The Gasquet-Orleans (G-O Road) is one of the most infamous paved highways in California history. Originally built for logging trucks in the Six Rivers National Forest, it has gone through a whole series of court actions and eventually wilderness protection before Congress all the way into the 1990's
Most of the local people who lived there or still live there and had anything to do with it consider the GO Road one giant mistake and it will forever lie there slowly deteriorating because it's not maintained, almost nobody goes up there except to hike or have native religious ceremonies
A map of the GO road is here and it starts on the South Fork of the Smith River, the last major undammed river in California. Very few people have really gone into the unpaved section of it which is no longer a road, but a trail. At the end of each part of the paved section they have a pile of rocks to prevent any motorized vehicles and in some places you have to carry a bicycle over tree stumps
One of the few blogs to have photos from 'up there' is this one - Walking the Lost Highway, and for the first time, this blog publishes one the biggest collection of photos from the GO Road from September 2013
The GO Road is basically the ONLY road within many miles and there's not even that many trails, so if you go up there, you are likely to not see any other people the entire day, until you make it either to Orleans or Gasquet (Smith River). It is true wilderness, stunning views, quiet solitude and well worth the effort
I can't say that I'm the first person to bike the GO Road, because I saw previous tire tracks on the trail, so somebody else did it before me, but I am one of the few to bike into the interior, and this is possible to do it all in one day
Very quickly after leaving the Smith River you go uphill for a few miles and already get some great views of the coastal range bordering on Redwood National and State Parks
