Have Jersey, Will Travel, by Chris

I took my husband Scott, on a well-deserved vacation to Northern California.  We wanted to go as far north as one day driving allowed.  Our landing destination was the Crescent City area, near the Smith River.  We were less than 30 miles from the Oregon border and surrounded by redwoods.  The area is rich in state parks and big trees, perfect for our plans to mountain bike and hike the week away.  Our cabin was situated on the Smith River and the hosts provided us with plenty of inspiration. The reading materials included bike routes in and around the Jedediah Smith State Park. 

In fact, the whole area seemed to be a biking paradise.  Highway 101, which runs through California up to Oregon and beyond, had a designated bike lane.  The bridges that crossed the Smith River had signs alerting cars of bikers using bridge; bikers had the right of way!  As we drove around the area, we saw at least a dozen touring bikers traveling through.  Bikers rode solo or in small groups, loaded down with panniers, some with rear wheel carts, for their gear.  It takes a special kind of dedication to ride a bike with 20 lbs or more of gear, up and down the terrain of the roads, to some unknown destination.  I’m sure they came from Oregon, which is a big biking state.

Our first (and only) big bike ride took place on Monday morning.  We drove to a clay-packed road that traveled the length of Jedediah Smith State Park.  We started at one end of Howland Hill Road, which was strategically planned, so that we could investigate our next ride path, scheduled for later in the week.  It was a great ride through the redwoods and while we shared the road with hikers and cars, we mostly had the road to ourselves.  We encountered some climbs and one series was a monster.  Riding a mountain bike up a series of hills was challenging and I was glad to have my stash of Sharkies with me.  At one point, I just had to stop and eat. Luckily, I had stopped in an area that was generally flat for a few yards, so that I could regain my momentum for another hill climb.  Finally, we were at the top and what goes up must go down!  We rode the decline past the park signs and almost into the town of Crescent City!

Our turnaround was staged at a corner, where wild, rambling blackberries were in full fruit.  Scott and I ate blackberries, nuts and apples, as we contemplated the inevitable hill climbs back into the park.  I joked with a man who was out running with his dog about the inclines, as he told me he ran up and down the hill every other day.  He told me that it was about a ¾ mile climb.  Back on the bikes, energized with all that fresh wild fruit, I rode up the first leg of the hills, rode up the second leg, gearing to keep myself going.  I rode with all my heart and I was feeling it!  I bailed on parts of the hill climb, opting to walk my bike for a while to the next flat area before attempting it again!  I rode most of the hills and I finally reached the top crest, riding to meet my husband, as he rested near a side road.  He rode the entire hill section and we swapped stores on the effort we shared. 

Back on the bikes, we rode the length of the Howland Hill Road, to our car.  We planned our next bike ride, which was a true mountain bike adventure, 10 miles into a remote area called Little Bald Hills trail. The State Park brochure had warnings about bears and sometimes mountain lions!  Our first bike ride on our vacation was a great ride and unfortunately it would be our only ride together.  The next day, my husband tweaked his back and felt that biking was out of the picture for him.  We would hike; walking was a better option, considering his recovering back.

I took my bike out on a couple of occasions, riding the roads near our cabin, riding into the town of Smith River and exploring where I could.  I wanted to ride the 10-mile remote trail alone, but after practical discussion, we agreed to stick to hiking.  One trail we visited was the Damnation Creek Trail in the Del Norte Redwoods State Park.  It was a 5 mile round trip which wound through some beautiful groves of redwoods, down to the Pacific Ocean.  I wore my biking jersey for this hike, knowing that the weather would be cool and moist, breaking into sun on occasions. Cotton would be too clammy and my jersey kept me very comfortable as we walked through the giant redwoods.