Redwood National Park - Lady Bird Johnson Grove - Part I

2009-07-28: I quickly broke camp and hurried through the heights to Lady Bird Johnson Grove, high above the foggy coastal lowlands. The trail was an easy one mile loop, which nonetheless allowed me to experience the remarkable beauty of the coastal redwood forests. I arrived early enough to enjoy the tranquillity and solitude not possible with the presence of the tourist types. Fog still lingered in the darker places the sunlight had yet to reach.

Admittedly, I was not certain that I would be much impressed by the trees here, as Olympic National Forest would be hard to outdo. I thought, surely the trees could not be that much bigger - after a certain point it would not be noticeable. But the redwoods seemed impossibly tall. Something that huge - alive?

I found an overlook by taking the road to the higher elevations. A rare heat wave was blasting the region and it was here that I felt the beginning of its full force. Though it was morning, the temperature approached 90 degrees. Something, which I suspect may have been the trees, was releasing an incredibly strong odour into the air; slightly sweet like ripe fruit, and sharp like an evergreen. It was not quite nauseating, but it was overpowering.