Wonder and Wellness in the Redwoods

Please plan to arrive at the California Redwood Coast Humboldt County Airport (ACV) by 3:15PM for a 3:45PM group shuttle. We will meet you there and after brief introductions, we'll be on our way to the Historic Requa Inn, our home base for the trip. Located about 50 miles North of Arcata where the Klamath River meets the Pacific, the Inn is perfectly located for our trip in the heart of a collective of co-managed National and State Redwood parks including Redwood National Park, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Su-Meg State Park, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. All are within a 40-minute radius of the Inn. We’ll head straight up the famous HWY 101, and arrive at the Inn in time to settle in before dinner and get to know our group. The Inn has been a part of the Requa landscape since 1914, and has beautiful single rooms, delicious farm-to-table dining, and Klamath river views. (D)

We’ll begin our week in Redwood’s National and State Parks immersing ourselves amongst the park’s namesakes - the trees! We’ll enjoy a farm-to-table breakfast at the inn before heading out for a full day of hiking trails hushed by pine needle carpets and dwarfed by giant Redwoods. We’ll drive South into the heart of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, where we will stop by the visitor’s center before setting out on the Clintonia Loop Trail, a 7.5 mile hike. Our trail offers a sampler of the area’s finest flora, fauna, and fungi including old growth Redwoods, Sitka Spruce, Wildflowers, Ferns, Banana Slugs, and mushrooms galore. In addition to learning and exercising, today we will also practice being fully present in this glorious ecosystem. Along the way we’ll incorporate the art of forest bathing through guided activities that challenge us to look closer, breathe deeper, and notice more about our surroundings. After 3-4 hours of hiking through a veritable fairyland, we’ll head back to the vans. On our way to the inn we’ll make one more short stop at the Big Tree Wayside Trail, a 200 yard path leading to a 1,500 year old giant Redwood measuring more that 290 feet tall with a 75 foot circumference. We’ll return to our home away from home in Requa for dinner. Mileage: 8 miles (B,L,D)

Did you know that a sense of awe and wonder has been scientifically proven to benefit our physical and emotional well-being by getting us out of our own heads and more integrated into our communities and world? This morning we’ll meet for an early breakfast, and then head south to the seaside city of Trinidad. We’ll split into two smaller groups for the morning, each with a different ocean-faring activity on the horizon designed for maximum wonderment! One group will depart on a beginner friendly sea-kayak tour of Trinidad Bay. From the cockpits of our boats, we’ll search for wildlife including sea & shore birds, sea lions, otters, porpoises, and seals. At this time of year thousands of gray whales migrate with their calves from Baja to Alaska, and if conditions are right, we’ll hope to view pods of whales from our kayaks - a true peak experience. While one group paddles the bay, the other group will spend a meditative morning exploring the seashore by land at Sue-Meg State Park (described in detail on day 5 of the itinerary). After our small-group excursions, we’ll meet back up for lunch and exchange stories of our morning. We’ll aim to spend some time with the redwoods on every day of this trip, and after lunch we’ll explore the Trillium Falls Trail. Redwood National and State Parks are a nominated quiet area with Quiet Parks International, and we will nurture our nervous systems with some rare moments of true peace and quiet on our hikes this week. This moderate loop hike should take us about 1.5 hours to complete as we traipse through the trillium, marvel at old growth groves, and visit the falls. After a full day of exploration, we’ll be ready to return to hot showers and a hearty meal at the Inn. Mileage: 3-5 miles hiking depending on your group. (B, L, D)

Today we’ll dig deep into this magical place like the roots of the mighty redwoods. We’ll start where it began…with the Yurok people. Since well before non-native exploration of California began, the Yurok tribe have had a village at “RekWoi”, about 1 mile up-river from modern day Requa – making this area one of the longest inhabited places in California. The Yurok tribe is woven into this landscape like the baskets they are known for, and the Klamath River and the redwood trees have historically been the lifeline of their people. We’ll begin our trip by learning about the history of the area with members of the Yurok tribe as we explore the Klamath River on a guided redwood canoe tour. We’ll learn about the Yurok way of life, their history, and their traditions including redwood boat building. Following our time with the Yurok we’ll set out with newfound knowledge of the area and drive a short way to the Fern Canyon trailhead for lunch. Speaking of magical places, Fern Canyon just might be the most beautiful little hike in the pacific northwest. A level one-mile trail follows Home Creek through the forest into the canyon proper. We’ll roll-up our pant-legs and follow the shallow creek through a lush canyon wall-papered with ferns. If we catch this hike on a sunny day the walls will sparkle like emeralds. When we’ve had our fill of adventure we’ll head back to the Inn for down time and dinner. Mileage: 2 miles. (B,L,D)

On this penultimate day of our trip, we’ll switch activities in Trinidad. If you kayaked on day 3, today you’ll spend the morning treasure hunting in Sue-Meg State Park, and vice versa. Formerly known as Patrick’s Point State Park, this coastal gem offers our group a menu of marine-style meditations! We’ll plan our time in Sue-Meg based on the tides. When the tide is lowest, we’ll carefully make our way down a short, steep, and rocky trail to visit Palmer's Point, where a hidden world of first-rate tidepools are revealed. We’ll carefully explore these marine microcosms full of urchins, starfish, anemones, and more, making sure to keep them (and ourselves!) safe and undisturbed. If time permits, we will also hike the .5-mile Agate Beach trail, our second treasure hunting site of the morning, where we’ll beachcomb for agates, semi-precious volcanic stones polished by the tides. We’ll photograph our jewels, and then scatter them for others to discover. After reconvening for lunch, we’ll continue North. Our final stop for the trip will be the cathedral of trees that make up the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. One of the most magnificent examples of old growth Redwoods in the world, this grove was dedicated in 1969 by President Richard Nixon, in honor of Lady Bird and her work protecting public lands. We’ll explore the gentle 1.5 mile loop walk, and then hold a closing circle as golden afternoon light filters through the canopy onto our group. After some reflection and celebration, we’ll head back to a final dinner at the inn, and one last peaceful evening on the shores of the Klamath. Mileage: 1.5-3 depending on group. (B,L,D)

Awake refreshed by another great night’s sleep and the crisp pacific northwest air drifting through your window. Our time in the Redwoods has come to a close, and we send you on your way transformed from a week of connection, wonder, and adventure. We’ll have you back to the airport by 10:30AM, in time for flights out after 12:30PM. (B)