Dwagenheim

I managed to get up at 8am and gather my things till 9am. John was asleep. A couple hours ago, I was awake for a short time and he told me he wasn’t going out until 1pm today. I woke John up and he took me over to his old place where my gear was. I changed, loaded up my rig, and then we had one final game of hacky sack while the sun came up to invite me out for a ride. I said goodbye to John and started south out of Eureka. Five miles, fifteen miles, thirty miles, they went by quick through the dairy farming areas of Humboldt County. I stopped in Scotia a little after noon and had lunch and bought some dinner food. I spoke with a nice lady who lived in Alaska and noticed my flag. I enjoyed a good sandwich on a nice day. A few clouds were out but it was a light spread over blue skies. I took an alternative route off highway 101, The Avenue of the Giants, a small shoulder less road that winds through tall redwood groves. I was in awe of the giant trees and they made the next 20 miles breeze by. I passed through the small town of Pepperwood and Redcrest. The most they had was a few houses, gift shop and a small market but I’m sure they had interesting character. I continued through the tall trees and stopped at the site called Founders Grove. I met an interesting couple who were pretty happy to chat. The man was from Israel and they were looking for Founders Tree, as I was. I found it back near a parking are that I’d passed. I took some photos of the big tree and took a short walk on a trail to find the Dyreville Giant, a very large redwood that had fallen 11 years ago when another tree crashed into it on its way down. I tried to take some good photos of the massive unearthed root structure but the forest was becoming too dark. There wasn’t enough natural light, even at 3pm. The Dyerville Giant was said to be over 1600 years old, much older and larger then the tall redwoods around it. It was almost 370 ft tall when it stood. Today, I learned a bit more about this unique forest and how each plant and animal is so important to the whole ecosystem. This area has more organic plant biomass then a tropical rainforest. Coast Redwood forests are considered a rainforest. It receives an average of 65 inches of rain per year. Redwoods live long because they are fire and pest resistant, and have adapted well to the area they have thrived in for so long. I cycled past markers showing the line of a December 1964 flood. The marker was about 25 ft high off the ground! The main natural killer of redwoods is wind. They eventually get knocked down and provide an opening in the canopy for other redwoods to sprout up in. The fallen trees take hundreds of years to decay and become a host to many other plants and animals during the process. I cycled a bit further to a hiker-biker site just north of the Burlington Campground, right out side of Weott and pitched my tent just after 4pm. It turned out to be a great day of cycling, very mellow and very scenic. I smoked a little grass and rode to a small market in Weott to get some refreshments, postcards, and a couple bananas and then returned to my cozy campsite in the trees. I figured the last person was here 2 weeks ago. I washed off in the bathroom and then was met by Greg who was walking through, taking a break from work. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to see someone show up and was curious of his intentions. But I was open and quickly found he was a fan of cycling and a cyclist himself. We talked about my trip and he told me he had met a German guy named Tillman, who I just recently heard from online. Greg had to get back to work so we didn’t get to talk for long. He teaches special education at a nearby school. I fixed up dinner, pasta and tomatoes with fresh mushrooms, and then put my food in a storage locker to prevent any animals from getting at it. As it became dark I started hearing all sorts of noises coming from around the forest. It probably was a combination of large maple leaves falling to the ground as well as nocturnal animals waking up and moving about. I walked around in the darkness of the tall forest and spotted the moon shining at about half its size through the treetops. I entered my tent and wrote about the A+ day before falling asleep. (52 miles)

Peace

Dave

cyclezealot

Dwag'm. Question. Friends have cycled this area. Sounds fantanstic.. Repeatedly, I hear a complaint.. The roads through the Ave. of The Giant's area, has no bike shoulder and logging trucks and RV's are very threatening..?
have you found a route through this beautiful area, that you feel safe upon?

Dwagenheim

Pic: Road into the Redwoods

Dwagenheim

Pic: Looking up at the Founders Tree. 346 ft tall, 12.7 ft across, 40 ft in circumference. Wow!

Dwagenheim

Pic: Knobby Redwood tree

Dwagenheim

Pic: Another Knobby Redwood

Dwagenheim

Pic: Redwoods in all stages

Dwagenheim

Pic: Ivy grows on Redwood trees