Wednesday 5 September 2018

Although we fully intended to get an earlier start today, O and I do not arrive at the Prairie Creek visitor center until about 11:30. We are not on the trail until noon. Once again we wind our way through a forest of incredibly tall trees. With redwoods above and lush ferns below this place has an other worldly feel about it. It is five miles up and down ridges and around switchbacks to the Fern Canyon Loop. The forest is generally silent, except for the occasional gurgle of running water and small islands here and there of bird song. Although I can hear the birds, in the dense foliage I cannot see them. We pass occasional wooden signs dedicating groves to various individuals. We walk by benches, one dedicated to composer Ernest Bloch and his wife.

After five miles we arrive at Fern Canyon Loop. Fern Canyon was created millions of years ago when ocean levels dropped and a small stream carved the canyon to a depth of 50 to 80 feet. A variety of ferns line its walls. O and I descend the shorter side of the loop to sea level then follow footbridges back upstream over the rocky bed of the waterway. A waterfall down the side of the canyon is a mere moss-lined trickle at this time of year. 

By now it is 3:30 and O and I have almost five miles to go to return to the visitor center. We have not yet eaten our lunch. We hike back up the peaceful trail until we return to Ernest Bloch’s bench. Here we eat and enjoy the quiet. By 4 pm we are hiking once more. The afternoon is cool and gray as ocean fog has crept up the ridges to reach inland. By the time we return to the visitor center it is just after 6. O and I are quite tired. We have hiked 10 miles with 600 meters of elevation accumulation. Neither of us feels the need for supper since lunch was so late.

O drives us back to camp through dense fog. It is cool at Jed Smith State Park and already dark beneath the trees. We have a light snack and turn in for the night.