I got up early to pack my tent down, and there really was a herd of elk grazing right on the grass between the tents of sleeping campers. The mist had also descended and covered the tops of the redwoods that towered into the sky. The morning’s ride took me out of the redwoods and back to the coast.

I skirted in and out of coastal fog and along a series of scenic back roads. Eventually, onto an extensive bike path network that joined up and encircled the Humboldt Bay into and through Eureka, which is the largest coastal town in California north of San Francisco. The bike path is actually not quite finished; it’s due to open later this month, but there was only a short section I couldn’t ride.

From Eureka, I continued south to Ferndale, where I’m staying tonight. The temperatures are still cool, but the sun is warm. Ferndale has a cute little downtown with well-kept Victorian styled houses and shops, all set with the backdrop of mist shrouded, forested mountains. Since Crescent City, the road signs have posted distances to San Francisco so I’m able to count down as I go. I’m around 300 miles, give or take, on the route; The end feels in sight.