| Mitch, John, and I started north in the big green RAPTOR6 mobile around 3pm Friday. Traffic was thick for the weekend after Labor Day. Stopped for dinner at a small Italian diner just north of Santa Rosa. We reached Humboldt Redwood Forest in the dead of night. Nothing eerier than giant coastal redwoods looming overhead on the edge of a winding road in by the light of the full moon. We reached Mathole Trailhead sometime past midnight. We scrounged around in the dark and found a campsite. Set up the tent and crashed for the night. In the early morning, we found ourselves surrounded by ocean mist and nestled in the King Range. We broke camp, grabbed our packs, and headed for the ocean. We hiked on the beach for most of our trip. Taking time to explore the rock formations during the low tide as well as the colorful sea remains left from the high tide. We passed plenty of sealions watching us from the surf. During our nine mile trek along the beach, we passed several fresh water streams flowing from the King Range. One of the highlights of the trip was the Punta Gorda Lighthouse, replaced long ago by a bouy in the distance. We stopped for lunch at the lighthouse. I relaxed on a huge piece of driftwood while John & Mitch scrambled up the hillside to see what was above the fog. They didn't come back down till an hour later. I managed to catch a few winks in the meantime. We continued our trek along the beach until we found the perfect little cubby hole to set up camp - a little cove nestled in the rocks with the ocean at our door step. That door step got pretty close at high tide in the middle of the night. After a hearty rehydrated meal of BBQ Beef, Thai Chicken, and Vegetable Beef soup, we retired for the night to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. The next morning we broke camp and started on our journey back to Mathole. One the highlights of our return trek was navigating around a particularily treacherous rocky point with the wave nipping at our heals. We made it without incident, but it was close. We stopped by the Punta Gorda Lighthouse for lunch again, and even took a group photo. The trip back was pleasant. We made good time, getting back to the car within 3.5 hours. The sun even peeked out to give us beautiful ocean views. Before heading home, we stopped to check out the giant redwoods that greeted us in the middle of the night and took a leisurely drive through the "Avenue of the Giants". The Lost Coast is definitely a place to come back to, perhaps in the spring when the King Range is covered with wildflowers. |
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