on May 1st, but only got a couple miles down Titlow Hill Road before failing to watch for the fallen rocks. (I destroyed the rim. Again. The tire didn't fare well either. Expensive mistake.) I probably could have made it on the compact spare as it is paved all the way and mostly in good shape. It was getting late then and even this start was a bit later than optimal. There was a storm a couple days before with predictions of up to a foot of snow down to 5000 feet, so I wasn't sure what I'd see up high. There were plenty of freshly cleared trees on Forest Route 1, but I didn't see any snow until after I parked. It was just down a dirt road to a camp site. I noticed a couple old roads by where I p...

Arcata Community Forest Click for map. NOAA was promising a high chance of rain getting higher throughout the day, but I decided to head out to the north end of the community forest once again to wander the Arcata Ridge Trail for however far I might get. There's a bit of parking area marked for 4 hours only. Other than that, signs aren't particularly visible from the street although the trail is signed and has an information kiosk a little way along. The map in it implies the land needed to complete this trail has been obtained, but I still can't just walk it end to end. It was nice listening to the creek as I walked along until I noticed the biting mosquitoes. They're not even thick yet, but they were quite more than enough. There's well trod area west of the lot area that becomes signed trail. It closes into a green tunnel quickly. The salmonberries are ripening while the thimbleberries are still blooming. Someone has already had one of these. ...

Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Click for map. The general expectation is that the rhododendrons should be blooming throughout April and May. I've seen them blooming in planted areas beside the forest and along the freeway on the way up, but still haven't seen any actually in the forest. Being halfway through that blooming time seems long past time to change that. I checked to be sure the state parks in Humboldt County are still only in a soft closure allowing people to walk on. It adds about three miles to a longer loop to hike in from outside the park, but flowers! Bright red flowers! Seeing Humboldt Lagoons State Park blocking off parking next to the park as well as in the park was worrisome, but Prairie Creek Redwoods happily left a little at the edge of which no one was taking advantage. It was mine and being next to the Elk Prairie Trail, I decided to walk along it to the Rhododendron Trail. First I watched a couple of the elk on the far side of the meadow. R...

Six Rivers National Forest Click for map. When I went out to see the not-really-world's-largest tanoak , South Fork was there for a backup plan. Now I'm finally getting out to see it. I wasn't sure how far I would get, but thought there was hope I might get past the ford with the rather dry winter the area has had. The road in is mostly paved and frequently narrow, sometimes for long stretches. Signs are missing and one or two driveways try to look like road, but mostly staying left at the branching works. Of actual forest roads, there are two places for river access on the right along the way and then a final loop which is less rough and steep on the right side. There is plenty of parking for a dozen vehicles and even a dispersed camping site for all who make the correct guesses to get there. The trail itsel is not signed, but there is a large sign board for information across from it to help one find it. It is a little less well signed than I expected for a named...

Arcata Community Forest Click for map. I hiked the Beith Creek loop again, this time in the rain. I also hiked it the week before and finally took one last little bit of trail I'd not taken before. That bit of trail comes out in a different part of the neighborhood and allows the loop to be extended nicely through a little neighborhood park. There was a particular trillium along that bit of the trail that I wanted to see again and get a better photograph, so I did it again today. I bumped into mountain bikers on the road sections and a couple hikers on the narrower sections when it was sunny. This time, there were very few people around, but still a couple. I was mostly wanting to see if there are rhododendron around, so it became mostly a wildflower hike. None of those I was looking for, though. The trillium lasts forever. These aren't much worse than they were last week. The sort around here sometimes turns purple when it gets old. I headed right at the loop b...

It is always better to have a paper map of some kind when hiking in an unfamiliar area, but they can be hard to get hold of and the expense does mount up a bit. If one has access to a good printer, CalTopo is an excellent resource to create maps. It's still possible to do quite a lot of mapping right on the tiny screen of the pocket computer we all like to call a "phone". Before I headed out traveling on the first day of winter 2018, I tried quite a lot of applications (er, "apps") for offline mapping. I'm uninterested in anything that requires a connection I likely don't have. These all had one thing in common: they are free. I have never attached a credit card to the app store because I live in fear of pulling my phone out of my pocket and finding it has just bought something random and expensive. Perhaps this is a phobia. I could probably attach a gift card to it, but I'm also cheap. Free Apps There are two apps I kept at the end my trying: A...

Headwaters Forest Reserve Click for map. I need to get a hike with some length to it, so I started looking for things accessible via CA-36, then gave up and went out for another Redwood AdVentures Quest (link to interpretive trail brochure) . It seemed a bit of a gamble, but it's close enough to just go for it. There would be no good parking if they closed the gates, but they have not and there are spaces available. Bathrooms are closed, but the trail is open. I'll hike the South Fork Elk River up to its little bit of old growth once again. Just a bit of warning on entry. Plenty of parking. Most of it is on the other side of the trees, but some is to the right and by the pickup. New signs include "pack it in, pack it out" on the garbage that isn't getting collected and "social distancing" requirements. This trail includes a mile that is wheelchair accessible. First up, that Quest. It says to start at the Quest box a quarter mile alon...