California's Coastal Redwood Parks

[dan_v]

Greetings,

 

I am planning an October trip to Redwood country in California's coastal Del

Norte and Humboldt counties. In searching the web for rainfall history all I

find is graphs and charts depicting "typical" annual totals, not recent monthly

data.

 

Wondering if I can expect the lush greenery typical of the areaﾒs forest

understory or if it's more likely to be severely dried out. I would be

interested to know from any of you who have been there recently or who live

there whether the rainfall has been normal so far this year.

 

I will be carrying a heavy photo backpack and I left my 20s behind decades ago,

so I will concentrate on shorter, less strenuous hikes. I have Robert

Hitchmanﾒs recent Redwoods Parks newsletter and have just ordered several area

hiking books, but if you have any hiking and photo tips, Iﾒd love to read them.

 

Also appreciated would be your suggestions for quiet cabin lodging along the

route from Fort Bragg to Crescent City.

 

Thanks,

 

-Dan

[david_s5]

It tends to be dry at this time of year.

<p>

See <a href="http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N40W124+2200+042910C">this site</a> for monthly rainfall data from Eureka, CA

[diy photography]

Dan

I live on the North Coast in Willits, CA.. We typically don't get any rain between late June

and late October except for the rare passing shower.What we do get is fog. Plenty of fog

on the coast. It gets so thick that we get fog drip off of the trees and it seems like it is

raining. As far as rainfall goes last winter was one of the heaviest and longest rainy

seasons we have had in over 20 years. While it will be drier the further you go inland on

the coast it will still fairly damp due to the fog. Many canyons have plenty of greenery in

the form of ferns and other small plants.

I would suggest that you hit Fern canyon in Redwwod National Park. In October the stream

can be pretty low some years but it a unique experience all by itself. If you like

photographing elk this park is also the place to do it.

Hopefully you will be getting some good fall colors by then too. The maples and the oaks

and willows can be quite spectacular along highway 101 some years. Hitting the vineyards

on the way up can lead you to some nice pastoral scanes as well.

If you like rock collecting and some good coastal views don't miss out on Patricks Point

State Park. Looking for agates om the beach there is a pain in the neck experience not to

be missed.<div></div>

[diy photography]

Dan,

Attached is a better sample of a typical foggy morning.<div></div>

[diy photography]

BTW The best coastal hiking guides for Humboldt, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties are

sold by Bored Feet Press written by Bob Lorentzen. They can be reached at 888-336-6199

or check out www.bored feet.com

These guides cover a lot of little known hiking trails and each trail entry includes a

narrative of the trail plus the distance , time terrain, elevation gain/loss, best time of year,

warnings and detailed directions to the trail head.

 

Good luck and may God bless you,

 

Chris<div></div>

[dan_v]

Thanks for the link, David.

 

Appreciate your input, Chris. BTW, great foggy morning shot. I did stumble across Bored Feet Press and will revisit their site because of your recommendation. Any suggestions for quiet cabin lodging near the Parks?

 

-Dan

[ShunCheung]

The main reason that area has dense redwood forest is that it has a lot of rain fall. The popular season for photographers to visit there is late April to early May because of the spring flowers. The driest season in that area tends to be August and September.

 

The Southern Oregon coast is only about an hour away from Crescent City. If you have time and the weather cooperates, it would be great to spend an afternoon in Oregon.

[andrew robertson]

Bear in mind that Oregon is also quite dry this time of year. There will be some greenery,

though. The berries are coming out now.

[sondra kick]

Dan, I was in the area for 10 days last Dec. The weather was cool and fog would roll very quickly. The woods were lush and we had no rain, but droplets were found all over due to fog, a photographers dream. Enjoy your trip. Sondra

[robert_potts1]

Hike up Redwood Creek near Orick. The forests are evergreen right down to the ground, but the meadows will be golden(dried out). The Bigleaf Maples should be bright yellow for a nice counterpoint in riparian areas unless they have been hammered by wind or frost. Prairie Creek and the Drive nearby are nice.

[bob_coury1]

Dan, I rely on this info often when planning fall color and spring wildflower trips:http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/prelim/drought/pdiimage.html

[dan_v]

Thanks to all for your additional posts. Looks like October will be drier than I expected. I'll have to focus more on finding what little autumn color there must be in Redwood county.

 

-Dan

[robert_potts1]

Nearly anything can happen weatherwise at this time of the year. You'll just have to take your chances.