Prairie Creek Winter Solstice Hike

Jefferson and a large redwood tree

My neighbor Jefferson just moved to the area this week from Chicago and wanted to see his first redwoods. Jefferson is going to be working with some of the local bee keepers in town, taking care of some hives this year. When I woke up this morning, the rain was pouring. It's been raining for days. I called Jefferson and told him if we went, we'd probably get soaked. He wanted to go anyways. I can definitely respect that, so we packed up some rain gear and headed north.

It was by far the most wet I've ever been during a hike. It rained steady all day. Creeks were overflowing their banks. Prairie Creek was a brown, muddy torrent. Some areas were flooded, water rising all the way just inches from the bridge bottoms. Drury Parkway was closed. Elk Meadow was completely flooded, water almost crossing over the 101 but not quite. The meadow looked like a swift moving river. One house I saw north of Orick had been flooded, the front yard a lake.

Jefferson and I had a great hike, our trail was completely submerged in spots. I have to admit I was a little uncomfortable, as the power of water is not something to mess with. My hands were pretty numb by the end of the day and my clothes pretty much soaked. Jefferson fell into a stream at one point, water up to his waist, but he seemed to be having a good time. Definitely a memorable day. Hopefully the folks living near the park will be OK once all this rain ends...