Vacation 2009, Day Eight: Into the Woods

"I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."

--Joyce Kilmer, 1914

"A tree is a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"

--Ronald Reagan, 1966

Ordinarily I have to go with the Gipper on just about everything, but here, with reluctance, we have to part ways. You see, Dutch was forgetting the Cheerleader Effect, or in this context, not seeing the forest for the trees. The Cheerleader Effect, as explained by Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, is "when a group of women seems hot, but only as a group. Just like with cheerleaders. They seem hot, but take each one of them individually….sled dogs!" Yes, if you look at tree after tree after tree, eventually they tend to blur. But put thousands of acres of the tallest trees in the world together in one place, throw in a dizzying variety of ferns, wildflowers, and other plants all thriving in balance, you have something far beyond the aesthetics of any particular tree. In short, the Cheerleader Effect for Trees.

Such is the case with Redwoods National Park, one of the last remaining old growth redwood forests. A national and world treasure on the Northern California coast.

But first I had to get there from Redding, CA, which is somewhat less than a national and world treasure. Redding is more of a treasure on the drag racing and cage fighting circuits. Its craptacularity stands in stark contrast with the wonders I saw today.

California State Highway 299 goes from Redding to the Humboldt County Coast, through about four different areas. Highway 299 itself was an unexpected gem, one of the best drives I've ever taken anywhere. It first heads through the Whiskeytown-Shasta National Recreation Area, west of Redding. This includes Whiskeytown and Trinity Lakes, as well as Shasta State Park, a collection of preserved 1800s California gold rush buildings. After the Lake, the road quickly climbs in elevation to around 3,000 feet, at which point the temperature drops about 10 degrees and the evergreen, fir, and pine forests reappear. The road hugs the mountains, resulting in tighter and more hairpin turns than even the Pacific Coast Highway (where I'll be driving in almost a week). It eventually spills into Douglas City and later the charming little town of Weaverville. The latter is a small, well-preserved town with a historic downtown including several B&Bs and antique shops. Unfortunately, on this day, the historic mill was on fire. As I drove past, it looked like half the town had turned out to watch the fire department battle the blaze, with helicopters and all. Past Weaverville, the rolling hills eventually give way back to steep forested slopes. The highway joins the Trinity River at Helena, and follows it for many miles. A photo is shown above. The river and surrounding canyons are incredibly beautiful. Several rafting outfitters were leading groups down the river, enjoying the trip over the numerous rapids along the way. The road runs fairly gently downhill until Willow Creek, after which it takes a steep climb to 2700 feet. Beyond that point, it turns quite brisk, with the temperature dropping around 15 degrees as one heads back down the other side of the crest. Fog and clouds begin to roll in, and we're finally inside the California coastal weather zone I've come to know so well. By the time the highway reaches US 101 at Arcata, its cold, clammy, and gray. But on the whole, 299 is one of the most enjoyable drives anywhere. It was hard to make good time because I was stopping so often to take pictures.

Arcata is just an exit. Actually, its similar to that mill town in Officer and a Gentleman where Debra Winger and her blonde tramp friend that tried to trap David Keith into marrying her lived. You know, the kind of industrial town where every kid grows up waiting for the day they can leave. (Known in the Central time zone as Bastrop, LA). You can see the smoke plumes pouring out of the Arcata mill for miles away. And the Raiders bumper stickers, of course. And an impressive collection of vagrants, hitchhikers, and other unfortunates. Austin has its share of panhandlers, but I've never seen so many vagrants, and hitchhikers, as in Arcata, and the roads leading into and out of it.

The 101 takes you to Redwoods National Park, and the Requa Inn where I'm staying. Its not a superhighway, but it is a main artery cutting along the coast. It leads north past some beach access properties, then into the park itself. Redwoods National Park, and three sister state parks also containing redwoods, has a long and politically complicated history. It resulted from some tortured compromises between the federal and state government, environmentalists, and the lumber industry. While old growth redwoods originally covered over two million acres, the Park only covers 40,000 acres of that old growth forest. More redwood fun facts tomorrow. I made it to the Inn around 4:00, having left Anderson around 10:30. The Inn was originally built in 1914, and has some 20 or so rooms. The innkeeper is very knowledgeable about the area and suggested some good hikes.

After getting settled in, I headed back to the scenic road running through one of the state redwoods parks with a lot of trails. Although it was starting to get a little dark and cloudy, I set out for a two hour hike along one of the trails. As I'll repeat tomorrow, words really fail when it comes to describing the incredible beauty inside the redwood forest. There's a magnificent stillness-only the birds chirping or creeks running pierce the silence. Mountain bikes and pets aren't allowed on the trails, and there's no hikers on the trails themselves. The trees themselves are like skyscrapers, the tallest trees in the world. Ferns and other similar plants grow abundantly at the base of the trees and surrounding areas. Quite a number of the redwoods have fallen and crashed into other living redwoods, creating spectacular destruction scenes, but just as fantastic is that in most cases, newer redwoods and other plants commonly grow out of the roots of the dead redwoods. I'll post pictures of this tomorrow. Redwoods can grow in the ground, and out of the remains of dead trees. The trails are all well defined and soft, owing to the collection of leaves and redwood dust that have created a fine silt-like dirt. Trees often have crashed along the trail, in some cases requiring hikers to duck under suspended logs. In the late afternoon, with darkness and clouds slowly creeping in, I noticed that the whole scene was unbelievably peaceful, with no traffic, planes, or voices. The enormity and abundance of the trees suggests a sort of natural cathedral.

After a thoroughly forgettable meal in the thoroughly forgettable Crescent City, CA, where I watched about the last four minutes of the USC-Ohio State game, I drove back to the Inn and settled in for the night.

Next-through the redwoods to the beach.