Lost Coast Trail: time and tides wait for no one

California's Lost Coast Trail in the King Range is a prime backpacker's destination.  I wanted to do this trail for many years and finally hiked it with my youngest daughter last July.  The path is often close to the ocean's edge and impassable at several spots during high tide. I checked local tide tables beforehand and knew that a high tide would occur at 5 pm our first day on the trail.  To be safe, we needed to make it through the "impassable at high tide sections" by 3 pm.  We thought that would be easy.  Ha!

This map of the first day's hike doesn't show the many creeks and campsites we past. 

We took a 6:30 am shuttle ride to Mattole Beach and left our car at the trail's end point, Black Sands Beach at Shelter Cove.  The distance between the two beaches is only 27 miles (by trail) but the shuttle ride took two hours, due to mountainous terrain and tortuous roads.  Before beginning our hike, we had breakfast at Mattole campground and registered for the hike.  Several other groups of hikers set out upon arrival so they were a good half hour in front of us.  The Lost Coast Trail a popular destination.

The hike started out on sandy dunes and dried grassy meadows but soon hugged the coast and some terrific tide pools.

Mattole Beach.  The morning clouds burned off early.

Tide pools on the Lost Coast Trail

Low tide with lots of interesting creatures in the pools

I love to poke around in tide pools so it was hard for me not to dally here.  I knew that we had miles of rough terrain ahead.  Not long after the tide pools we past Punta Gorda lighthouse and a few sea lions who were lolling in the sand.

Punta Gorda lighthouse

Soon the beach became narrow and rocky.  It was slow going, and often involved rock-hopping... not so easy with a heavy pack. Well, to be honest, I don't carry a heavy pack.  It's a relative thing, my pack feels heavy to me, but light to my daughter.  She cheerfully carried the bear-proof food canister and our tent.  It was great to have such a wonderful hiking partner! We took breaks on this long, difficult section to rehydrate, snack and watch seals and sea birds.  An eerie aspect of this section is the noise that the surf makes when it crashes on rocks and tumbles them in its rolling wave action.  You hear the constant din of clattering rocks, a reminder of the ocean's power.

Watch your steps on these ankle-twisting rocks.

It was close to high tide, 3pm, when we rounded the last big rock of the "impassable at high tide" section.  To stay dry, we waited for a wave to come in and then flow back out before running around the rock.

Last rock-run-around before Randall Creek camp

We made it, dry and safe, to our first camp at Randall Creek although it wasn't a leisurely hike at all. An hour later, we would not have made it around the last rock without getting splashed and possibly knocked over by a wave.  Randall Creek camp is beautiful.  It's located about a mile up from the cutoff to Spanish Ridge.  We chose a spot up on the meadow.  Other campers selected sites closer to the creek and more protected from possible winds.  Lucky for us there was little wind and we enjoyed the fabulous ocean view.

Randall Creek campsite on the Lost Coast Trail, five star backcountry accommodation!

 Filtering water and otter watching on Randall Creek

Wildflowers were still blooming at Randall Creek and the pools there were deep enough to wade into.  We saw a river otter who ran with agility over the rocks and driftwood. I love how backpacking gets me back to basics. The focus is on simple aspects of life: food, water, shelter, fitness, and coexisting with nature.  Nature, of course, has the upper hand.

A short, easy hike was slated for the next day.  We hiked the easiest section of the Lost Coast Trail from Randall Creek to Big Flat in about 4.5 hours.  The trail was mostly flat and goes through meadows.  Earlier in summer the wildflowers must be astounding but we were too late for that.  I was grateful for an easy hiking day because I had already begun to get blisters.  I bandaged them to minimize further damage and switched into sandals whenever possible.  Big Flat offers more than a dozen excellent campsites by the sea with lots of driftwood shelters.  We selected a spacious site with extra large driftwood logs.

Big, flat, grassy meadow on the Lost Coast Trail

Evening fog flowing up Rattlesnake Ridge near Big Flat Creek

Campsite at Big Flat

We made camp early, relaxed and washed up.  The next section of the trail would be a long "impassable at high tide" stretch that we did not want to attempt during any time close to high tide. We made a delicious dinner and enjoyed watching deer, rabbits, seals, and seabirds.

The next day, our third day, we could have easily walked all the way to Shelter Cove, our end point.  Instead, we stopped about 2 miles from the end to enjoy a third night of camping.  We were lucky to have fine weather and excellent campsites. The hike through the final "impassable at high tide section" was similar to the previous impassable section, very rocky.

A short climb is required to get down to the trail near the water's edge.

Some of this section was very rocky.

Sandy sections were easy on my tired feet. There were lots of seals and birds to watch.

Cormorants in the morning fog

Our third and last campsite was at Horse Mountain Creek.  Few people camp here because it's so close to the end of the trail.  It's a lovely site with fresh water, driftwood wind protection, and a warm, black sand beach.

Horse Mountain Creek, home to river otters

Beautiful campsite with a wide black sand beach

The black sand is clean and warm.  It feels great to lay on it.

There were a few snags: we ran out of fuel on the last day and needed to move the tent in the middle of the night due to high winds.  This didn't bother us much.  The natural beauty around us, the sea life and our hiking success made me gloriously happy most of the time.

The sleepy town of Shelter Cove was our destination the next day.  We walked two short miles over sand and some rocks.  Seals popped up near the shoreline and the sun was shining. It began to sink in to me that we had just completed a great adventure.

Trail's end! 

Last selfie on the Lost Coast Trail.  We did it!

Please post your comments and questions about this blog.

What were your experiences like on backpacking trips?

Do you have suggestions for other amazing trails?