Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Flint Ridge Camping

This past weekend we went on a quick overnight camping trip to test out our new rooftop tent. We drove a little over an hour away to Klamath, Ca, where the Klamath River pours out into the Pacific Ocean. There has been so much rain and snow lately that the river was full and gorgeous. A quick drive along the south side of the Klamath takes you to the Flint Ridge section of the Coastal Trail. There are a couple of hike-in campsites and a parking lot, and the trail itself which is incredibly scenic, wandering along the cliff high above the ocean, and then dipping inland to old-growth Redwood groves, then out again along the cliff, providing stunning ocean views as well as sheltered, shaded Redwood groves.






Our campsite was actually in the parking lot beneath the hike-in spots, because we were camping on top of our car and we couldn't drive into those campsites. But honestly, the parking lot was amazing since it was right on the cliffside and we got an amazing front-row seat to the sunset.

After parking and eating a snack, we began our walk down the trail. Darlene insisted on walking instead of being carried in the Deuter backpack. But of course, eventually she wanted me or Jade to hold her. Jade actually was super sweet and held Darlene a lot of the way. They made a game out of "looking for mountain lions and bears" because Darlene is super into those animals. 





I carried Darlene a little ways in the backpack, and then she figured out how to stand straight up in the pack and make me think she was going to tumble out. Jade got a super sweet picture of us at the spot where we turned around to walk back to camp. These photos are some of my favorites of Darlene and I, because she is standing straight up and reeeeaaallly smiling hard. She's a great hiking buddy, even if she complains a lot and wants to be carried everywhere.









We didn't walk very far down the trail, so our entire hike lasted only a little over an hour. We got back to camp around 5 pm. I busied myself making us turkey sandwiches while Jade took the cover off of our rooftop tent. By the time I had the sandwiches done, Jade had already flipped open the tent and had the ladder down, so the tent set up was extremely quick and easy. That is one of the main appeals of these tents. Also, since they sit on top of your vehicle, being elevated off the ground gave me a sense of added security. Plus, the tent comes with a thick pad that is the perfect size of the entire tent, so like a built in air mattress that never loses air. All of our bedding was already inside the tent, even when it was folded up on top of the car, so as soon as Jade popped it open, it was ready to sleep in. Super easy!













We cracked a couple beers and ate our sandwiches and settled in our chairs to watch the sunset. Darlene was being pretty wild so I decided to set up her cartoons on the tablet and we put her up into the tent, zipped her in, and she was comfortably and safely situated up in the tent for half an hour or more while we relaxed down in our chairs! Several other vehicles pulled into the parking lot around this time to watch the sunset. Some were Canadian tourists who were camping nearby, and some locals. Everyone was super friendly and the mood was pleasant, I think everyone was happy to be experiencing the beautiful cliffside sunset, and an hour later being that it was the first sunset of Daylight Savings time.










As soon as we watched the last little blip of the sun sink below the horizon, Jade and I packed our chairs and everything back into our car, then climbed up the ladder to go to bed in our comfy, cozy new tent. Through the open tent windows, we watched the twilight colors dance on top of the sea. Darlene was snuggled up between us and Jade and I smiled at each other and expressed how grateful we were to be camping at such a beautiful place with our daughter, and that we looked forward to many more camping trips in the upcoming summer. 




Sunday, March 3, 2019

Lost Man's Creek Trail








This past Sunday our family took a drive up North to Lost Man's Creek Trail. The turnoff is just a few miles north of Orick, Ca. We had attempted to walk this trail a couple weeks ago, but Darlene was so tired, cranky & inconsolable that we turned back pretty early along the trail. We were hoping to have better luck this weekend. Unfortunately, Darlene still wasn't in the best hiking mood this weekend, but she toughed it out and we had a good family walk overall.










The trail is so gorgeous and easy to walk along as it is fairly flat, at least in the beginning. Giant ancient Redwood trees line the sides of the trail, and Lost Man's Creek flows alongside. The creek was so full from all of the recent rain and snow here, and the loud rushing of the water was so pretty to listen to and watch. The trail crosses several bridges, and on each bridge we stopped and admired the creek below. Underneath the first bridge, Jade and Darlene spotted an otter! I was too far away, so by the time I ran over the little cutie had disappeared.









Darlene did a great job walking with us, but she really wanted me to carry her. I did for a little while, then we encouraged her to walk with us. We brought along our Deuter backpack which is basically the cadillac of baby carrier hiking packs, so Darlene really should appreciate it, but she doesn't always! Regardless, she ended up riding in the backpack for a ways, which is so much easier than carrying her in our arms!










She had a few meltdowns along the trail for various insignificant reasons, which to her were probably huge reasons, but then again, she is a toddler. Jade and I have been trying to figure out the best way to parent her in a manner that is gentle yet firm, because she has such a strong personality and will pretty much run the entire show and boss everyone around if we let her. Being first-time parents to such a headstrong little lady is such a challenge, and such a precious gift!










Towards the end of the trail she found a big stick which we ended up letting her walk with, and funny enough, that kept her content longer than anything else on the walk did. And as soon as we got back to the car and driving down the road, she was asleep!