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| Sunset at our campsite |
8 friends, totaling 18 legs, set out on a 4-day trip to perform an arduous, unnecessary, but amazingly beautiful commute along the Lost Coast Trail which is one California’s premier backpacking areas with over 25 miles (40 km) of undeveloped coastal trail in addition to 60 miles (100 km) of steep mountain trails.
Coastal hikes can only be made at low tide, so you always have to study the tide charts before departing. It was threatening to storm most of the trip, which meant that some of the mountain river passes could become impassable with the thunderstorms. The weather gods were kind to us, and it only rained when we were sleeping. However, just in case it turned into a Donner Party event, I was making all sorts of alliances with my hiking buddies so I was on preferred side of cannibalism.
Perhaps because of the weather forecast, we had much of the park to ourselves. We did not see a single other hiker for the two days we hiked in the mountain sections. Our hardest day was Saturday, we started to break camp at 7:30am and did reach our campsite until 8pm where we set up our tents in the twilight then passed out just as the rain hit.
The terrain in the area was incredibly diverse. One minute you are ensconced in a mossy tree
forest soaked by the fog, then 5 minute later you are in the sunshine
surrounded by flowers. I only had my
cell phone camera, so I really could not do the park justice …
Martin, the good natured Pyrenees rescue dog, used his 100 pounds (45 kg) to keep us moving along, but was not above passing out and going into full REM sleep within minutes if we took off our packs for a break. Andrew made makeshift booties for Martin so his paws were not upbraided by the sandy sections of the trip giving him a great flashdancer look that was a total chick magnet J
We drove back home arriving around 2am Sunday night/Monday morning with an odor I will charitably call ‘manly’. I’m still sore, but can’t wait to start planning next year’s trip.
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We saw several whales breach in this area and
the rocks were covered in seals
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| Making the bend before high-tide |
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Filtering water, Like a Boss!
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#Shattered
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I’m thinking about adopting this look year-round
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Martin took a tactical nap during a beach hike, so we did shots in his honor
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Jennifer Beals eat your heart out!
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| Dinner planning the night before |
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| Cocktail hour turned soreness into smiles |
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| Strait out of a Lord of the Rings scene |
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Flowering trees overgrew several miles of the
trail, making it beautiful, but impossible to tell where you were going at
times
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The Ziploc girls had no
fear of rain
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| Tent selfie rocking the eye-shades as a makeshift hat |
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| Our last campsite |
