Back into the Wild

Leaving San Francisco we drove to Sacramento for what would be our last stop in civilization for the next week. We spent a relaxing evening with Tyler's Uncle David in Fair Oaks, a suburb of Sacramento, strolling along the American river after a wonderful meal at Sudwerks, a German style brewpub. While the original plan was to leave Sacramento and head through UC Davis en route to three breweries, Russian River, Anderson Valley, and Bear Republic, we were overwhelmed with the daunting task of sipping suds at three separate breweries, and then finding a place to camp for the night. Our solution was to nick Bear Republic from the map, and focus on two highlight breweries for the trip. For an account of these breweries see the previous post by Quaffer T.



As we pulled out of the Anderson Valley parking lot we drove towards a campground on recommendation from the barmaid. We found the campground, pulled in and then pulled out as we were confronted with a 35 dollar price tag for a single night. Up to this point, having traveled through some of the most famous natural sites in our country, the most we had ever paid for a campsite was 20 bucks, so the idea of dropping 35 bones on a soggy plot of dirt seemed a bit beyond acceptable. As we continued driving, stopping every 20 or so minutes to check on other overpriced campgrounds, we came to a very unfortunate conclusion; California, having failed their econ class, jacked up the prices of state campgrounds in an attempt to boost the economy. Well I can name two individuals that will not be helping that cause. Disgusted, we decided to drive all the way up to the Redwoods hoping that a National park would be cheaper then State parks. At two o’clock in the morning, dazed, sleepy and confounded we made a dreadful error, an error which would cost us, guess how much, 35 dollars. We pulled into an overpriced campground with the intention of sleeping in the car and leaving the site before anyone could try and charge us anything. Unfortunately we overslept and were charged 35 pieces of American parchment to spend a less than comfortable night stowed in Valeria the Valkyrie.

The morning was slightly overcast, but as we followed a gravel road along the coast in search of a free campsite the sun began to peer through the cloud cover. On a tip from our National Parks guide, we found a beautiful campsite nestled just above the quintessential coastal gravel road. The campground had 10 primitive sites divided by thick vegetation and high grasses. Our misfortune from the night before seemed to have turned as the occupants of the most desirable site left just after we arrived. The site was separated from all of the others, situated at the bottom of a small grassy trail, with great morning sunlight and a grove of Birch trees that provided the afternoon shade.



Just through the birches was the glimmering reminder of our proximity to the ocean, and as the sun passed the overhead position and began to fade lower and lower, its light danced over the rippling tide casting a wonderful light show of deep reds and pinks over our copse.

Our time in the Redwoods was relaxing, and with the comforts of our exquisite and more importantly free campsite to return to we spent most of our second day hiking a trail called Tall Trees. This hikes claim to fame is the exposed 5th tallest tree in the world, and the more elusive tallest tree in the world. Having recently spent time in the Sequoias we had great criteria on which to compare the two parks.



For me, while the robust mass of the sequoias is unfathomable, the lush biodiversity of the redwoods tilts the scale in their direction for the award of “best large tree park” (awards will be handed out at the end of the trip). Redwood National Park receives up to 100 inches of rainfall every year which lands them comfortably in the temperate rain forest category. Everywhere you look life thrives, from the trees the push the 400 foot mark to the endlessly connected patches of over-sized ferns. “Never has a deep breath gone quite so deep as one taken in a rain forest”. Alas the rain began to fall, and we finished the tall trees loop experiencing first hand why life lives.



Three days in the redwoods came to end with a vibrant sun setting along the deep waters of the Pacific. As the sun seeped just below the horizon the clouds above were illuminated and guided our path back to our campsite for one final schluff (sleep), aided by the majestically complex song of the Winter Wren