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It was an overcast day as we prepared for the hikes in the full parking lot.
There were a lot of tourists here, many of whom were just taking in the view
from the nearby vista point. The lot would be nearly empty by the time we
finished the hike.
Berries next to the trail
The trail follows an old road downhill from the parking lot. Quickly, you'll
have great views of the Pacific Ocean below to the right. Further down the
trail, you'll walk through tunnels formed by trees, very similar to the ones
we saw on Vancouver Island. There are also some wildflowers and berries
here, though not nearly as many as at Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
Enderts Beach from above
Hiking down to the beach
Tree tunnel
Near the bottom is a trail intersection. Straight ahead is the Coastal Trail.
To the left is a trail along Nickel Creek. We took the right fork, which
heads toward Enderts Beach. Along the way we passed the Nickel Creek backpacking
camp. There are only 5 sites here.
Forest near the backpacking camp
We passed the camp and followed the trail as it turned left and descended steeply
down to the rocks. We carefully descended the rocks past a little snake
and stepped onto the sands
of Enderts Beach. There's tide-pooling here at low tide. Crescent City is
visible to the north. We could also hear the periodic honking of a lighthouse
fog horn to the north.
Enderts Beach
Remains of a sea urchin on the beach
We settled down onto the beach for lunch and playing in the sand. As we were there the sun
started coming out as we watched birds dip into the water looking for their own
lunch. After a long break, we headed back up the rocks and rejoined the trail. After the
short climb, we kept going straight at the trail intersection to follow the trail
along Nickel Creek. This trail enters a lush green forest parallel to the creek.
There are even ferns growing on the trunks and branches of several trees, high above
the ground. Don't be surprised if you spot banana slugs on the ground, as we saw
a few.
Ferns growing on a tree
The trail shortly gets narrower and narrower, until it becomes almost impassable.
At this point we decided to turn around. I don't think the trail is well-used,
as it's not even on the map at the trailhead. On our way back, we were surprised
to see a man with some kind of wheeled apparatus. He said they were looking for a place
to pan for gold, and said the apparatus was a sluice box. His buddy climbed up from the
creek as we continued along our way, wondering if they were for real. I wasn't about
to ask them any probing questions. They were probably genuine, but nevertheless it kind
of freaked us out.
Trail next to Nickel Creek
In any case, we continued on up the trail back to the parking area. Just as we
were leaving, a park ranger pulled into the nearly empty lot. Coincidence?
Probably.
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