Journey Return

Thursday, April 10
Moorman-Pond Trail
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Redwood National and State Parks
Unceded land of the Yurok Tribe
.82 miles
184′ ascent
142′ descent

As I start to drive away from the Skunk Cabbage Trailhead the rain begins to spit from the sky. I exit onto the Drury Parkway and drive until I find the Moorman-Pond Trailhead. My only clue is that I see a grove sign that says Moorman. There’s no other signage and maybe only room for two cars to pull out at the trail.

The rain continues so I don my patagonia houdini jacket, and grab my umbrella, inreach and phone. There’s a stone marker at the beginning of the trail that reads: “To the memory of Corporal Charles Harwood Moorman, Jr. and Private First Class Morris Belknap Moorman of Lousville, Kentucky killed in action in France 1944.” After a short distance in the flats, the trail immediately switchbacks up the hillside. The trail continues to climb gradually and as long as I’m under the broad forest canopy, the rain isn’t bad.

Nice trail makes its way through lovely redwoods and trillium clusters.

Perfect spot for a little climb and photo op.

As I hike along, it feels like something is pinching me near my neck/chest. I adjust my shirt several times thinking that it must be poking me. When that doesn’t solve the problem, I reach my hand in and feel around. Is that a mole or could it be a tick? I can’t actually see the top of my chest so I take a selfie to investigate further. Sure enough, I have a tick that is absolutely chomping down on me. I probably picked it up back on the Skunk Cabbage Trail. I do my best to twist out the tick which I can’t actually see. Luckily, without too much trouble it comes loose. I manage to get a picture of it but the sucker is making fast tracks across my hand. So, here’s your friendly reminder that if you’re hiking in the springtime, make sure you check for ticks. This is the first tick I’ve ever gotten on me while doing my Humboldt Hiking.

I don’t hike too much farther when I arrive at some downed redwoods blocking the trail. I can’t tell if this is actually the end of the trail so I decide to look around. I want to look over the trunk of a large redwood in front of me so I step down through some branches. As I maneuver down, I place my foot onto a small but wet branch and I immediately crash to the ground. Because my umbrella is in my left hand I fall awkwardly and my left shoulder feels like something really bad has happened. My garmin watch starts beeping at me because it knows that I’ve been in an accident. I’m not sure what would happen if I weren’t able to cancel the alert. Would someone come rescue me? Regardless, I have my Inreach if I truly have an emergency. I lay there awhile waiting for the pain to subside. I crawl to my feet and look over the redwood. I don’t see any trail. I climb back up to the main trail where there’s a faint path that goes uphill along another downed redwood. I reach its end and look around. I can’t see any sign of trails past this wall of redwoods. I turn around and start my way back to the trailhead. This trail really is lovely but between the tick and me falling, I’m ready to get the heck out of here. I get back to my truck and take my missed dose of morning meds and some vitamin I.

This short trail is a real gem, and given the limited parking at the trailhead, it’s likely that you can have it all to yourself. This could be a wonderful destination for your out-of-town friends who want a short hike but unique walk away from the crowds. There are beautiful redwoods on both sides of the canyon and the audible Sweet Creek adds to the ambiance. There might have been diminished traffic on Drury Parkway due to the rain, but I did not hear any road traffic when farther up the canyon.