MMXV

Friday, July 15th, 2016 2:17 am

    I decided it would be fitting that my starting point for this blog would be to write about the trips I have taken over the last 14 months or so with my fiance Deena riding shotgun every mile. I will try to keep my stories as straight as possible and I’m sure I’ll forget plenty of the details but this last year I have been taking more trips than ever and they have played a huge part in me rediscovering a love for exploring that had all but disappeared for several years.

    As of last year, I hadn’t really done any exploring since 2004, but I was starting to get the itch. I was traveling for work, and I was always gone; on the road living out of a suitcase in a hotel room and working crazy hours. When I was home I was always packing and getting ready to leave again. I did finally get to take a vacation at work and the first thing we planned for that time off was a trip to the redwoods and the coast. Deena had never been to the coast and was very excited to see the ocean, and I was excited to be able to be the one to take her to that place that is so special to me.

    The first trip we took was on May 27th, 2015. We planned a trip up 101 to Leggett to see the drive-through redwood tree known as the Chandelier Tree. Then down highway 1 to Fort Bragg and the glass beach. The night before our trip, we were like a couple of kids waiting for Christmas morning. We’d spent the evening hours going to the store and picking up snacks and drinks for the road, filled the truck with gas and checked all fluids and tire pressure, and packed a bag with all the essentials we would need for the trip. Once we completed our preparations, we sat around drinking coffee and looking at Google maps and talking about our upcoming adventure and ended up staying up way too late for the night before a 400 mile road trip. When we left in the early morning, tired as we were, we were both happy to finally be on our way away from the chaos and noise that is the bay area.

    The drive to Legett from my home in Pittsburg, Ca is about a 3 ½ hour trek that takes me up through Vallejo and Sonoma and a quick jump through Petaluma to get to highway 101 north. Driving north on 101 through Sonoma county is always relaxing for me. It’s not the most scenic stretch of highway, nor is it the most interesting, but to me it signifies the beginning of what I know will be an amazing journey. Once you put Santa Rosa in the rearview, traffic begins to die off rather noticeably with every small town you pass and by the time you pass Healdsburg, traffic is usually a fading memory and stress begins to melt away into relaxation. Once in Leggett we engaged in the proper tourist activities. We drove our truck through the Chandelier tree, explored the redwoods and bought souvenirs in the gift shop. We had originally planned to find a spot to hike before heading to the coast but it was getting pretty hot outside and we were both ready for more food than the Power Bars and chips we had packed in our backpack.

Driving our Mazda b2300 through the Chandelier Tree, Leggett, Ca

    

Giant Redwoods, Mendocino County, CA

We headed south on highway 1, winding our way up the mountain and seeing very few other vehicles besides an occasional sports carving carving up the twisties or the logging trucks flying down the hill seemingly unaware of the brake pedal. The desolation of that stretch of highway 1 was a shock to the senses for us both after the hectic lifestyle we had been maintaining. As highway 1 reaches the summit and begins to descend toward the ocean you can feel the temperature begin to drop immediately and the shoulders of the road are suddenly covered in moss and you start seeing bits of fog filtering its way through the tree-tops.

Highway 1 meets the coastline just under 30 miles north of Fort Bragg and as we came around a long, sweeping curve to the left, the blue waters of the Pacific ocean; dotted with the white-caps of waves breaking, came into view and instantly I was overwhelmed, again, with the majesty and beauty of the ocean paired with a healthy dose of nostalgia making me feel like I was 10 years old all over again. Deena’s eyes were locked on the waves and the first chance I had, we pulled off the highway onto a bluff overlooking a rocky beach to take in the view. We stood for several minutes, silent and just staring at the water. We continued on to Fort Bragg and headed to the Glass Beach after grabbing a quick bite to eat.

North Coast 

North Coast

North Coast

    I knew from previous experience that every time you see the Glass Beach after a long time, it never looks like the same place, but what I saw when I reached the end of Elm st. was rather disheartening. Years ago, when you would go to the the Glass Beach, parking was a strip of dirt along the side of Old Haul rd. and you had to walk in over the sand dunes to access the beach. That has all been replaced with a parking lot where the dunes used to exist and sidewalks where I used to hike cliff trails above the seaglass covered beach. Over time erosion has also shaped the beach and left only a few small spots where the seaglass covers the beach. Although I will still go to the Glass Beach from time to time, it no longer feels like the same place to me, and I feel like a lot of the history and natural beauty has been lost with the new development of the ‘park’. All of my personal gripes aside, we had a great time and Deena got to experience the power of the ocean and just how small it makes us all feel to look out over the endless horizon.

