Among the redwoods in Arcata

Last nights meeting at Humboldt State University at Arcata went well with 35 people attending. The Humboldt side trip has been a very interesting one for political as well as scenic reasons.

Last nights meeting at Humboldt State University at Arcata went well with 35 people attending. The Humboldt side trip has been a very interesting one for political as well as scenic reasons.

I’d spent the previous day walking through a redwood forest, unfortuantly a regrowth one that was scattered here and there with the vast stumps left behind when it must have been clear cut 50 or so years before. Now and then there would be spectacular examples of 15m high stumps, the remains I guess of trees that had already been felled by lightening before the clear cutting.

There is quite a strong activist scene here based around the university but also involving more permanent residents, tonight I’m going to be talking in neighbouring Eukera before heading for San Jose in the morning. I’ve been told the route will carry me past some old growth groves, certainly the journey down here from Eugene was spectacular, I’m hoping for more of the same.

The tour is now drawing to and end, only three dates lie ahead of me in San Jose, Oakland and LA. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this, part of me is exhausted from the travel but there is another part that would love to complete the ‘square’ by heading to then south west and then across the continent once more to the East coast. The sands of time have however ran out.

WORDS: Andrew Flood (Follow Andrew on Twitter )