Lost Coast Backpacking | Adventures

Since I’ve lived in California I have wanted to try backpacking. I have to admit, I was super nervous going into this, but my boyfriend assured us that “it will be pretty flat, it’s along the coast.”

This could not have been further from the truth.

We had decided to hike the south end of the trail, which can be found at the end of a 6 miles drive down a bumpy dirt road. I was very glad we brought his truck and not my little Nissan Sentra. This is also the most mountainous area of the trail to begin at. 12,000 feet of altitude difference, which is more than in and out of the Grand Canyon, for some perspective.

Right from the start the four of us climbed straight up, switchbacks through the woods turning into, only slightly flatter, fields of overgrown grasses and prickly thistle. There were a lot of stops to catch our breath and stare in disbelief at the next climb ahead of us.

We quickly decided that we would not be making it to the 3rd campsite, 12 miles in, that we had originally hoped for. Instead we aimed for the Little Jackass campsite, only 7.5 miles in. To get there, we climbed up and then down two tall peaks.

Exhausted, but feeling accomplished, we setup our tents beside a stream. Then promptly crawled inside, and fell asleep to the sound of water running over rocks and our campsite neighbor’s ukulele. It was blissful.

The rest of the afternoon we ate then lay around reading in our tents. Mike went hiking down the stream to the beach to hang out by the ocean for a bit, but the rest of us were too worn out.

Making dinner, setting up camp, finding interesting wildlife.

Making breakfast, including a make shift mocha. This is the look I get when I’m caught taking a photo.  😛

The following morning we made breakfast and packed up camp, trying not to think about how much climbing we still had ahead of us.

Surprisingly, the climbs felt easier and our muscles responded better the second day. We made great time on our hike back, finishing in only 4 hours.

I’ve never been happier to see the end of a trail.

On the way out we drove a bit closer to the coast and found some elk grazing on a small pasture by the water.

Some victory burgers and beer were in order, so we decided to stop at the Bear Republic Brewery in Healdsburg on the way home.

It was an amazing, exhausting, wonderful weekend with good friends. Along the way we made friends with a young hiker who was outpacing his family behind us, skirted around countless leaves of poison oak, navigated loose ground on cliff edges, and discovered many hidden treasures along the Lost Coast. Although the trail was not what we had expected, I think the three of us newbies felt a much larger sense of pride at the end than if it had been flat.

At some point, though not super soon, I would like to explore more of this trail.

(Photos of me were captured by my friend Lea on her iphone and also a friendly hiker family for our group photo.)