Hiking California's Lost Coast
June 7, 2004 -- If you spend much time cruising around California's coastal cities, it might seem as if the state's coastline is one massive urban sprawl from San Diego to San Francisco.
The fact is, there are painfully few places left along the coast where you can really get away from it all. But among those that remain, Northern California's Lost Coast is an epic reminder of how pristine and isolated the coast can be.
And what a challenge to the adventure-minded.
The Lost Coast is the last remaining stretch of pristine coastline in the state of California, a 27-mile ribbon of sandy and rocky beach, towered over by green grassy bluffs dressed in full bloom. The state park has been set aside from development as a preserve where lovers of the outdoors and nature buffs can get a taste of what California used to be like a hundred or more years ago.
Where else can you can walk for hours and be completely alone, or set up camp near the purr of the ocean waves and be miles away from residential development? Or where you will never hear the sound of a jackhammer or the bleat of a car horn? Hiking the Lost Coast is the best way to experience what this part of the state has to offer.
Three couples, my wife and I started our three-day traverse at Shelter Cove, an old fishing village nestled along the coast, and the only organized community in the area. We then made our way to the mouth of the Mattole River, where we parked, prepped our gear and filled our water bottles.
Our destination for that first day was the Punta Gorda lighthouse ruins, which lie about 3 miles south along a narrow, but well-trodden trail. The lighthouse was built in 1910 after 87 people died in a maritime tragedy aboard the ship Columbia. We camped at the ruins that first night, cooking on the beach and dozing to the chatter of seabirds. In the morning, we were off, hiking down the coast, sometimes crossing grueling stretches of soft sand that was hard on the ankles.
On the second day, the trail took us to the high country.
