Dry Lagoon is 40 miles north of Eureka and just south of Stone Lagoon, but separated by it from a ridge of metamorphic rock that terminates at Sharp Point. This huge pyramid shaped rock juts out of the ocean like a shark’s tooth, dominating a horizon composed of steep rolling waves on one side and green, tangled hills on the other. In between is Dry Lagoon.
Dry Lagoon is not exactly dry, having some ponds that appear, in consulting the topo map, to communicate with Stone Lagoon via a creek. Around these little ponds reeds and rushes grow. The sand bar that historically separated Dry Lagoon from the ocean is littered with beach wood, and beyond huge redwood logs vigorous beach shrubs are beginning to grow, their shapes following the contour of the wood that shelters them from the seaward winds.
The weather was fair on Saturday, but from the looks of these hearty bushes wind plays about as much of a role as sunlight in shaping their branches. On the lagoon side, below the ridge of the dune there are taller brushy pine trees, these starting to close in to form a forest.
According to the Humboldt Lagoons State Park website, Dry Lagoon was drained in the early 1890s “ by early farmers and several types of crops were attempted but none proved economical.”
We hiked along the edge of Dry Lagoon, finding driftwood houses and watching the buffleheads glide on the little pond. The day started brightening up, blue sky reflecting on the water’s surface along with the trees surrounding the outer edges of the lagoon.
I love alders in the winter, when their white branches can be seen curling skyward, and their canopy is pink with the rush of leaves that will soon replace those now gone.
As we headed north, a path appeared that went up into the hills, taking us along the sheltered east side of a narrow ridge.
A jungle, protected from the ocean’s immediate influence bursts forth around the first corner. Up the hill we went, for good far views of Dry Lagoon, a closer look at the moss-covered trunks of alders, and a boggy stream with blooming skunk cabbage!
This trail seems like it probably goes through to Stone Lagoon, but we let the bog stop us, as we were not wearing rubber boots. Back down on the beach we continued north toward Sharp Point.
Now the beach becomes narrower as the ridge curls out toward the sea. During a season of warnings about sneaker waves I could see these rip tides snatching my little girl as she walked, and was about as vigilant as I can be (told her father to make sure and watch her)!
We saw wonderful rock that was folded together, Jim says greenstone, mudstone, and phyllite schist, some with a layer of iridescent quartz-like icing (calcite) on their outside surface. These rocks seem to have more in common with baked confections than other geologic specimens!
By the time we were ready to head back south along the ocean side of the spit, the day had cleared and the lower angle of the sun cast a golden light on the foliage of the cliff and beach. Most people must have either been hiking south, or up into the area of the seasonal campground, as we only passed two small groups yet the Day Use parking area was nearly full. There are probably many different options beyond the fairly simple one that we explored…more local hikes in the making!
