Photo Essay: If Your Gonna Breakdown, Do It In The Redwoods

A friend and I, along with his dog, drove up the coast from Santa Barbara to Seattle. Leaving early one morning on the way back down, we stopped a couple hours into the drive to let the dog pee, finding ourselves in the incredibly foggy Redwood Forest about an hour south of Crescent City. After Runner (that's the dog) finished his business, we got back in the car ready to continue on our way. After several attempts at starting the car, nothing. We had broken down in the Redwood Forest with what seemed and we hoped was a dead battery, and with no cell service, no one to call. It was fairly early with very few cars out, but we took every opportunity to flag one down. After about 45 minutes of arm-flailing, a Ranger pulled over and unsuccessfully tried to jump-start my car. With no cell service he radioed for help, finally scoring a tow truck that was to be there in two to three hours.

"Okay...Let's shoot!" I declared, and we booked it into the fog. We were immediately astounded at the enormity of these trees, the tops disappearing into the white, foggy sky. Never have I felt so small. After about an hour of roaming on and off the paths, the sun burned through some of the mist, busting out from behind the trees in the form of light-rays. A magical moment indeed, and blessed to be there to witness one of the most beautiful happenings I've seen in nature. Breaking down in the Redwood Forest was a blessing on this day.

The Redwood National Park was established in 1968, too late to save 90% of the Redwood Trees that had already been cut down. These trees are the tallest species on the planet, making it a gold mine for lumbermen before the National Park was created, selling the wood to developing cities. Only 40,000 acres (approx. 45%) of all remaining coastal Redwoods Forest is currently protected in a place that once contained almost 2,000,000 acres.

Redwood Trees are truly one of the most unique creatures on Earth, and we must preserve this gift nature has given us.