Today was our fourth and final day on the Lost Coast Trail. The last day of any backpacking trip is always bittersweet. We looked forward to sleeping in a bed and eating a meal that wasn’t rehydrated. Yet we want to linger and savor the sense of peace and connectedness we’ve enjoyed on the trail. […]
Lost Coast Trail: Spanish Flat to Miller Flat
The Lost Coast Trail has several sections which are impassable at high tide, and it is essential that you bring a tide chart along to avoid becoming trapped in one of these spots. Today would be the only day of our adventure with no impassable sections. It was a pleasure knowing we didn’t have to […]
Lost Coast Trail: Sea Lion Gulch to Spanish Flat
I woke up to the early morning light. Outside our tent the air was thick with fog and heavy with moisture. Large drops of condensation clung to our rain fly, and everything that wasn’t covered was damp. We fired up our stove, boiling water for our Starbucks Via and ate awesome breakfast burritos while the sun […]
Lost Coast Trail: Mattole Beach to Sea Lion Gulch
We drove up Highway 101 from San Francisco, marveling at the beautiful scenery all the way. The golden coastal mountains, dotted with ancient oak trees slowly give way to towering redwoods that darken the skies. We turned off at Garberville and stopped for lunch before making the two hour drive to Shelter Cove. Oddly, our […]
The Lost Coast Trail: An Overview
We arrived at Mattole Beach early in the evening. The trailhead has a scattering of car campsites, which we were eager to leave behind. We donned our backpacks, hit the trail, and promptly lost ourselves in the vast beauty of the coast. It feels somehow primal; the convergence of sea and land on this solitary, rugged […]