Keeper’s Log Battery Point Lighthouse June 22

Was up and out the door to finish weed wacking and sweeping the walkway before the tour day began.  Teare straightened up the house and swept the stairwell.  We had breakfast after our chores were completed.  Soon, all of the tour volunteers arrived.  Teare and I had a day off from tours, so we decided to explore the area.  It is understood that when you do not have tour duty at Battery Point, you are free to leave the island and take a break from.  Looking at the solid schedule ahead of us we decided to take advantage of this free time away, knowing the lighthouse was in capable hands. 

We drove down to the south end of Crescent City.  Along the way, Teare spotted a herd of elk grazing in a field of high grass. She commented that it is much more difficult for elk to remain undetected than deer due to their sheer size.  We made the turn onto Enders Road and followed it to an amazing overlook.  You could see Battery Point, the businesses on Anchor Way, Crescent City and the giant beach which stretches from our lookout all the way to town.  We started down the Enders Trail which ran along the edge of the cliff and provided continual views of the ocean and the various rock formations jutting from the water.  Had we only hiked this trail it would have been a successful morning. However, we arrived at the intersection of the Coastal, the Nickel Creek, and the Beach AccessTrails, and we realized we were far from being finished exploring this area. 

The Nickel Creek Trail ran along the babbling stream, but you could not see it, due to the dense ground cover of fern and green foliage.  We came to an access point and pushed leaves and branches out of the way and made our way down to a beautiful series of cascading waterfalls and crystal clear mountain water pools.  As we followed the creek further up, we found an area where we could walk up the creek through a mini ravine which was totally covered with ferns.  We made our way back down along the creek and took the access trail which descended to the beach.  The beach was similar to the Secret Beach we described in Brookings a few days ago.  The beach was framed by cliffs and there was a natural arch through the rock.  We had to use the arch as a means of getting around the tide, as it was using up most of the available beach!  Beyond its natural beauty, we were struck with how wild the area seems.  There were very few people. It was as if you had this amazing landscape as your private playground.

We drove back into town for lunch and fueled up for the afternoon.  The adventure began with a drive south on California Highway 101 to Wilson Creek Beach.  The day had turned sunny and stayed that way.   Teare spotted a slanted rock on the beach.  Not having all the normal beach gear, we improvised.  Like two seagulls, we simply nestled in on the rock and basked in the sunshine.  We were only feet from the active, constant pounding surf.  It was wonderful after our hike and lunch.

When we had enough sun, we drove back north on the 101 to the Damnation Trail trail head within Redwoods National Park.  We were excited to get started on this trail, because the entire area was abundant with giant redwood trees.  They call it Damnation Trail because it climbs for about a half mile, then descends, via a continual series of switchbacks for nearly 2 miles.  We know what goes down must come up…. thus the well deserved name of the trail!  It took us over an hour to go down the trail.  It took a bit longer, with much more effort to climb out.  We continue to be amazed by the beauty and majesty of the redwoods. The highly filtered sunlight was casting long shadows in the forest and we wanted to make progress while we could still see our footing. (The mountain lions and black bear that frequent the area had nothing to do with it!)

What a beautiful forest!  It did feel good to sit down.

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant on our way back to the lighthouse.  Teare ran the gift shop totals for the day and our day is winding down to a tired, happy conclusion.   

We saw photos of the Cav’s Victory Parade in Cleveland and the crowds looked amazing.  We know Cleveland is going crazy.  Fifty two years is a long time in between championships.  Way to Go Cavs!  

We hope everyone is well.  Here are some photos of the day.