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, CA

Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, CA

    

Tide Pool at the Glass Beach

Sea glass at the Glass Beach

We didn’t stay long at the Glass Beach, instead we headed right up the street; to the end of Old Haul rd. to one of the parking areas for MacKerricher state park. We walked over the foot bridge and about a mile down the path until we were beyond all of the beach resorts that line that section of highway 1 and climbed down to what ended up being one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen in my life. The sand was smooth and the ocean was angry under a foggy sky that day and we hiked as far north on that beach as we could go; walking along the water line and running from the crashing waves. We stayed on that beach for hours hiking along the cliffs and exploring the rocks and just enjoying being there.

MacKerricher State Park

MacKerricher State Park

MacKerricher State Park

Calcium deposits on the rocks at MacKerricher State Park

To Be Continued…

Saturday, July 16th, 2016

    After we had tired ourselves out from hiking and then running in the waves, we decided it was time to begin the drive home. We were both exhausted and the lack of sleep the night before was beginning to set in. I took the easiest route home, taking highway 1 south to highway 128 to get back to 101. Highway 128 is a beautiful (especially on the western end), redwood lined, two-lane highway that snakes its way up and over the mountains, through the mountain town/village of Boonville and down to Cloverdale where it meets with 101. Highway 128 is one of the best routes to take to the coast in my opinion. The landscape and scenery vary greatly over the 50+ mile stretch between highways 1 and 101.

    The night we got back from that first trip, we began planning our next trip immediately and from that day forward we made a point to go to the beach as often as possible and find as many routes as possible. We have ventured farther off the beaten path than I ever even knew we could, and that has created some of the best memories as well as some of the most exciting drives.

    I won’t go as far into detail about all of the 2015 adventures but I will mention a few of my favorite roads and destinations.

Sunday, July 17th, 2016 12:18 am

Mountain View Rd. - Boonville to Manchester

Distance : 25 Miles

Est. Drive time : 50 Minutes

    Mountain View road I discovered while looking at Google Maps, and searching, as I always do for different routes to the coast. Winding its way from Boonville, 25 miles west to Manchester over a remote and rugged mountain range, Mountain View road goes from a well maintained two lane road, to a winding one lane road with sheer dropoffs. The views from the top section of Mountain View road are breathtaking and seem to go on forever. They are your reward for the white knuckled drive required to cross Mountain View road.

    Although I greatly enjoyed the trip over Mountain View road, I would not recommend this drive for nervous or inexperienced drivers.

Expansive view on Mountain View Road

View on Mountain View Road

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Chinese Gulch trail - Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve

    Chinese Gulch trail is one of the places my family found on a trip we took that had us lost in the mountains. Located about ½ mile east of highway 1 on Kruse Ranch road, Chinese Gulch trail is a dim, mossy trail up the side of a hill that looks down into a densely wooded gulch at the edge of Kruse Rhododendron State Reserve. It is an easy hike on a trail where you will rarely find other vehicles parked at the trailhead, and it is close enough to the ocean to still be nice and cool during hot summer days. Although it is still beautiful Chinese Gulch is now littered with the trunks of fallen trees, and lacks a bit of the mystique it always held in my mind.

    I’d recommend a hike at Chinese Gulch trail to anyone looking to get farther into the middle of nowhere and closer to nature at it’s finest. Keep an eye out for black bears if you do make the trip, Deena and I nearly walked up right behind one last time we were there.

Moss covering all the foliage at the beginning of Chinese Gulch trail

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Stump Beach - Sonoma County

    I found Stump Beach by accident looking for somewhere to stop on the way back from Fort Bragg to watch the sunset. Stump beach is rather small and is located down a short path from a large parking area. Located at the end of a long, narrow cove and surrounded by jagged cliffs, there is a very strong rip current at Stump Beach. At high tide, 2 - 4 foot (by my estimation) waves curl under and form a perfect tunnel before slamming down on the beach. Created by those powerful waves are several small rock caves that can be explored at low tide. The surging tides are the highlight of Stump Beach in my mind and are the reason I make a point to stop there as often as possible.

    Not an isolated location, or off the beaten path by any stretch of the imagination, I still felt like Stump Beach was worth a mention because it is different than most other beaches along highway 1 and it’s beautiful, especially at high tide. I wouldn’t recommend playing in the water at this beach, but I would recommend planning this beach as a first stop on your way up highway 1, or as a last stop on the way home.

Stump Beach, Sonoma County, CA

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    2015 was a fun year of getting to rediscover my love for the north coast of California, and remembering to take time on the journey; in fact, the journey is now the main motivation. Writing this blog is really just an excuse to slow down and enjoy the scenery, stop in more sleepy little mountain towns, and expand my travels to areas beyond the coast. In closing, as I try to narrow down in my mind, the direction I want to go with this blog, the only thing I can say for sure is that I feel privileged to have seen just a fraction of the beauty the state of California has to offer and I want to share that and maybe inspire someone else to take the trip they keep talking about.

 

My name is Tim Drake.

This is my backroads blog.

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