TL;DR
Travel along the rugged northern California coast on what is one of the most beautiful trails I've ever been on. The Lost Coast is named for the fact that it was too rugged to build hwy 1 through it, which is why hwy 1 cuts inland past this area. We did the northern portion of this trail from Mattole to Shelter Cove for about 25 miles right on the beach. We saw all variations from wildlife, from elephant seals to deer to rattlesnakes, and hiked along the beach next to fresh bear and coyote tracks. The trail can be a bit strenuous due to the terrain. You'll walk through sand, small rocks, medium sized rocks, and large boulders. You will also need to navigate the tide tables for safe passage through a few spots. We did hike at the end of July and lucked out with beautiful weather.
Thoughts
Its been an interesting year to say the least. We got these permits last October, long before the US was concerned with COVID. We were fortunate that our start date was late enough that enough things were reopened. I know some ended up with cancelled permits. We lucked out and were able to not only stay at our AirBnb the night prior but to also have the Lost Coast Tours shuttle operating as well. We followed their safety protocol which included temperature checks and wearing masks the duration of the ride between Shelter Cove and Mattole. The driver was very nice and full of information about the area and trail.
An uncommon resource which I found extremely helpful was the Lost Coast Trail community on Facebook. Everyone was extremely kind and provided very useful information on everything from reading the tide tables, shuttle options, weather, and current conditions. Planning this trip was interesting to say the least. We were originally supposed to be a group of 9 but half dropped out once they saw our tide tables. Having already done the hike, I can say the tide tables that we had in conjunction with the surf and wind were completely safe. But its hard to make that decision prior to actually doing it and trusting your gut is for the best. The rangers will say that you shouldn't go through the impassable zones when the tide is close to +3 feet. This may very well be true on a windy or stormy day. For us, we had calm breezes throughout the day. There weren't any moments when I felt in danger or was even remotely close to getting wet. But it all comes back to knowing your own abilities and weighing that risk.
We set out from Mattole at around 9:30am. The fog was in, painting everything a flat grey. The first bit will get your blood pumping since its through loose sand. But it was fun and exciting, I had never done a backpacking trip along a beach before. The waves provide a constant background noise to everything that's very soothing. Soon the sand flattened out to more of a hard-pack making it easier to walk on. We came upon our first tide pools and we had a great time looking for little animals.
As we hiked on the fog cleared and it was nothing but blue skies, blue ocean and the bright yellow of the hills. It was pretty spectacular and I count ourselves lucky that we got to experience the Lost Coast like this. There was a family of elephant seals on the beach and some males in the water fighting. We saw what looked like river otters in some tide pools which was weird. Brown pelicans following the leader as they dipped and dove among the waves. It was a wildlife spotters treat.
We began the first impassable zone around 1 and then stopped for lunch around 1:30. This was during the waning from the lower high tide. This section was a mix of sand, small rocks, and slightly larger rocks. A few hours later we cleared the zone and arrived at Randall Creek. While not as nice as Cooksie, which we was in the middle of the impassable zone, we did have it all to ourselves. Randall offers a couple spots on the beach behind the high tide line and a few hillside spots if you rather camp away from the ocean.
The next day wasn't quite so memorable. The bits along the ocean were nice but as soon as the trail cut inland it began to be a slog. Something about the lack of changing scenery always takes the fun out of things. Especially with a healthy paranoia about rattlesnakes. Eventually we arrived at Big Flat which is somehow exactly how it sounds. Being midsummer, the creek was very calm but I can imagine turns into a torrent after a big rain. Tons of deer meandered around the creek not caring a whole lot that there were humans close by. We found either the best camping spot or maybe the worst but if it was the worst we weren't sure why. It was empty when we arrived despite other people being around. Someone had built up a large windbreak complete with benches under a tree canopy. We called this home for the night. We were also treated to a beautiful almost full moon as it came out from behind Shelter Cove.
Our tide window the next day required an early start. Our goal was to be hiking by 7am in order to get through the last impassable zone before the afternoon high tide. We set off on time and in my morning drowsiness almost stepped on the rattlesnake about 300ft out of Big Flat. Now fully awake, we started the impassable zone. I would say this zone would be best done with caution considering the tides. I wouldn't cut this one close. You are faced with stepping on and around basketball size boulders which would be incredibly difficult as well as dangerous if wet. I wouldn't want to have to rush through this section. Pass that part, the trail turned back into flat sand. Being the first ones on the trail was amazing, perfectly untouched sand except for bear and coyote footprints. No sounds except the ebb and flow of the waves. The sun was still behind the mountain range so the air was cold and crisp. Fog filtered down random canyons making visibility cloudy in some parts and striking clear in others. It was borderline magical.
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