We are back from  3 days enjoying the sun, the ocean and great friends in one of the lovely house of Sea Ranch on the  Sonoma Coast.

We liked the design, landscape, and wandering deers a lot.

For memorial day weekend, we gathered a bunch of friends for a trip up North to Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. Alicia and I had been there 2 years ago (for Memorial Day Weekend as well) and we thought it would be great to share the experience with more people this time.

I love the Elk Prairie campground. It has some great campsites, full amenities including hot showers and it offers easy access to over 50 miles of hiking trails. Even though the weather was not as nice as we wished, we still managed to squeeze in two hikes including the 13 mole long Miner’s ridge and James Irvine Loop while staying dry.

That loop is great because it takes you from the campground through old growth redwood forest to the beach and then along a canyon before coming back through the same old growth redwood forest. With all the rain we got this year, the forest is lush green and beautiful. And thanks to the protecting canopy of the redwoods, the path is in great condition with only very short muddy stretches.

Everybody had a great time admiring the amazing giant redwoods (some of whom are more than 2,000 year old) with their strangely shaped burl (pictured above) or looking at their feet at large patches of redwood sorrels (pictured below) and fern.

Truth is we did not get to enjoy the beach this time around because I took the wrong turn once we reached the dirt road. Two years ago, we enjoyed lunch and a nice walk along the beach but then, once we reached the level of Fern Canyon, we did not manage to find a dry path through some swamp to the parking lot and I ended up carrying Alicia through it. This time, once at the parking lot, we looked for a path to the beach and could not find one. That wrong turn ended up saving everybody a trek through the swamp so it might have been for the best ;-).

On the way back, Alicia and I stopped at one of the grove in Humboldt Redwoods State Park named the Grieg-French-Bell grove for an additional short hike. This place is gorgeous. Giant Redwoods, thick canopy and a lush carpet of green Redwood Sorrels. It does not stop amazing me that this place is mostly in its natural state because if I could have the perfect garden, it would look like this.

Made me wish I lived in Humboldt County because then, I would be running here all the time. In place, maybe I should start by running the official Avenue of the Giants marathon.

Last year, we visited the Redwood State Park of Prairie Creek to wander among the redwoods, tallest trees on Earth.

It is only natural to follow up this year by visiting Sequoia National Park to once more walk among the giant sequoias, largest trees on Earth.

Our campsite at the awesome Lodgepole campground was top notch. We had great weather throughout our stay and enjoyed long hikes in the shadow of the Sequoias and along the beautiful meadows.

Of course, we managed to get lost on our way to Alta Peak but it did not really matter since the scenery was very enjoyable.

For the long 4th of July weekend, Our friend Arnaud and we went to Yosemite for a 2-night camping stay at Rancheria falls. I did this trip some years back but it was the first time for Arnaud and Alicia.

After taking a detour, a.k.a. getting lost, on the way, we started hiking after lunch. The hike is only around 7 miles from the car but with heavy packs, it is always harder than it seems. Gladly, the mountain casted its shadow on us for most of the way and the still strong Wapama falls offered a nice stop along the way.

Once we reached the campground located by the falls, we found a great spot on the granite slab out of the forest. People that had opted to camp in the forest warned us about mosquitoes but we did not experience much of it… Except for Alicia that got a lot of bites!

On the second day, we decided to hike to a local summit called Comté Point. Along the way, the vegetation was green and lush, and the butterflies plentiful. I don’t think I have ever seen that many at the same time. The hike involved going off track for half the distance but with the summit in sight, it was easy to keep on target on the way in. The view from the summit was nice but not as good as we expected and everybody was a bit disappointed.

The way back turned out to be a lot more challenging as we did not have a good target. We ended up drifting on the wrong side of the mountain, lost, and a bit confused at to where to go next even after climbing back up to the edge and trying to adjust our path. Not really sure about where to go, we decided on a likely direction and started walking… to hit the trail 5 minutes later :).

Once back at camp, we enjoyed some showers, enjoyed the falls, and devoured the great Salmon pasta that Arnaud prepared before enjoying the best night sky and stars I have seen in a long while.

The trip back to the dam on Monday morning was a lot easier since it is mostly downhill.

It was Alicia’s first backpacking experience and she did very well even though she did not have all the right gear. Her backpack was not adapted and we need to get her some good hiking boots. Also, I under-estimated the food we would need and without Arnaud’s contribution, we would have been very short.

Today, we went back to Rancho San Antonio for a longer hike this time. Our ongoing goal is to reach the top of Black Mountain and come back(over 16 miles round trip) but this did not happen today as we had a late start. Still, we covered 12 miles in 5 hours.

We really like this trail and the further we get from the parking lot, the more serene and tranquil it becomes. We had the opportunity to spot some animals including a beautiful squirrel eating a nut avidly and several deers like the one in the following picture.

Next time, for sure, we will get to the top of Black Mountain…