The ride back to the coast from Santa Rosa on River Rd/116 was surprisingly awesome. Even more awesome was being back on the coast. Highway 1 wasn’t busy at all, especially compared to last Saturday’s holiday craze. Nothing but sweet sweet views the whole way.

Up this way there weren’t nearly as many beach towns and surfing communities. Much of the coast was private property with the occasional tiny hidden beach or coastal access spot. After a while the road started weaving inland through forests, the views turning to a different kind of awesome.

Around the town of Leggett highway 1 ends and turns into US 101, the Redwood Highway. This is also where I drove through a damn tree, cause why wouldn’t I for 3 bucks? Though the loose gravel road wasn’t very pleasant on the bike. No spills though, just um, thrills I guess?

Along the way on 101 there were signs for a scenic bypass called Avenue of the Giants. You’d be silly not to get off and take it, here’s where the trees start getting big and this road takes you right through the heart of a grove of massive redwoods. Very awesome and it doesn’t even tack on that much time.

Eventually I ended up at Crescent City CA, a town that had some cool vibes and constant bone chilling wind being right on the coast. Originally I thought a drive through would be enough, but after seeing the beastly trees around the Avenue of the Giants, I needed more. The next day I headed off to Jedidiah State Park for a quick hike before making my way to Oregon.

The time I spent in the park and on the hike was hands down the coolest experience thus far on the trip. This place was magical. You enter onto a road called Howling Hill road, not so friendly to bikes being packed gravel and no pavement. Worse was in many places it was both graded and pitched and wide enough for a single car to pass. If there was any time for a flat it would be in here. While I wasn’t hanging on for dear life and attempting to take the path of least shittyness, taking in the surroundings was mesmerizing. This place looked like nothing else, the combination of slight mist and sunlight piercing through the giants’ canopy just made it seem like I was in some place that couldn’t even be real.

3 miles in I found the trailhead for Boyscout Tree Trail. Being surrounded by these trees and the silence of the forest was dreamlike.

It was like I wandered off from my post at the shield generator on the forest moon of Endor and lost track of where I left the speeder bike. Oh wait, that’s because I was literally at the place where those scenes were filmed! The fanboy in me was giddy when I found this little gem on the Stout Memorial Grove path:

This place was too cool. 7 more miles on the gravel path from hell and I was back to the Redwood Highway, US 199 at this point, a cool drive all the way to Ashland, Oregon where I found my destination at The Sanctuary.

Here are the routes: