Strawberry Rock

Tree sitters occupy a large second growth redwood

A couple days ago, we were enjoying a cloudless, warm winter day here in Humboldt. I mentioned to my new roommate that I was planning on going for a hike. He suggested I check out Strawberry Rock, a great spot to view the ocean on a clear, sunny day. It's a hike that appears to be popular among the locals here. Sounded good to me. It's also an area that is currently being pulled various directions by different groups with different visions and viewpoints.

Driving up the 101 towards Strawberry Rock, one can see the rock formation sticking out of the mountainside like a cork. As soon as I saw the rock, the thought occurred to me that this was probably a scared spot to whatever Native Americans lived in the area. Turns out, this is exactly the case. It is a sacred area to the Yurok tribe, which I know nothing about, but will have to look into. The Yurok want the rock and surrounding area protected and to keep tourists to a minimum. The logging company Green Diamond owns the area at the moment and is trying harvest the trees there. Earth First activists have occupied a few of the larger trees near the rock in an attempt to stop the logging of the second growth redwoods.