Thursday, August, 19, 2010 - Drive Day and Change of Plans Day

Set the alarm for 7:00, not knowing what the day would bring, hoping for the best. It was a pretty good drive to the Redwoods, and since we weren't sure what would be greeting us there, we wanted to get an early start. Out by about 8:30, heading down some beautiful sections of 101. Arrived at the Redwoods Information Office in Crescent City, only to discover these were the same people we had spoken to on the phone who only knew how to say "NO" to everything. I don't know how they can say "Horses Welcome" and at the same time have no horse camps, no trailheads that a horse trailer can reach, essentially, no access, period. They claim to have an arrangement with the rodeo grounds at Orick where you can park, just not overnight, unless you want to pay $10/night per horse to put them in their corrals. Sorry, but we didn't come all the way to ride in the Redwoods only to camp in a parking lot along the road. It's a mystery to me, they have 14 campgrounds in the Redwoods, and not one of them allows horses! Anyway, despite their claims to the contrary, I found the office "help" to be very unhelpful, so much so we simply decided to skip the Redwoods entirely and head straight for our next stop, Mattole Beach outside Petrolia. It was another two hours, and we still had to stop to dump and to shop, so we hit the road quickly, knowing it was going to be a long and tiring day. We discovered a Texaco station with an RV dump behind it, and also stopped at a Safeway just off 101, then headed out. We left 101 at 211, which turned out to be the shortest way, but it was all 20 mph or less for almost 30 miles (no wonder Gracie had said 1:44 for a 54 mile trip!). Though the road was paved almost the entire way, the pavement was very rough, lots of potholes and missing chunks, and the twists and turns were harrowing in places, not to mention narrow, with tiny shoulders on occasion to allow traffic to get by. It was a long climb up the Rainbow Ridge, then we were meandering through grassy fields with lots of cattle and horses and few houses. After staying along the ridge, we were finally met with some spectacular views of the marine layer cover the Pacific. While we were under clear blue skies, the mist/fog layer was obviously just above the shoreline and stretch backed into the ocean as far as the eye could see. It was stunning! Eventually, we started descending, and the grade was so steep in some places, my brakes started that characteristic burning smell. I had to stop once to let them cool, then started using my trailer electric brakes much more often. Just before dropping down to the beach, there was a short section labeled 8% grade, but I guarantee it was steeper than that at the end. I felt like I was practically standing on end! At last we safely reach bottom (and would you believe, there was one point when we met a semi-size moving van coming the way? Thank goodness for those turnouts!), and followed the coastline, practically right on the beach. It was beautiful. We finally crossed back inland a bit to the tiny town called Petrolia, then followed Gracie's instructions to Lighthouse Road, which ended at the Mattole Beach Campground 5 miles later. The road was "paved" almost the entire way, with just a few patches of gravel repair, but lot of potholes and one section of really washboardy road just before the camp. The camp was right on the beach, except there was a large berm separating it from the tide-line, which provided excellent shelter from the strong ocean breeze. Two of the fourteen sites had highlines for stock, and were big enough for both our units, thank goodness. Despite the difficulties in getting here, there were at least five other campsites already taken, mostly with tents, but everyone was friendly, generous to the dogs and curious about the horses. It was obvious that no horses have been here for a while, the highline area was seriously overgrown with what I later learned were mustard plants. Our neighbor, a professor from UCLA, pointed out the water spigot, and we moved the RV up to fill up our tank. (I had confirmed, twice, that there was potable water here.) Afterward, having given the horses time to get the shore legs back, I set up the highlines for them. It was then I discovered another spigot at a cement water trough just behind our site! It was close enough that we could have filled our tank without moving, but it was so buried in undergrowth we didn't even see it. Anyway, we put a short hose on it (the trough was full of filthy water, so we weren't about to use that), making it a perfect way to fill our water tub without have to lift and carry. Yeah! This looks like a perfect spot to spend a week, maybe more! Despite the fact we didn't arrive till about 7:00, we were all settled in and walking down to the beach, drink in hand, to watch the sunset race down into the Pacific, peeking out from under the marine layer before sliding into the sea. Gorgeous! A long hard day, but with the perfect reward at the end, a place we can stay for a while! Hopefully I'll be able to find trail maps for the area (according to one website, this is the northern trailhead for the King Range, and has a seven mile loop to a nearby lighthouse as well), but I'll have to drive back up the road a bit to find a cell phone signal. Just out of reach, unfortunately! Enough signal for my phone to know what time it is, not enough to make or receive calls. Looks like a quiet weekend coming up!