2016 – Exploring the Golden State

Jon: Crossing the border from Nevada into California brought relief as we left behind some of the bad vibes from having our bikes stolen. The warm light on the mountains also raised spirits as the sun set.

After a night at the Vagabond Motel and working with insurance on our bikes, Amy and I made our way to a remote campground in Sequoia Nationial Park. We navigated a winding, rutted, narrow, mountain road that seemed implausible for a National Park destination. However, we managed to reach the campground at the very end of the road. It was a quiet place and only a few others shared the area with us. I imagine few dare venture up the road and many who start turn around along the way as we nearly did.

This was our first night in California bear country, so we followed precautions as well as possible. Food and all scented items were placed in a bear proof camp box. Being in the dense woods and seemingly far from civilization, the mind wanders and wonders what big creatures are lurking about. I don’t worry about bears much, but it’s best to play it safe. No bear or sasquatch sightings for us.

Over the next few days, we got into the main portion of the Park and neighboring Kings Canyon National Park. We stayed at a proper campground with paved roads leading in and a market across the street. Of course, we made our way to the key spots including General Sherman, the largest tree in the world by trunk volume. We also stopped to see the slightly smaller, but more picturesque, General Grant. These trees are massive – each closing in on 300’ high and trunk volumes in the neighborhood of 50,000 cubic feet. Other hikes amongst the giants and a drive through one rounded our time in the area.

Midpines was the next destination. Outward Bound, a former employer of mine, has a base camp there that runs wilderness courses in the Sierra Mountains. I enjoyed being back on an Outward Bound base, connecting with new friends while reminiscing about old ones. The great thing about the base camp location is that it’s fairly close to Yosemite National Park. Amy and I mulched trails in exchange for our two nights stay. With trail work done, it was time to check out the Yosemite Valley.

I have seen my share of mountains, rivers, and waterfalls, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so many put together so well in one place. Rivers swelled with rushing white water on the drive in. Massive waterfalls crashed into the valley from towering granite faces after entering. If that wasn’t enough, the flowers were in bloom, wildlife was abundant, and we spotted a portaledge (portable ledge/sleeping place for climbers) up high on the massive face of El Capitan.

We stopped at Bridalveil Fall for a quick, and wet, hike before walking the valley and later taking a longer walk around Yosemite Falls. Both falls were impressive, but Yosemite had the advantage of not soaking us on the approach – a bonus when carrying a camera. With information gathered for day two, a few more falls, and some wildlife viewing, it was time to head back to base for the night.

The second day in Yosemite was even better than the first for views and hikes. I drove G2, our RAV4, up to Glacier Point for a bird’s eye view of the valley and surrounding peaks. Wow! Half Dome, the massive aptly named granite peak, was lit by morning light as its neighboring Nevada Falls raged. The overlook was magnificent, but nearby hiking beckoned. Amy and I took to the trails and climbed up to Sentinel Dome for more rewarding vistas and some fun rock hopping at the top. What an inspiring landscape and way to conclude our visit. I would love to return and do some more exploring – maybe even get some rock climbing in.

After a night in the Pine Campground in the National Forest, we drove through some charming towns before ending up at Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake for a couple days. Amy loves lakes, so this was a good place to unwind and work on logistics. Amy plotted a good course north that would take us into some wine country and to the redwoods.

A day on the road brought us to a winery in the town of Ukiah where we learned of other tasting opportunities in the Anderson Valley further north. This was on our route and we could sample wine, find a place to camp, and see redwoods – perfect. We found our way to the Anderson Valley Brewery before stopping at what would become one of our favorite wineries, Husch. The tasting was free, which is always nice, but the real bonus was the charm of the estate. Flowers wrapped around the tasting room and the staff was friendly.

A short and scenic drive out of the valley brought us through redwood forests and out to the coast. We set up camp at Van Damme State Park and visited the small town of Mendocino. Amy and I walked the flower covered bluffs as waves crashed through arches in the rocks below. We spent some time the following day doing more wine tastings and visiting a lighthouse before driving to Fort Bragg.

Fort Bragg is also on the coast and has a sea glass beach full of colorful, rounded, glass that’s been tumbled into a pebble and sand beach. We stayed a couple days, spent time chatting up locals, scouting bikes that might make suitable replacements, walking the sea glass beach, and checking out the landscaping at the Surf Motel and Gardens where we spent a night. A local woman was good enough to buy us a round. Scenery is great, but the kindness of others is always a highlight.

After leaving town, we found Pacific Star Winery clinging to the ocean bluffs. We stopped for a tasting, but stayed for the overlooks. Walking the grounds was relaxing and we had them to ourselves. It pays to visit places during the weekdays. The hostess there told us she’d seen whales every day she worked in May. Alas, none for us.

Our final days in California were spent amongst the redwoods. We camped at Humboldt Redwoods State Park where we hiked to Giant Tree, one of the biggest redwoods, towering over 360’ high. Though related, redwoods aren’t as wide as the sequoias. This costs them the title for largest tree, but they tend to be taller. They also have more of the classic pine tree shape versus sequoia with odd limbs. Either way, both types are massive and worth our time. More redwoods lined the Avenue of the Giants on the drive north. We stopped for a final look at another grove in the Redwoods National Park before finally bidding ado these massive trees.

Our final night in California was spent at the Big Lagoon County Campground near the ocean. Amy and I watched the sunset while searching for agates along the shore. Massive waves crashed into the beach as sea spray gently greeted us on our walk. This would be our final day near the coast, as we were about to head inland the next day. We just needed a grand finale. With perfect timing, Amy saw whale spouts just off the beach. We watched the whales breach and spout until they were out of sight and then took in our last California sunset.

(Dates: May 12-May 25, 2016)