Hike Info:
Type: Hiking : Car
Trail head: Howland Hill Road
Trail: Grove of the Titans
Destination: Grove of the Titans
Distance: 3.17 miles
Start Time: 12:16
End Time: 2:11
Travel Time: 1:55 (1.66 mph)
Moving Time: 1:40 (1.90 mph)
Elevation Rise: 381'
Descent: 405‘
Maximum Elevation: 431'
Minimum Elevation: 235'
GPS Tracks
Description:  |
| Trail of the Titans |
I woke up at 7:00 and had my
breakfast. We are leaving David’s today to go up and meet Andrea
and Lawrence in Bandon.
Once Sherri got up, I got packed. Sherri did the same. This has been
a short visit with my brother, but I enjoy being with him whether it
is a short or longer visit.
About 9:40 we left David’s
with me driving-that will be true all of today. We went straight up
101 without incident. After crossing the Klamath, we get about $30 of
gas at Pem-Mey
a Yurok tribe gas station. The thought is that we have not gotten gas
since Elk Grove and I do not want to run out when we go to our next
stop. As it turned out, that would not have happened. Still I would
rather have that extra insurance.
Both David and Andrea had told
us about a place called the Grove
of the Titans.
It is part of Jedediah
Smith State Park.
To get to it, we cut off before Crescent City and eventually end up
on a dirt road called Howland Hill Road. This is mostly a dirt road.
After the initial half of a mile of climbing, we start being
gobsmacked with redwoods surrounding us. There is some sort of run
going on today as there is a sign saying watch for runners on the
road.
 |
| Forest and Ferns |
I had seen that there was
another trail called the Boy
Scout Tree Trail.
It looks like it is a 5+ mile trail. I also saw that until the end of
May only a mile of it is open. There are a few cars parked there.
Andrea noted that she and Lawrence did hike it several years ago and
it was an OK walk.
We went on. About a half of a
mile later we find lots of cars parked. This must be it. We found a
slot to park the Highlander in and get out and start walking. The
trail is only about a mile or so with lots of boardwalk.* We decided
not to put on our boots and just hike in our tennis shoes. This was
not a mistake.
A docent is at the entrance
and she gives us an overview. Apparently not only is this the trail
for the Titans, but also goes along Mill
Creek.
As popular as it is, I was expecting a nice little gentle trail.
While not steep, it did rise up pretty good. But the trail was kind;
it was not challenging, just more than we were expecting. There was a
bit of lushness to the walk. Not only redwoods provide overhead, but
there are also lots of ferns and greenery. About mid-trail, the trail
starts to descend. We come to the bottom and there is a downed
redwood which you walk single file by. Beautiful. All along, we go
over a wire grate boardwalk when it passes over sensitive areas. Now
that we are on the bottom, the trail is completely boardwalked.
 |
| Mill Creek |
We then reach the Grove of the
Titans to find a crowd of people. The Titans are awesome even with
the lack of solitude.. The docent said that the tallest is over 300’
tall and 1500-2000 years old. While the height is impressive, the age
is a youngster next to some of the Gigantia we are used to. We hang
around there for a while and the groups disappear. The true
magnificence of the Grove appears when we are alone. There is a peace
which seems to descend on the Grove when us humans disappear from the
area. We just stand there, enjoying the light and silence. After
about ten minutes others come along and we leave.
When we leave, we go a short
way along the Mill Creek Trail until we come to the actual creek. We
decided we did not want to turn this two mile round trip into a six
mile journey. So we head back. Along the way, we pass several school
age groups led by Titaneers-trail docents. As we pass one group,
Ferne-a docent-asks what did we like about the time. Of course the
trees and plant life were favorites. I say the trail is what I really
appreciated, along with the redwoods. She was really struck that
someone noticed the trail. She said that it was created four years
ago, mostly with volunteer help. People would walk in the grates and
equipment. I am very much impressed by the amount of work this
entailed.
 |
| Sherri at the end of the Trail |
We made it back to the car
around 2:10 and continued down Howland Hill Road until we hit Highway
199.There we turned west and shortly hit Highway 197. This leads us
back to 101 shortly before the Oregon border. Sherri is able to get
some sleep while I drive. It really seems longer than the 90 miles
from the border to Bandon. But there are a lot of curves and turns to
navigate. It is a pleasurable drive. Since we did not have lunch,
Sherri and I munch on almonds and Catalina Crunch like we did
yesterday.
We get to Bandon and our, or
should I say Lawrence and Andrea’s, BnB about 5:00pm. Once we
figured out which building, we quickly got in and got most of our
stuff unloaded. Lawrence and Andrea come up about 5:30 and we unload
them as well as it was starting to rain. I for one am pretty tired
and I vegetate for a good hour. We have my homemade lasagna for
dinner. Then talk until 9:00 when we go to bed.
Background
*Trail of the Titans. In
reality, the trail is a little over a mile and a half
 |
| Shadow and Mosses |
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| Unnamed creek behind the Titan Grove |
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| Titans |
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| Moss |
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| Burl making a face |
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| Sherri on the Trail of the Titans |
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| Trail in the Grove of the Titans |
Flowers and Plants
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| Trillium |
