Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #5
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California
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Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #5
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<b>Living with the Wind</b><br /> <br /> Wind is the great gardener of this ridgetop community. The quiet whisper of summer breezes give way to the powerful gusts of winter storms that can snap the highest branches, sending “widowmakers” plummeting hundreds of feet to the forest floor. Anchored by root systems much wider than they are deep, high winds can topple even the sturdiest of redwoods.<br /> <br /> The death of one giant, though, gives life to others. Open spaces created by fallen limbs and trees allow light to cascade to the forest floor, providing opportunities for saplings to vigorously reach for the sun. Thickets of berries take advantage of the new-found sunlight, which may only last for a few seasons before the canopy crowds in again. As empires rise from the ashes of those that came before, so do the redwoods. Where once a towering redwood stood, another grows to take its place among the giants.

Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #4
~0 min drive
<b>More than Redwoods</b><br /> <br /> Redwoods do not stand alone. In fact, what we call old-growth redwood forests may contain as few as eight or ten of the towering monarchs per acre. A diverse community of plants and animals thrive in the shadows of the redwood canopy. Hig…
Blue Lake
~30 min drive
Easy 1.16-mile hike to a scenic alpine lake with 272 ft elevation gain.
Red Mountain Lake
~30 min drive
Short alpine lake hike with steady elevation gain and mountain views.
Forks of Blue Creek
~41 min drive
Moderately challenging 15+ mile creek-side trek through California backcountry.

Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #12
~0 min drive
<b>Rebirth</b><br /> <br /> Like newborns clinging to their parents, new forest life clings in abundance to this fallen redwood. Salal, huckleberry, rhododendron, spruce, and hemlock all arise from this slowly deteriorating giant. A new redwood reaches out from its burled base…
Fish Lake
~30 min drive
Easy 1.32-mile alpine lake hike with 592 ft elevation gain.
East Fork Blue Creek
~32 min drive
Moderate creek-side hike with 696 ft gain near Blue Creek drainage.
Prospect Hill
~43 min drive
Moderate 9.12-mile foothills hike with 1,353 ft elevation gain.

Lady Bird Johnson Nature Trail Stop #6
~0 min drive
<b>Towering Patriarchs</b><br /> <br /> Gazing up the immense trunk to the highest reaches of a redwood tree gives us a powerful sense of our own smallness. Capable of ascending to heights over 360 feet, coast redwoods tower over all living things on the planet. Most of its so…
Bluff Creek Historical Trail
~34 min drive
Steep historical trail with 1,497 ft gain through scenic California forest.