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| Coast Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. |
It rained the morning we hiked in Muir Woods. The giant Coast Redwoods (tallest trees in
the world), served as huge umbrellas, so water dripped onto us, instead of
poured. The Coast Redwoods thrive in the
fog belt of the California coast, absorbing moisture from the fog through their
leaves as well as from ground water through their roots. Redwood Creek runs through the park. Some of these stately trees have been in the
woods for over 1,000 years.
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| Redwood Creek |
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| The forest floor is so shady - few plants can survive. Ferns love it... |
We arrived at the park as it just opened, so were able to
share it with just a few people for the first hour or so. We could hear the sound of the creek gurgling
over stones, and the gentle rain landing on ferns and other sparse plants on the
shaded forest floor. We craned our necks
looking up, but never really saw the tops of the trees.
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| This cluster of trees grew from the roots of the stump in the center. |
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| Lookin' up... |
Redwoods reproduce by seeds, but also by sprouting new
plants from existing roots or burls of root material exposed on the
ground. In the park there are clusters
of trees around an older tree or around a stump.
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| The bark is very rough |
Prospectors coming to California looking for gold, used the
wood from the redwood trees to build their houses and towns. It was plentiful – you can get a lot of feet
of boards out of one of these trees, didn’t rot, was impervious to bugs, and
while it might scorch it will not burn unless the fire is very, very hot. So, while only a few people found gold in
"them there hills", many people found redwoods.
They cut them down, and shipped the wood to other parts of North America
and the world.
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| We thought this scorched stump looks like a wolf, what do you think it looks like? |
In 1905, William and Elizabeth Kent purchased this isolated
valley of virgin timber that had never been cut, to protect it from
timbering. In 1908, they gave it to the
US government and President Teddy Roosevelt made it a National Monument under
the Antiquities Act. It was named after
the outstanding naturalist of the time, John Muir. This makes it one our oldest national parks.
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| The Hillside Trail |
Muir Woods is actually pretty small. After you enter the park, you walk for about
a mile on a paved trail along the side of Redwood Creek. At the end, you can return on the same path,
or cross the creek, hike up the side of the hill and return along the Hillside
Trail which follows the creek on the other side. Built part way up the hill side, you can look
at these glorious trees from another point of view.
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| Entering the park |
To get to Muir Woods you follow a very windy road through
the coastal hills. The park is very near
San Francisco, so a lot of people visit it.
Parking is limited, and you have to reserve a parking spot with an
arrival time window. When we went to
reserve, the morning slots were full except for the two earliest times, 8-8:30
and 8:30-9. We reserved in the 8:30-9
slot, and arrived early enough to get a parking space near the Visitors Center, which opened
at 8:30. When we left at noon, people
were walking a 1/4 mile from parking further away. On weekends, you can also reserve seats on
shuttles from parking lots a half hour away.
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| Muir Beach |
When we left Muir Woods, we traveled to Muir Beach which is
where Redwood Creek joins the Pacific Ocean.
The beach was windy and dramatic.
They have been working to reestablish a wetland at the mouth of the
creek.
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| Muir Beach Overlook view to the North |
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| Muir Beach Overlook view to the South |
From there we drove, up, up, up to Muir Beach Overlook
which gives you amazing views of this part of the coast. The US military must have thought so as well,
as they dug spotter stations into the rock to look out for enemy ships and
aircraft during World War II.
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| WWII spotter stations were cold and damp |
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