The Magnificents

Apparently our drive through the southern Oregon Coast was during a major rain/wind storm. We hunkered down in Fort Orford thinking we'd visit Brookings the next morning, but by then we were ready for sunnier, drier conditions. We ended up in Jedediah Smith State Park near Crescent City, California, not much drier, but certainly beautiful. We parked in a beautiful spot along the Smith River. It had risen over 10 feet and the camp host warned us to keep an eye on it. It did rain a little through the night, but the river actually had begun to recede. The next two days we spent hiking through the giant redwood forests. The old trees (redwood, sitka spruce, fir) in Stout Grove were amazing, many over 300 feet tall. Our hike down Damnation Trail in the Del Norte Redwoods was a physical challenge for all of us. We were so proud of Allison for keeping up.

The 4.5 mile round-trip trail takes you on a 1000 foot descent to the ocean. But you can't actually get to the beach unless you crawl down a rock outcropping, so we just rested on the bluff eating our packed lunch. The hike took maybe 2.5 hours and all the way back we kept repeating, "What in the damnation!!!" Now we knew. That was the hardest trail we've taken, but so worth the effort.

I was without any internet access for three days. There are no Sprint towers in the area and Jedediah Park is too remote, so I had to just go rustic. We played games at night in Abby under the light from the lantern. It was a nice break.