Hello again everyone. This past week consisted of more hook and line surveys. We were fishing out at Depoe Bay in the Cascade Head Marine Reserve. This time the volunteer anglers were Hatfield interns, some of whom experienced their first time ever fishing! It was awesome witnessing someone catch their first fish, and I know from my own personal experience that it’s a feeling that one never forgets. Fishing on that particular day was a bit slow, but we still managed to catch over 50 fish. Aside from this past week’s hook and line survey, I have not done too much else in the way of field work. My field work activities are slowly dwindling as my summer internship sadly approaches its end and I begin prepping data and content for the upcoming presentation. What isn’t fading, however, are my weekend adventures, with this weekend in particular standing out amongst the rest.

Around 16 of us Hatfield interns road tripped down south to California’s Jedediah State Park, situated in the midst of the giant redwoods. We spent the weekend hiking, surfing, laughing, and sharing stories. We attempted to bushwhack our way through the forest in search of a hidden grove of redwoods, alleged to be the single tallest grove in the world with trees standing over 320 feet tall. To put that into perspective, that’s approximately 9 school buses stacked vertically on top of one another! Unfortunately our search came up empty handed, as we found ourselves walking in circles and confused about where to walk. The location of this grove, known as the grove of titans, is unbeknownst to the public and is known only by a handful of biologist who keep its location undisclosed. One particular biologist wrote a book about his discovery of this mystic grove and referred to some geographical clues to give the adventurous sole some hope of finding it. We attempted to follow these clues, but our search still ended unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed the challenge and the opportunity to unlock a long kept secret.