04/08/03:
Got an early start and headed 60 miles from Vaccaville through Oakland, across the Oakland Bay Bridge, through San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge. I had forgotten how much fun it was to sit for a couple hours in rush hour traffic. I wasn't overly impressed by the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe you have to see it at sunset. Following US-101 through San Francisco wasn't a great deal of fun either. Then I passed signs for Fishermen's Wharf and only got a glimpse of Alcatraz Island.
I ended up at Muir Woods National Monument out past Sausalito. This is a couple of miles of Redwood trees just outside of San Francisco so it gets a lot of traffic. Redwoods grow to 360 feet tall and 20 feet around and are a part of the Sequoia tree family. How does one stretch a 4.6 mile hike into one 6-8 miles long? Don't pay attention to trail signs and then wander around for an hour or so wondering why nothing looks familiar. That's what I did while Hiking Ocean View Trail.
The main part of the park is a board walk through a redwood forest of large knarly redwoods.
Then I got back on CA-1 and found myself in the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. All I saw there was Stinson Beach and a bunch of signs saying no camping except in designated areas so I kept going.
Next was Point Reyes National Seashore. I hit this after following CA-1 nowhere near the Seashore. A couple of backcountry campgrounds but nothing for drive ins. Lots of trails but they don't do me any good if I don't have a place to camp. So, on I went.
Eventually CA-1 swings back to the coast. Saw a bunch more elephant seals and pups and lots more rugged coast line. The cliffs are between 50-800 feet. There's lots more access to the coast but still nothing you can drive down to and launch a boat from. Everything is walk down which is great for the surfers but not for poor old men with heavy kayaks. Nothing but expensive (for me) state campgrounds and turnouts so I spent the night at Ukiah.
04/10/03:
Yesterday was for laundry, etc. and a drive back down to Rohnet Park so I could do the Shoreline Highway again.
I started at Bodega Bay this time and just worked my way north. I decided I would not be hurried and took my time stopping off at each turnoff and each marked beach. If there was a trail leading down to the beach I went down. Got lots of good pictures of wave action against the many, many rocks.
On the way to Goat Rock I thought I saw some seals bobbing around in the waves. When I got there I saw several surfers instead. As I watched them for a while I saw a couple of other heads bobbing around near by. Sure enough, there were a couple of what were probably harbor seals, not the least concerned with the surfers.
Fog had moved in last night and it was a pretty dreary day with visibility not all that great. I stopped at Fort Ross Reef to camp about 2:30pm and the sun began coming out after a short shower. At least it will be a little warmer to bathe.
04/11/03:
Kinda dreary again today. I think its supposed to get worse and rain on Saturday. North of State Rhododendron Preserve I took a short hike to the coast. Mid-way I met up with a large cat, the size of a mid-size dog, maybe 2 feet at the shoulders and 2.5 feet long. Bob cat, lynx, someone's exotic house pet? Got a couple of pictures of it and it doesn't quite look like my idea of a bob cat or lynx.
At the very next turnout I stopped and hiked to the coast again. This time I startled 4 deer who bounded off. A little farther on I saw movement but it was gone before I got a good look at it. It had been up on a 4 foot pile of rock and I saw it slinking off of them. It seemed to be a rusty brownish color and I had the impression of haunches. If it wasn't for the color I'd have thought it might have been a mountain lion.
Spent several hours just wandering around on the bluffs overlooking coves and jutting rocks, watching the wave action. Then the wind picked up and it got colder. It soon turned from dreary to unpleasant and I found a place to spend the night.
04/12/03:
Heavy rains from 2am to 5am. Started again about 8am and continued through the day, sometimes heavy, sometimes lighter. Found Navarro Beach, 10-12 miles south of Mendocino for camping and a good possible put in. It was high tide when I first saw it. Will have to check it out tomorrow at low tide, or there abouts.
Wandered around during one of the lulls in the rain. Beach is covered with logs, branches, roots and other driftwood, some of the logs are huge. A steep beach and many rock formations causes some big wave action. Quite a few harbor seals bounced around in the surf. Some of the pups tried to come up a fast moving channel to a calmer bay. Some made it, some just gave up and let the current take them back out to the surf.
A ranger confirmed I had seen both a bob cat and a cougar yesterday. Cougars apparently can be several different shades of brown, including a rusty color.
04/13/03:
Heavy rains and wind continued throughout the night. Greeted this morning by a large, beautiful rainbow out beyond the pounding surf. Wandered around under cloudy skies and found 30 harbor seals resting on a little sand bar. I could see another 10-15 in the water so there were probably many more.
It looked like things were clearing up so I took a few more pictures with partially blue skies and headed towards Mendocino. This is an artsy, fartsy community with cutesy little cafes, etc. I found a very nice trail along interesting bluffs. Several caves and several water arches.
A mile or so into the walk the rains came down again. My new lightweight jacket kept my torso and camera dry and my hiking boots kept my feet dry. No hope for my legs though since I was wearing jeans and I was soon soaked. Went back to Navarro Beach... as good a place as any for waiting out the rain.
04/14/03:
Had some more rain last night but a pretty full moon was out by 4am followed by the sun when I got up. 15mph wind still blowing and it was in the low 40's at least. Went and checked out the seals and got a couple of pictures without clouds and fog and then took off.
Did a couple of walks along the bluffs in and above Fort Brag. Temperature up in the 60's with the sun out. Found a place with the tide out and some nice ledges with tidal pools. Found one starfish, an orangish color, about 6 inches across. Lots of purple sea urchins in amongst beds of mussels. Many larger greenish critters with those little dangling tentacles too (sea anemones).
Camped at Westport Union Landing. Almost to the end of Shoreline Highway. CA-1 swings inland to US-101 a couple of miles up the road. Saw my first brown pelicans on the west coast.
04/15/03:
Did a lot of driving today I shouldn't have and didn't want to. CA-1 swings inland and 20 miles later ends at US-101 in Leggett. This is redwood country. Followed a sign for drive through tree. They wanted $3 so I turned around.
Saw a sign for Avenue of the Giants. That seemed pretty cool and it was. Rather than follow US-101 north, the alternative is to swing off onto the Avenue which passes through a few small communities and some giant redwood forests, most of them in Humboldt Redwood State Park. This is a 32 mile drive that is definitely worth taking.
I had been told about some 3000 foot cliffs right on the ocean somewhere south of Eureka so off I went. I got to Fernville OK but couldn't find Mattole Road. My Street Atlas CD helped me out there and I headed up into the mountains on a twisty turny road. 15 miles later it dipped down next to the ocean. Heavy rains had caused a couple of small mud slides and the maintenance folks were out cleaning up.
The road then went back up into the mountains. I had expected wilderness back here but it is all ranches and such with two little towns. The road is paved the entire way and I passed a lot of people (10) coming the other way. Anyway, I saw no camping opportunities and did not find any 3000 foot cliffs so I turned around at Petroli rather than continue the additional 15 miles to Honeydew.
Now I had to decided what to do about camping for the night. Use a turnout or do something else drastic. It was getting late and I elected to return all the way back to the Avenue of the Giants to a campground I had seen there.