“Falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves is one of the most beautiful and peaceful ways to go to sleep. At the moment of this writing, I am sitting on a bench steps away from my campsite, listening to the waves crash on a black sand beach. The wind is howling and the sun is up warming the whole beach. I couldn’t ask for a more perfect place than this. – October 3, 2017, 10:37am, MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg
I left Fort Bragg with my 3-part plan still in motion. The next step of it was getting to the city of Trinidad and Patrick’s Point State Park. The drive was 3 to 4 hours long but it was one of the most scenic of the whole trip. On each side of me, enormous redwoods rose throwing shadows all over the highway, towering over the road. I was able to break my drive up a bit by stopping at the “Chandelier Drive-Through Tree.”
Seeing a tree of this magnitude was mind-boggling. Driving through it was scary in it’s own right but once I was able to see the actual height of the tree, I couldn’t believe what I had done. I continued my long, arduous drive to Patrick’s Point. The country this far north was very different than the rest of California, landscape-wise. I passed more logging trucks than semi-trucks on the highway and the amount of people had decreased dramatically. Often times, I would be on the highway all by myself until I came to a main city or road. It was cold as I pulled up to Patrick’s Point State Park and the sky seemed to get grayer as I neared the park. When I pulled into my campsite, the fog lifted somewhat but the atmosphere was still hazy. Since I had limited time, I knew I had to do my exploring now before it got too dark and cold. Also, if I was to stick to my plan, I needed to wake up early in the AM tomorrow to make my way to Portland. So with that, I established camp, and made my way down to the main attraction at Patrick’s Point, Agate Beach.
I walked a winding mountain trail overlooking the ocean. The trail was skinny and well-maintained but the surround shrubs were constantly fighting a war to reclaim their territory. They ripped at my clothes as I mobbed through the brush down towards the beach. “Agate Beach,” true to its name is filled with agate stones all along the beach along with driftwood and stones. The landscape itself was stunning in that the cliffs rose harshly, towering above you while you lounged on the beach. In fact, without the winding trail, there would be no way for you to get down to the beach from the cliffs.
“Patrick’s Point is fucking amazing.Right when I got in, I took the hike down to Agate State Beach. There was a little creek that flowed from a waterfall that went straight into the ocean. I took an Instagram picture to commemorate it by. The creek’s water was incredibly clear but cold. I dunked my hat and splashed my face in the water, it felt incredible.” – October 3, 2017, 9:57pm, Patrick’s Point State Park
Looking back on this trip, I remember Patrick’s Point as one of the most beautiful and serene spots I spent time at. I would end up coming back here on the way home but this first stop was amazing. I collected so many stones and walked along that beach for hours. Just feeling free and having fun running, jumping and climbing around.
I got back to my campsite and quickly ate some dinner and closed up for the night. I wanted to get a good night’s sleep for the drive the next day. The 3 part plan was almost complete. All that was left, was a 7 hour to drive to Portland in the morning…
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