The Claw vs. Paul Bunyan

If a tree falls in the woods, and a young couple is being murdered by mountain folk, does anyone hear it? Well in Leggett, CA the whole town hears you and takes bets on how long youll last.

Mom, I apologize for the dramatic intro but I was told by my 6th grade English teacher to always start an essay with a hook. Now that I have your attention I can tell you the real story, its only about half that bad.

After working our way up the CA-1 we ended up low on fuel and stuck in Humbolt country at 11pm at night. While Humbolt is best known for beautiful Redwoods and giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues, no one really tells you that all the gas stations there close at 8pm. For a Vanagon traveler with a max 200 miles per tank, this basically means that come darkness you better be safely tucked away in a campground and not roaming the mountains searching for an automated gas pump.


Well to make a long story short (too late) Rachel and I got to spend the night in the parking lot of the only semi-public establishment in Leggett in hopes that the flood lights would keep "The Claw" away (for more info one "The Claw" see "campfire stories"). There is no better feeling than waking up at 6am clutching the cold steel of your trusty hatchet "Molly", realizing that Günther kept out all nefarious bearded intruders.

With a new lease on life we quickly headed over to the drive thru tree to make sure we left Leggett with only fond memories. Although should we really think fondly of a city famous for carving a huge hole in a tree older than Jesus? Hmmm, and it makes me wonder.

- JJ