Backpacking the Lost Coast from Mattole to Black Sands Beach

There is a reason that Highway 1 heads inland at Fort Bragg to join 101. The coast north of this point was simply too rough and rugged for a highway to be built, and this stretch is known as the Lost Coast. Difficulty in trail access, unpredictable weather, and roads that make people nauseous just by looking at them on the map are just a few of the reasons that make the Lost Coast a wild and secluded destination.

This year's trip fell on Memorial Day weekend, and I was surprised by the numbers of people who made it out to the Lost Coast other than our group. While it is typical to see only a few other hikers out there, I would say we easily ran across 50 other backpackers over the course of four days (outside of our own group, that is). Paige had organized a great trip for fifteen (sixteen? I lost count) of us, with half the group heading southbound from Mattole to Black Sands, and the other half heading northbound from Black Sands to Mattole, both groups hiking the ~25 mile stretch over four days. We met on the middle night and camped together, also exchanging car keys to make the shuttling situation less painful. We would all meet again on the last day for lunch in Garberville, where cars, keys, and gear would be switched back to the proper owners.

Hiking the Lost Coast is completely different than Sierra backpacking. For starters, it's damp. The sea air gets in everything and gear doesn't dry out as quickly as it does in the dry mountains. You also have to pay careful attention to tides - if you don't plan your schedule around the tides you can find yourself waiting for hours to get around certain points. The other big difference is the beach walking. It contorts your muscles in ways you are not used to (really seemed to bother my hamstrings and hips, more than anything else), it slows your pace, and fills your shoes with sand. So, four days for 25 miles was a great pace - not too many miles to cover (we made it to camp around noon every day), but it gave us flexibility to deal with tides, vary our pace on the slow beach stretches, and dry our gear out during the sunny afternoons.

It was a great trip, and my pictures are uploaded here: Lost Coast