Eureka -> Eugene (aka Eugene Levy without the Levy).

We left Eureka around 8AM and as the Rodeway Inn’s breafast didn’t look too appetizing, we went on the hunt for some real food.  Kelvin found a place on his GPS called Los Bagels…”that’s perfect for you, Charles!”.  My two cultural heritages join forces for one delicious breakfast? I sure hoped so.  So we drove the mile down to it aaaaaaaannd…it was still under contruction.  That GPS sure is up to date.  Okay, we weren’t ready to let it go that easily.  The GPS found us another Los Bagles a few miles up the road in Arcata.  We get there and, well, it was closed.  Until January 2.  Oy vey! We found a grocery co-op and that saved the morning.  Some tasty muffins and orange juice and coffee later, we got back on the 101 North.

There were two main attractions on the road yesterday before hitting Eugene; Gold Bluff Beach and the Paul Bunyan stop.  After only about 45 minutes we arrived to the Gold Bluffs Beach area.  Our first quick stop took us to a trailhead.  We saw on the map it was a good five mile hike to the beach, but we ventured in just a bit to explore . The surrounding environment was a second-growth forest with pockets of old-growth.  It seemed like a rain forest; ferns, towering trees, wet ground.  We got a few cool pics and then headed to the road that would take us closer to the beach.  The eight dollar self-registration was paid and we traversed down the bumpy dirt road to the parking lot.

The beach was within sight so we headed straight to it when we came upon a stream separating us from the sand.  The recent rains had left the area flooded in parts and damp all around.  I suppose it wasn’t a stream so much as a dividing line of marsh that stretched as far as we could seee in either direction.  As little as three inches of water kept three men from the sand path to the beach that was so tantalizingly close.  Okay, so we decided to explore the nearby trail.  Maybe that would lead to the beach.

We walked down the trail to some water and hiked upstream until there was no longer a “dry” path forward.  There was another trail just behind us so we backtracked to that and found this one taking us along the ridge of the gully, upstream.  Here’s where it got interesting . The path was very muddy and left us watching each step carefully.  At this point I was glad I made the purchase of some rugged hiking shoes.  Thanks North Face Hedgehog GTX’s for keeping my feet dry and traction secure. What a plug that was. We came to what seemed like the end of this trail (if what we ended up on really was the trail) and it led down the slope to the stream below.  This part was steep and the mud slick, so the plant roots and branches around came in handy here.  I went first down the slope and with strategic handling of the plants around was able to get down safely albeit a bit dirtier around the shoes/ankles.

With the three of us at the bottom of the gully we walked around a bit, took some pictures and then headed in the return direction.  I knew it’d get to a point where the stream blocked access to the original trail but still pushed forward.  Maybe there would be a new way to cross the water or some other dry route.  We happened upon a fallen tree that led from the stream to the top of the ride nearby.  It rested at about a 45 degree angle, had branch stubs poking up randomly along the length of the  trunk and was pretty slick.  We joked earlier about taking this trunk down, but now that we were at the the bottom looking for a way out that alternative seemed crazy enough it just might work.  I jumped right on board and started climbing.  The first part wasn’t so bad, thanks to the numerous branches to hold on for stability.  As I ascended things got a bit trickier with fewer branches.  Near the top I had to take something of  a “leap of faith” and made it to the top.  Once I made it to the top of the ridge there and looked down the tree to the other guys I thought “wow, what the heck did I just do”.  If I ha fallen….oh boy, bad news.  But hey, it was a thrill and I’m glad I made the climb.

The other guys found a way to get back to the trail trail over the water and we met up to continue down the coastal trail.  We figured it wouldn’t be long before the path turns left and dumps us off at the beach.  After 30-40 minutes of muddiness, near falls, and nothing but trees on either side we were considering turning back. I ran ahead a bit to see if I could see anything promising and ran into a man hiking down the trail in our direction.  I asked if the trail leads to the beach and he said no, but that things dry up ahead and we could just forge our own path through the grass to the beach . I walked with him back to the guys to let them know.  He repeated his account of the trail ahead, adding “if it gets mucky, just stop.”  Thanks friendly photographer hiker.  So we pressed on.

We  made it out of the grove and began trampling through the knee high marshy grass to the beach.  We had to watch our steps to avoid getting wet but finally made it.  The beach.  What a sight it was…a desolate stretch of sand and surf, with nothing but the coastal foothills in the distance . Not one other person could be seen or heard . Unfortunately, the same held true for Elk.  Some prior reserach on the internet told of many Elk sightings in this area, but that wasn’t the case this day.  Oh well.  After getting some photos we hiked back toward the truck along the beach.  We decided to hike back that route instead of braving the muddy trail we had braved on the way out.  Once we got in line with the parking lot the same problem faced as before…water between the beach and the lot.

We roved all around searching for a dry passage to no avail.  The idea popped up to carry a log  to the narrowest straight to use as a bridge.  It was a nice thought, but the four foot log wasn’t sufficient.  After 20 or so minutes we finally found a series of planks, logs that combined with some tricky jumping and hopping that got us where we needed.  Anthony understandably wasn’t digging his cold, wet shoes so the opportunity to sit down at least was welcome.

Next up? Giant Paul Bunyan!  Just a half hour down the road we made a quick stop for some photo-ops with a giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox setup.  Kelvin had been there year before with his parents.  We got the shots and hit the road. We ate at the Good Harvest cafe in Crescent City and hit the 199 around sunset.  Another dark, windy road but not quite as intense as the previous night.  That led us to the 5 and about two hours later we made it to Eugene.

The restaurant adjacent to the hotel was inexplicably closed before it’s posted closing time, so the search was on for some grub.  Just down the street we found Muchas Gracias mexican food, and while it was “meh” at best, it was a meal .

It’s now Thursday morning and it’s almost checkout time at the Holiday Inn Express (nice hotel, btw).  We’re only a couple hours from Portland so thankfully we have some time to explore the city.

Fern Gully?

The Beach

Up and at them

Carefully crossing some water