Hiking in the Headwaters Forest Reserve 

On a Sunday in early June, my friend Lissa and I planned to hike the Headwaters Forest Reserve's Elk River Trail, about 10.5 miles. At the time, I didn't realize our timing was perfect, as this year marks the 7,472-acre reserve's 25th anniversary. It was established in 1999, after a decade-long effort to protect the world's last intact old growth redwood forest ecosystem, then in private hands, led to its purchase by the federal government and the State of California.

Starting before 8 a.m. meant the small parking lot at the end of Elk River Road was empty. Interpretive signs and a wooden building half a mile into the trail remind visitors that where silence now reigns, a town called Falk was built in the late 1800s to house lumberjacks, lumber mill workers, train crew and their families. What used to be the engine house (where locomotives that hauled logs to the lumber mill were stored) was moved to the current location and turned into the Headwaters Education Center. Before Falk and beyond its existence, this area is the ancestral home of the Wiyot people.

We walked on, eager to get deeper among the trees. Entering a forest never fails to have a calming effect on me: No matter the worries and anxiety I carry, I drop them at the threshold. Once in the trees' shadow, inner shadows retreat.

After the first mile, paved and accessible for people with limited mobility, the trail narrows, remaining flat until the 3-mile bridge. Then it turns uphill, and after 2 miles there is a junction: the beginning (and end) of a short loop that goes through a small old growth grove. We hiked it counterclockwise.

As usual when I hike among redwoods, my gaze moved from the coffee-colored, fern-strewn ground to the tree tops marbling the sky. I recently learned the Japanese word komorebi, which literally means "sunlight leaking through trees." It describes well one of my favorite views in the redwood forest, with the canopy filtering the light dancing fluidly with the shadows within the forest space. Big leaf maples, with moss-covered branches extending in all directions like giant green octopuses, are also accomplished partners in the dance.

Redwood trees are sculptures; sometimes the artist is fire, other times humans. I wish the old growth redwoods had not been cut to begin with. Still, observing how trees reclaim their space and restore their presence is fascinating. A young tree with roots growing along a tall stump toward the ground was just one example of a tenacity that never fails to awe me.

Douglas irises graced the ground with splashes of color ranging from light to dark lavender to deep purple. White Columbian windflower, pink to rose purple Red clintonia and other small flowers sprang from the forest floor, which was dry, making for a comfortable hike. Besides banana slugs, we saw Pacific sideband snails. Their brown shell makes them hard to spot on the dark ground, so we paid attention to where we stepped as the pretty gastropods cannot hurry when crossing the trail.

The silence was soothing and allowed us to hear the joyous rippling of the South Fork of the Elk River, also visible at times along the trail and from the bridges. While hiking a loop offers the advantage of seeing a different environment during the hike, I don't mind out-and-backs because, in any case, the return occurs in a different light and offers a different perspective.

Back on the paved trail, we extended our hike by taking the South Side Trail, a seasonal route (closed November to May) parallel to the main one across the river. It was while hiking this section that we encountered a vintage bathtub, its white interior sparkling in a bright ray of midday sun piercing the forest's shadow. A startling sight, it made us wonder about the bathtub's path to its resting place.

I thought it would probably be a relic from Falk, but to make sure I sent an email to the office of the Bureau of Land Management, which manages the reserve in consultation with the California Department of Fish and Game. Park Ranger Anna Arsic confirmed my theory and pointed me to additional resources, including the BLM California YouTube channel ("Falk: A Town Disappeared").

Hiking in the Headwaters Forest Reserve made me even more grateful for the forest's advocates and caretakers of the past and present — thanks to them, we can enjoy this unique place, its light, its shade, the music of the river. What a gift!

To learn about upcoming special events to celebrate the anniversary of Headwaters Forest Reserve, visit blm.gov/announcement/blm-plans-public-events-celebrate-headwaters-25th-anniversary. And if you are interested in volunteering there, email [email protected].

Resources: references, events, articles, videos

The Headwaters Forest Reserve page on the Bureau of Land Management site is a rich source of information, including events and how to make reservations to join a Salmon Pass Trail docent-guided hike (the only way to visit this area of the reserve). https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/headwaters-forest-reserve ]

Saturday, Aug. 17, 12:30 to 3 p.m.: Nature Writing Workshop led by author Jerry Martien. Family friendly event at the Headwaters Education Center. Participants will meet at the Elk River Trailhead at 12:30 p.m. Free & open to public.

Saturday, Sept. 14, 10 a.m. to noon.  Guided archaeology walk: Archaeological site steward Rusty Goodlive and BLM volunteer docent Kristi Wrigley will discuss the evidence of Headwaters' past in a walk starting at the Elk River Trailhead.

Saturday, Oct. 5, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Archaeology and History of Falk. Former BLM park ranger and author Julie Clark will lead the talk alongside archaeologist Jamie Roscoe at the Clarke Museum, 240 E St., Eureka.

Friends of Headwaters Facebook page posts announcement of reserve's related events https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofHeadwaters/

"THE ECONEWS REPORT: Wiyot Tribe and BLM Partner for Stewardship of Headwaters" Lost Coast Outpost June 8, 2024 https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2024/jun/8/econews-report-wiyot-tribe-and-blm-partner-steward/

About Falk: the 2021 article "Eerie remnants of a ghost town lurk within this California forest" by Ashley Harrell [SFGATE https://www.sfgate.com/california-news/article/ghost-town-haunts-California-redwood-forest-16569914.php ] and the 2014 video "Falk: A Town Disappeared" on the BLM California YouTube channel [https://youtu.be/UV388SFOxJs?si=3wkGhwMsIUHrhtz5 ] Another video, part of the Humboldt Outdoors series, is "Falk - Headwaters Historic Site" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBDycRDG23k

About the reserve's establishment:

"Headwaters Forest at 10" by Heidi Walters, North Coast Journal, February 26, 2009 https://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/headwaters-forest-at-10-2129045

"Headwaters: The Redwoods in our Backyard" by Barry Evans, North Coast Journal, May 9, 2013

https://www.northcoastjournal.com/lifeoutdoors/headwaters-the-redwoods-in-our-backyard-2247841

Simona Carini (she/her) shares photographs of her outdoor explorations (and of food) on Instagram @simonacarini.