Howland Hill Run

Monday morning, the feelings of fatigue were finally beginning to overpower those of adventure.  But I figured since we got up early specifically to run again in the Jedidiah Smith Redwood Park, I might as well go explore some more.  A light drizzle fell as we drove to the trail along Howland Hill Road.  Our plans suddenly changed when we came upon a closed gate on the road.  We had heard about a washout somewhere in the park a few weeks ago, but now we knew what exactly they were talking about.

We ran slightly downhill along Howland Hill Rd. not sure what we’d find or where we’d go from there.  Soon we found the reason for the road closure: a small hole in the surface of the roadway.  Upon closer inspection, we noticed the hole was over six feet deep and revealed a flowing stream of water at the bottom.  Ok, so maybe I didn’t want to drive my car on that after all.  We jumped on the soonest hiking trail we could find, the Mill Creek Horse Trail.

 

The fog and drizzle continued just enough to completely drench us without the cooling relief of a full-on rain.  “Just rain and get it over with already,” Matt shouted to the sky above.  The trees gave way to a lush green shrub area.  The thing I love about the fog in these forests is the light.  It makes all the green colors emphatically pop from the air.

 

Sad tree fall and go boom.

 

I’m always impressed at what an insulating quality these trees can have.  Only the sound of our crunching footfalls in the soil was heard.  Just a few miles away, the noisy highway 199 could have been a hundreds of miles away instead for how quiet it was.  

 

 Our return trip was nearly all uphill, a gentle yet unrelenting grade.  I joked with Matt how I didn’t like finishing our run on an incline and how I’d have to get over that quickly if we were really going to run in the Grand Canyon this fall.  This incline would be considered flat after climbing out of our country’s largest hole in the ground.  Gotta toughen me up, huh?

 

After a quick shower and hotel check-out, we weren’t ready to head home yet.  But in a town the size of Crescent City, there basically are two options: Wal-Mart and hiking.  We wandered the streets of town under a blanket of never-ending mist until we found the visitor’s center.  Just to get out of the drizzle for a few minutes, we went inside.  The man working at the desk asked the usual questions: What brought you to town, where did you stay, etc. 

We brought the materials we collected to a coffee shop and got comfortable on a couch in front of the window.  I can’t recall the last time I just sat and read something in a public place.  I used to love loitering at the library for hours at a time in Fairbanks and in the local coffee shops.  The library here is where all the drifters come to escape the elements and a warm nap.  As long as they have a book in their lap and don’t snore too loudly, the workers don’t make a fuss.  But that usually means all the tables are taken.  I really enjoyed our lazy afternoon.  It may have helped that we ordered yummy Snickers Lattes, split a sandwich, and then topped it off with a Ghiradelli brownie sundae.  It isn’t often that we sit and relax like that.