Finally, a hike & then more bad weather...
Trip Start
Apr 29, 2009
1
6
18
Trip End
May 29, 2009
Chico, California
Monday, May 4, 2009
Over breakfast, we tossed around possible new itinerary ideas. We could not head through the mountains like we thought might be possible. The way south was hard because we were stuck on a tough part of the coast and did not want to have to navigate our way through the 101 again. Geography and weather were conspiring against us.
After a bowl of Raisin Bran, we decided on a small hike in the Redwood State Park might clear the way. It might also shake off some of the hiking cobwebs and allow us a chance to stretch our legs after a few days of long drives. Not only that, a thick grove of Redwoods might block out the rain. And we were in luck, the Simpson Reed Grove proved the perfect place to tick off all of the requirements we had. The hike was only about 3.5 miles, it was sheltered and gave us some thinking time.
Wandering around in God's creation like this never gets old. The trees seemed to never end. The bark was spongy and when a redwood has fallen, it proves to be the most fertile place for new ferns and other trees to take root. Add to that all of the weird "burls" that hang off redwoods and the other cool plants, and you had a mysterious kind of fantasy world. We had fun. Just the three of us. Alone on the track. Zac is at his most content in this scenario. He never wants the hiking to end. Call it a walk and you are almost certain to hear him moan about it. Call it a hike and he could go all day. We will have to try it in an urban environment someday.
The hike just had us itching to do more. But we needed to escape this place and head somewhere more conducive to hiking. We drove on to Grants Pass in Oregon for lunch, a quick toy shop and a decision about where to next. The rain continued.
A taco or two and an hour or two later and the decision was made, we would still head south and try to escape this weather. It might be a long, long drive, but we needed to do it for our sanity. No one wants to be rained on for their holidays. So, away we went on the I-5.
The rain kept up. But we kept on, taking it cautiously but continuing to put the miles in on the journey south. We had lost the fog at the Oregon border and now it was just the rain we had to ditch.
Although the I-5 is the busiest truck route in these parts, it was not too busy with commercial traffic. Well, not as much as we expected. We did, however, see the aftermath of two separate truck roll overs - one in the northbound lanes and one on the southbound lanes. Both made us convinced the decision to give any rig a wide berth was a good judgment call.
The rain and the cold followed us down deep into California. The most comforting things were the distance we were putting between ourselves and the concentrated part of the rain depression and the fact that we were not attempting any mountain passes (there was snow and ice around up there somewhere).
Eventually, we ducked off the I-5, preferring a quieter route towards Chico, a moderately sized college town north east of Sacramento. It had been a long day, but we were safely out of the weather and away from the main commercial traffic.
We knew, however, that the next day was a big one. We needed our sleep, yet again.
Stay: Super 8, Chico, CA
Drive: 340 miles
