Day 8 – Brookings, OR to Humboldt Dry Lagoon County Campground, CA (83 miles / 421 total)

What a day. I didn’t mean to go as far as I did but due to closed campgrounds and bad map reading the day would not end. More on that later.

Day 8 was a day of headwind and mountain climbing. I climbed approximately 2800 ft and had head wind most of the way. My legs were not fast by any measure but they were able to maintain endurance. I left at 7:05AM as soon as I thought it was finished raining and got into the campground 12 hours later.

Riding into California was awesome. For some reason being in my home stay adds some level of comfort. I rode through the agriculture fruit station but they didn’t seem to worried about contraband fruit.

Then came the Redwood Forest. It is truly amazing. Reminds of the Woody Guthrie song, This Land is Your Land (lyrics below). He hated songs that were downer songs or that put down a class of people.

Passing through the huge trees was amazing. For a time I was off the 101 going through a state park that had hardly any cars. It was amazing to me to see these tall, living trees blocking the sky except for random glimpses of sunlight.

Between Crescent City and Arcata (not yet there) there is little to nothing by way of services. There are random motels and places to eat but you are on your own for the most part.

Number of people I saw riding their bike while smoking a joint in Humboldt County: one.

So I was going to stay in Orick, then I decided I still had some juice in me so I was going to stay at camp ground about 10 miles down. Well…. it turns out it was closed and the next one was about 1o miles away. Brutal.

The good news was that the campground was awesome. Great spots and spectacular views. My neighbor, Bob from Napa,  walked up as soon as I rolled in and asked the usual questions but I could tell he was drunk. Anyway he left and came back a little bit latter with his girl friend, Diane, and a huge bottle of Jack Daniels. He offered me some and I took a slurp but declined anything further as I was having a hard enough time setting up my tent and dinner.

Then Bob asks me if I’ve heard about the bears? I hadn’t. Turns out there are bear warnings everywhere and that they are a real problem. I read one the warnings and it advises everyone to put all of their food in a locked car. Great, I have no car to lock. Raccoons are one thing but now a bear. Christine had asked me if there were going to be bears and I adamantly told her that beers do not make it down to the coast line – turns out they do.

So, as noted in the picture, I hung my food up even higher this time from a branch about 12 feet high. Yes, I know bears can climb trees but what else am I going to do? Actually, I also cleaned up my campsite and made it look boring compared with Bob and Diane’s – they passed out and left everything outside. Hopefully the bear will be full and possibly drunk after visiting their site.

Whatever the case there are tons of other animals that are fairly loud as I go to sleep. I hear a growl every so often and tell myself that some birds growl.

Total number of PowerBars on Day 8: 4

Total number of Snickers: 3

Number of Cokes: 3

We had a couple of winners yesterday, some familiar, some new:
Marjorie J. was the first to respond with “stopping cows”, the correct answer.
Dan B. from deep behind the Orange Curtain in Southern California also got the question right along with David K. or Tabasco, depending on how well you know him. Further, Roger the tax man also got the question right.

Trivia: Captain _____________ discovered the Humboldt Bay while hunting seals and seat otter in 1806.

Towns passed:
Harbor, OR (pop. 2,622)
Smith River, CA (pop. 2,500)
Crescent City, CA (pop. 8,034)
Klamath, CA (pop. 651)
Orick, CA (pop. 650)

sellers

This Land Is Your Land

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.