Various photos from the Northern California coast including the Ossagon/Coastal Trail loop in Redwoods Natl Park

Click on the pics for larger, higher resolution versions (180k to 300k) stored at mac.com

More than half the fun is in getting there. Crossing Usal Creek on the Lost Coast.

I took this at the top of a particularly unremarkable ride consisting of steep Jeep trails and old vertical firebreaks in the King Range Natl Conservation Area. This was my second day out so I just had to ride but I wouldn't do this one again. IIRC I was on Saddle Mtn. If you click on this photo you'll get a larger photo without my ugly mug in the way of your possibly making out the coastal town of Shelter Cove down in the background (kind of obscured by the tree towards the middle).

This cool cabin was out on Punta Gorda near the lighthouse. It was occupied by a hermit when I hiked by. This and another cabin must have been the lighthousekeeper's home while the lighthouse was still in service. This was my one good hike of the trip as I really wanted to see the lighthouse. Even if I had tried riding this one I probably would have carried my bike for 5 of the 6 miles since the trail mostly ran along the beach which consisted of coarse sand that never firmed up below the high tide line. Even walking this one was a grind due to the sand and the killer headwind heading back north.

The goal of the day, Punta Gorda Lighthouse, billed as the most remote lighthouse on the California coast but no longer in service.

Another shot of the lighthouse with the second cabin in the foreground.

Overlooking the mouth of the Mattole River near Petrolia. The campground down at the beach is the northern trailhead for the Lost Coast Trail and to Punta Gorda.

This Great Pyrenese Mountain Dog wanted to hitch a ride into Petrolia. He was so big he could look right in the window of the Cherokee without climbing up the side.

Ok, after a couple of unremarkable rides, one cool hike, and the discovery that my local dealer had sabotaged my transmission so it started spewing ATF 700 miles into my trip I figured I'd relax by the beach for a couple of days in Redwoods Natl Park and ride some legal Natl Park singletrack before I nursed my Jeep into Crescent City. I camped at Gold Bluff Beach which was a perfect starting point for the Ossagon/Coastal loop. After riding back out the Gold Bluff Rd 3.5 miles towards Hwy 101 you catch the Jogging Trail on your left that descends for about 3 miles to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It's pretty much 3 miles of the wide double- or triple-track pictured at left.

Unfortunately this loop includes a gradual 6 mile climb on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Pkwy but thankfully I was there mid-week avoiding all the land yachts. And, shit, when the scenery is this nice I sure don't mind a little road ride.

After a total of 12.5 miles you'll see the Ossagon Trailhead on your left. The top portion is buff Natl Park sanitized wide singletrack through big trees and ferns.

Most of the rest of the 1 3/4 mile Ossagon is a steep, rutty, rocky old logging trail down to the beach. This section was the one little climb on the way down and one of the more overgrown sections.

These elk were hanging out in about the middle of the 4 mile section of the Coastal Trail between Ossagon and the Gold Bluff Rd. This part of the Coastal trail is very flat, twisty, similar to the previous Ossagon picture, and really fun. After the Coastal trail you have a 1 mile ride on Gold Bluff Rd back to the campground. An 18.5 mile cruiser loop, 6 miles of pavement, 12.5 miles of dirt, and with less than 1000' of climbing.

And the sun has set on the first segment of my trip. Now it's time to deal with the Jeep. Little did I know just how long I would be stuck...