Waiting to be Reborn

The Northern California coast has the feeling of history that has refused to transition; as if time slowed down to create a microcosm of what life was once like1878. Walking down the bricked streets of these coastal towns, which are lined with Victorian-Era redwood framed buildings, one is left with the impression that any one of these shop owners or produce sellers could have made for the perfect characters in a Mark Twain or Jack London novel.

The only difference is that, as the Redwood Forests surrounding these towns receded to 5% of their former grandeur, Federal and State governments brought the area’s livelihood to a very sudden stop. What has resulted is much of the outlying city structures have a very bleak, postindustrial feel.  In the wake of so much job loss, towns like Eureka, Arcata, and Crescent City have struggled to redefine themselves in a manner other than that of the poster children for deforestation and more recently marijuana cultivation. What locals are starting to realize is that the same natural resources that brought the first settlers to the area can also provide commerce in the 21st Century in the form of eco-tourism and human powered adventure sports.

The story of pro downhill racer Justin Graves, of North Coast Adventure Centers, is a good example of this trend. I biked up to meet him at Revolution Cycles in Arcata to talk a little SWAE and get a better feel for what was going on in the adventure sports community of Nor Cal. Justin has just launched a company that offers mountain biking tours through some of the most wild and scenic country in the lower 48 states, but it’s been an uphill battle to get to this point. When this idea first came to him, there weren’t any legal single-track trails anywhere around the area. He had even been threatened with lawsuits just for telling people where to ride.

So, Justin paired up with the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and started working with local leaders who understood the potential of increasing tourism, while also providing locals with other forms of outdoor recreation. Needless to say, we clicked from start.  The driving force behind SWAE is to ensure businesses like Justin’s thrive. All it will take is for other companies like Justin’s to follow in the model he’s helping to develop and Humboldt County will certainly become one of the most sought after adventure destinations in the world.

The combination of a rich cultural history, a rugged coastline, and the primordial forests that cover the surrounding hills, make for the necessary ingredients to rejuvenate this part of California to its former glory. I, for one, can’t wait to see it happen.