 Because of all the recent heavy rain, a lush picnic spot was as close as we could get to the beach and the Ossagon Rocks at the end of the Ossagon Trail. The Del Norte Triplicate/Richard Wiens Steep descents to remote beaches are a North Coast specialty. Redwoods give way to spruces, alders and other trappings of lower lands as the forest shade disappears into the glow of a vast clearing ahead. Damnation Creek, its trailhead just 13 miles south of Crescent City, is the definitive downhill trek, a 1,000-foot drop over a mile or so to well-earned solitude at the sea.
A little farther south, several routes access the final plunge to Hidden Beach. It’s easier to reach, and thus more likely to have other visitors, despite its name.
Laura and I had been hankering for another forest-to-ocean experience, and two Saturdays ago we decided to check out what Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park had to offer. As I’ve written a few times before, while this hiker’s paradise is in Humboldt County, it’s close enough to be claimed as part of Del Norte’s redwood empire.
Our timing could have been better, but hey, you can learn from our mistakes as well as from our triumphs along the trails.
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