A hike through majestic trees
It’s hard to go wrong in Redwood National and State Parks, where magnificent stands of redwoods tower above a sea of ferns. Herds of Roosevelt elk do their thing in the meadows. And massive rock formations, secret beaches and foaming surf compete for attention at ocean’s edge.
I’ve planned a four-day hiking trip with 13 friends in this gorgeous spot on Northern California’s Redwood Coast, where four parks — including Redwood National Park, which turns 50 this year, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park — stretch from Humboldt County to Del Norte County, just south of the Oregon border. Our group has hiked Joshua Tree, Oregon’s Rogue River Canyon and Arizona’s spectacular Sedona, as well as doing weekly hikes in the East Bay regional parks. But the larger-scale trips were always led by professional guides. This time, I’ve done the planning.
“Try not to lose more than 10 percent of our group,” my fellow hikers tell me. It’s a standing joke. But I’ve done my homework — researched the area, read hiking books and websites and planned hiking routes for three days. What could go wrong? Actually, many things. Fires in Oregon almost canceled the trip. A forecast of four days of rain had some questioning our wisdom — and now on day one, a closed trail. So here I am standing in front of the visitor center in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, one of the parks within the Redwood National and State Parks borders, faced with 13 enthusiastic hikers and a washed-out bridge. Now what?
First rule of hike leadership: Someone needs to take charge or we’ll be here all day, discussing 8-mile trail options till the Roosevelt elk come home. So I do: We head out on the West Ridge and Prairie Creek Trails, hiking 8-plus miles, with necks craned upward as we take in the aweinspiring sea of trees, including Big Tree, one of the largest in Prairie Creek.
Each day’s hikes are spectacular. They keep us on the tips of our hiking boots, offering Instragram-worthy scenery and new challenges, almost in equal measure. Day two’s Friendship Ridge hike illustrates how 8 miles can feel like 15 when you have to clamber over or under 20 huge trees that have fallen across the trail.
Rain arrives on day three. We ignore it and embark on what was to be a 6-mile coastal hike.
But 2 miles of hiking bring us to Hidden Beach, accessible only by foot — and much too beautiful to leave. It’s dazzling, with sweeping ocean views, dramatic sea stacks, a driftwood-strewn cove and trails lined with red alder and wildflowers.
“This beach,” one hiker says, “is why you brought us on this trip.”
Well, that — and the historic Requa Inn on the banks of the Klamath River, where the Yurok have lived for centuries. Rek-woi means “where the river meets the ocean.” It’s a spectacularly peaceful setting with few distractions beyond the drifting fog and the cry of birds. It’s like taking a step back in time. We settle into the century-old Arts and Crafts-style inn, with its four-poster beds and claw-foot tubs, a spacious lounge with a big fireplace, and a front porch with rockers facing the river.
Thank goodness we’re hiking — the food is outstanding, too. Every morning, we dig into family-style breakfasts of scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes, cinnamon rolls and local berry jam. Every afternoon, we’re welcomed back with freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. And the five-course dinners — which showcase steelhead salmon, for example, served over a distinctive slaw — are inspired by Yurok recipes and made with locally harvested, organic produce.
We eat, we laugh, we hike. And we don’t lose a single soul.