The beginning at 6:00 AM. Parked in Willits and ready to hit the trail, er, track!
Just before stepping onto the track at the Willits end of the Skunk Train
Siding with ballast car.
Heading out.
Here ya go Lolli!
Right turn to Fort Bragg!!
Willits water tower
Baechtel Creek crossing
Taken from the RR crossing of Highway 101.
Sidelined speeder and caboose.
Onward.
The train stop for the Willits KOA.
Stretching exercise at mile post 37.
Roger is a birder!
Starting up the 3.5 percent grade to Summit
Snackage while Roger calls home.
Overpass.
Summit sign.
Summit
The Summit Tunnel. Elevation 1,794 feet
Construction date on tunnel 1945
Through the tunnel we go
Roger in the tunnel
Break time
Rest stop.
Motor car going through the Summit Tunnel.
The Skunk Motorcar
The Skunk Motorcar
Wildlife watching
Mile Marker 35. Five miles down. Thirty Five to go
Roger spots white Iris
White Iris
The faucet works but most of the pipe is missing!
De funk water tower
Taking a break on Mile Marker 34
Crowley
Snackage
Mile Marker 33
Remnant stump
Crowley, elevation 1,369
Old Phone in the Crowley way station.
GPS Topo map showing the switchbacks and our location along them.
Waggle!
The Sunday Motorcar run to Northspur.
The Motorcar returning from Northspur to Willits.
Mile Post 31
Traffic over for the day, time to set up camp.
Fewer mosquitoes in the open.
Trees have the right of way!
I seem to have sung "Alfafa Hay" once too often.
The whoop de doos!
Dismantled siding.
Another non working water tower.
Refilling our water bottles with the Katadyn water filter pump.
Clare Mill, Elevation 1,026
Collected hardware at Clare Mill
Old fire scars on this redwood at Clare Mill.
A recent downed tree cleared from the track. Note sawdust still between the rails!
Obvious heroic work replacing a blown out culvert.
Roger has a i-touch with an i-bird app. Very handy!
Mile Marker 30
Tea time!
Bird notes
The return part of this switchback in view!
Flowers make their appearance.
Freshly downed baby tree, I cleared the track.
Lots of coyote scat on the railroad ties along the way.
A lot of ties need replacing.
Oh boy! Please let me by!!
Mile Marker 29
Big!! Tall!!
Switch
Switch
Some logger hung up his boots?
Burbeck. Elevation 664 feet.
Arriving Shake City!!
Woo Hoo! Shake City!
Worn out equipment, still in use.
Like the sign says, "Derail".
Another disassembled siding.
More water!
Roger takes a break.
Lizard on the rail.
Mile Post 25
Way stop
Emiles Station
Pyoprre stop
Mile Post 24
Maintenance crane
Irmulco
Mile Post 22
Burritos! Yum!
Dinner table!
Roger's cuban fiber tarp.
My "The One" tent.
Northspur water tower. New tank, old tower.
Tea made with my homemade, alcohol burning, cat food tin!
Noyo Vista
Camp Mendo. One half mile.
Mile Post 20. Half way home!
A place to wait for the train.
Camp Mendocino.
Camp Mendocino. Boys and Girls Scout Camp.
Four Point Lodge.
Alpine. Elevation 248 feet.
Another recent log cleared from the tracks.
Side stream
Camp Noyo
Glen Blair
Chipmunk
Small dam on the Noyo.
Artificial Lake Noyo.
Lake Noyo canoes
Damned up Lake Noyo
One of many bridges over the Noyo River
Fifteen to go!
Diesel excursion.
Observation car.
Waiting for the Diesel excursion train.
Wood barrel in the foreground that used to hold water for putting out trestle fires. No longer needed evidently.
One of many ponds along the Noyo River. We did not see one fish!!!
"Swanch wise" ties matching the bridge girders underneath
Used spikes.
Camp 3
Un-named wayside hut.
Green canopy reflected by the shiny rails.
Slide area.
Grove, One half mile. elevation 119 feet.
Maintenance siding coming up.
Sidelined equipment.
Branch clearing scaffold?
For tunnel work? Clearing limbs?
Flat bed car with logs.
Grove
Stretching on Mile Post 12
The Noyo River character changes in the lower elevations.
A machine to "fluff up" the ballast. i think!
Operator instructions!
Wiggle waggle
Mile Post 11. The closer we get to "civilization" the more bullet holes and graffiti these mile posts exhibit!
No! You can't have this one!
Damsel Fly on a tie.
There are quite a few "way stations". Some in use.
English Camp.
Another bridge. Don't know why there was a felt cloth nailed down between the rails.
Mile Post 10. Third night camp out spot.
Pumping water from the Noyo
Camping above the Noyo. A nice mellow white noise all night from a riffle.
Maintenance truck.
One of the old growth redwoods that didn't get cut and hauled off via the railroad.
One of only a few crossings.
Foxglove
One of several cabins along the way.
Entering Company Ranch
Clam shell bucket
Company Ranch stop.
Getting closer.
Company Ranch.
Banana Slug on tie.
Some sort of vine with fruit. Stickers on the fruit!
Rail mounted mower.
Equipment on siding.
More track maintenance equipment.
Side dump ore car.
Seven to go!
Only snake we saw and it was dead on the ties.
According to Roger; "Pacific race of the Rubber Boa".
According to Roger; "Pacific race of the Rubber Boa".
Tuesday excursion.
Noyo River gauging station
Water intake station on the Noyo.
Four More!
Deer feeding her fawn.
Diesel excursion enters the tunnel. The observation car has been cleared because of the fumes.
Diesel excursion in the tunnel.
The tunnel at the Fort Bragg end.
Timbers inside the tunnel.
Skunk Train maintenance van.
Pudding Creek alga bloom.
Two to go!
Pudding Creek alga bloom
Mile Post 1. We did it!!
Bush street crossing in Fort Bragg.
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