Tuesday, June 30
Start/Stop: Stout Memorial Grove
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Redwood National and State Parks
Daa-naa~-yash K’vsh-chuu-dvn
Unceeded land of the Tolowa Dee-ni’
14.10 miles
1485′ ascent
1556′ descent
Jedediah Smith Day 2 Overview Video
Getting an early start is always rewarded. Up by 5:30 am and break camp just after 6. It’s so early that the trail runner approaching me is startled and thinks that I’m a bear. It’s a very short walk back to my truck at the trailhead and then a short drive to the Stout Memorial Grove parking lot. I’m the first one here if you don’t count the van that is parked and has obviously spent the night. I’m on trail by 6:40 am and have the whole grove to myself.
The morning mist hangs low, creating perfect redwood forest vibes. I do the short loop before branching off towards the Smith River on the Hiouchi Trail.
I scramble down the bank of Mill Creek and cross the sand bar to a short wooden bridge. And then for the fun of it, I cross the seasonal bridge across the Smith River that heads toward the campground. I see two other people on the other side but otherwise have the river to myself. With the fog mooding about, it is a beautifully serene morning.
I recross the bridge and start up the Mill Creek Trail aka Shaa-xu’-me Tes-t’vm towards the Grove Of Titans. There are new-looking interpretive signs which are great because they have Tolowa translations on them. It doesn’t take long for the fog to burn off and let the long rays of morning sunlight through. I hike until about 7:40 am before I stop for a short snack and coffee break. I continue to have the trail to myself except for the few trail runners that pass me.
About a half hour later I arrive at what feels like the back door to the Grove Of Titans. There’s more new interpretive signs and metal bridges and aerial walkways. In an effort to keep people from loving the redwoods too much, extensive metal walkways have been constructed to keep people off the roots of these spectacularly massive trees.
I loop around through all the “exhibits” as more and more people start to appear. My early morning peacefulness comes to an end as I turn and hike to the Grove Of Titans trailhead on Howland Hill Road. I arrive at a parking lot and it takes me a while to fully understand that all these people are parking on Howland Hill Road and not some parking lot adjacent to the road.
I hike approximately a mile up the road to the Boy Scout Tree Trail or Tee-ne. There are far too many tourists zipping by in their cars at unsafe speeds. I arrive at the Boy Scout Tree Trail about 9:30 am and there are loads of people preparing for their hike. Some people are even parked and partially blocking Howland Hill Road. All I can do is shake my head. I pass a few families and then mostly have the trail to myself. I only pass a couple hikers who are on their return to Howland Hill Road.
The Boy Scout Tree Trail has definitely been trampled to death. It’s not an easy hike with the continuous labyrinth of roots and what might have once been flat trail is eroding away to quite a slant. I arrive at the little waterfall, Fern Falls, about 10:40 am and it is a peaceful space. There is one other person who is sitting and seems to be journaling. I sit enjoying a snack and the cadence of water for about 10 minutes until 2 younger children arrive several minutes before their mom.
The reverie of the spot has been broken so I head back to the trailhead. I haven’t hiked too far when I’m stopped by a couple who ask me if I’ve been camping out here. I assure them I’m just out for a training hike with all my gear. Luckily they stopped me with their question, otherwise I think I would have missed the little side trail to the Boy Scout Tree. I climb up and find a massive being – two fused redwoods reaching approximately 240 ft. into the sky. I don’t often pose in front of redwood trees but this one is special. The inspirational energy is palpable.
I arrive back at Howland Hill Road about 12:45 pm head downhill back towards Grove Of Titans. To keep things really interesting I hike Howland Hill Road all the way back to the Stout Memorial Grove. There’s still cars zipping around blind turns, and cars parked in the roadway and traffic coming to a standstill because two cars can’t manage to pass each other in a narrow spot. Despite all that craziness, there are some really nice views high above Mill Creek.
I arrive back at Stout Memorial Grove about 1:45 pm. The parking lot is now full and there is a constant train of people at the bathroom (next to which I parked). I take the time to change my clothes and eat some lunch before leaving my coveted parking spot. The two lane road leaving the Grove has been reduced to one lane because people are parked in the road. How do people in good conscience do that? How oblivious do you have to be?
I continue my drive on Howland Hill Road towards Crescent City. I dodge folks who can only drive down the middle of the road but also have moments to enjoy it.
Howland Hill Road ends on the southern end of Crescent City. I think about heading back to Crescent City but instead turn south on 101 towards home. The wind is ripping but it’s a spectacular sunny day along the coast. I stop at the DeMartin Beach and there are an abundant number of pelicans lined up at the edge of the surf. Maybe they figure all the fish will just be blown ashore? Petrol in Klamath and then home at a reasonable hour.
