Redwood National and State Parks
August 2, 2023
14.39 miles
Tall Trees Loop and Redwood Creek * 5.87m
Lost Man Creek Trail * 8.52m
It’s a beautiful sunny morning to drive up the coast before turning into the forest on Bald Hills Road. The road is paved but it might as well not be because it’s the roughest road ever! We arrive at the Tall Trees access road and there’s a park ranger at the gate. After showing my permit info, we’re headed down the hard-pack gravel road (which is way smoother than Bald Hills Road) for a short drive to the trailhead. We drop about 750 ft. from the trailhead down to the Tall Trees grove which lies adjacent to Redwood Creek. We pop out and wander upstream looking to connect to our next trail. We wander downstream and retrace our steps back to the Tall Trees trail before deciding to turn around again and cross Redwood Creek. I keep my shoes on and wade across still in search of the next trail. I do finally spy a triangle trail sign high in the trees which points up the bank. We only go 10 steps before finding that the trails in either direction are absolutely blocked with blow downs and debris. We climb over a few trees before giving up and acknowledging that this is not going to work.
After another crossing of Redwood Creek, we have a snack while figuring out plan b. Looking for a scenic workout, we land on Lost Man Creek Trail starting from the bottom. But first, we gots to hike out of this tall tree business. We push the climb and get the sweat going before zipping down the road and back through the locked gate. Overall, a slow endeavor searching for trail with 5.87 miles in 3 hours. In an effort to have a smoother ride I accelerate downhill on Bald Hills Road and we only bounce and skid occasionally.
We pull into the Lost Man Creek trailhead and there are a few cars. We climb gradually for about a mile hiking alongside the stunning Lost Man Creek. We’re on the fresh trail of some elk and I expect to see them pop out from the brush at any second. As the road steepens the drops of sweat start to roll down my face. After a few miles, I absolutely have to eat something. We take a standing break while dancing to keep the mosquitoes away. Atop the ridge and just past the four mile mark, we give up on ever finding a view of the forest and mountains surrounding us and turn around. We tread down through the warm forest as we hear red crossbills flying overhead. We pass slugs and the creosote-smelling bridge before arriving back to an empty parking lot having cranked out 8.52 miles in 3h 10m. Today ends up being our longest day with a total of 14.39 miles and 2,319 ft. of climbing between the two hikes.
The grand finale is seeing these incredible Roosevelt Elk hanging out right next to the road leaving the Lost Man Creek Trailhead. Spectacular racks decorated with plant debris swing back and forth as we watch in awe. I keep my engine running just in case one of these big bulls decides he wants to come over for a closer look.
Journey Return 