Backpacking in the Lost Coast

The Lost Coast is an 80 mile stretch of the California coast where the builders of Highway 1 decided to go around because it was too rough. That saved this area from humans and this beautiful trail continues to offer an unadulterated taste of the nature. In this post I am describing the experience of my maiden 24 mile backpacking trip that we did in November, 2013.

It was 25th November and I still didn't have any plans for the Thanksgiving long weekend starting on the 28th. I had thought earlier that I would use this weekend to work on my CS 229 project and assignment, but as the weekend came nearer, I realized I had enough time to do both. Abhijit also encouraged me that there was still some time before the quarter ends and I should go do something. Byron invited me to join him for the backpacking trip he and Hans had planned. Since I hadn't been backpacking, I thought this would be a unique experience and promptly said yes without much thought. Byron sent me a link to Marc's hike description and it seemed pretty easy.

Later that evening, I met Gurmeet for dinner and told him cheerfully that I was going backpacking to the lost coast. It didn't take him much to realize I was totally underprepared. He told me it was one of the top rated hikes in the Northern America but also one of the most difficult. He introduced me to another Googler who had done the hike a few years ago and meeting him confirmed that I was in for some serious challenges. Googling more about "Lost Coast in December" sent a chill down my spine when various blogs and forums mentioned heavy rains, landslides and flash floods and not to mention bears, snakes and other wildlife. Thankfully for us, the weather prediction for the weekend was bright and sunny. I was sure that in the best case, this was going to be a painful but rewarding experience. I wasn't very sure what to do, and then I thought:

Everything worth doing is going to be difficult. The question you should be asking is not if it is difficult or not, but if it's worth facing the difficulties.

So in the next two days, I read more about backpacking tips and hiking in lost coast and gathered all the necessary equipments. This was one of the wettest place in California and since it was almost December, it was going to be quite cold too. I didn't have hiking boots and since it was already too late to break in new ones, I decided to take my chances with my non-waterproof running shoes. It was not supposed to rain afterall, so I thought I should be fine. Later on, they got wet in the very 1st hour while crossing a stream. Thankfully, it wasn't much of an annoyance.

Now comes the packing. I packed the tent, first aid and my warm clothes in the seemingly small backpack and it suddenly became quite large. There was no place left for the bear canister and food, but I thought we would figure it out later before starting the hike. Now I try to lift the backpack and it wouldn't move at all. After putting all my energy in doing so, I manage to lift it but I feel some pain in my back.

I said to myself, what have I gotten myself into. I have trouble lifting the backpack, how will I even walk with this thing. But it was too late to back out, there was only one way: forward.

So the next day, we drove through the dense beautiful redwoods and reached the trailhead at around noon. It was much warmer than I had expected. So I took a gamble and decide to leave some warm clothes in the car so as to make the backpack lighter. This was a bit risky as we were going to be next to the ocean for the 3 days and temperatures could drop suddenly because of the strong winds. Overall, it turned out to be a right decision.

Now begins the hike, I somehow manage to lift the backpack and I can feel that my back isn't very happy, but it can survive for a while. The hike was going to be along the ocean, which meant we were going to walk on the sandy ( and rocky, as we would find out later ) beach for a long long time. Walking on sand with a 30 pound backpack was excruciating and every step would feel like a small battle with my thighs hurting.

I said to myself, what have I gotten myself into. I have trouble walking even in the beginning, how will I complete the 24 miles. But it was too late to back out, there was only one way: forward.

I diverted my mind away from the pain reeling in the entire body, towards the beautiful mountains to our left and the mighty roaring Pacific to our right and the sound of wind from back rushing past my ears. It was a futile effort. 

Pretty soon we came across the Punta Gonda lighthouse. I wanted to drop my backpack and see it, but evening was soon approaching and we had to cross a narrow beach section before the tides block it.

After an hour or so, we were now walking on the mountains. It felt much better than walking on the beach sand, but there were quite a few places where the trail was quite close to the steep cliff and one slip of foot, coupled with reduced control because of a heavy backpack would send you off the cliff.

Eventually, the sun set around 5pm and it was beginning to become dark. We crossed a small fresh water stream and came across a flat terrain on a mountain. About 200 feet from us, there were 4 flat rocks in front of us in the ocean and it was full of sea lions. This area was called The Sea Lion creek.  This seemed like a decent place for camping. Hans started preparing for dinner, Byron and I fetched water. Hans made delicious chole and rice. Since it wasn't very cold, Hans and Byron wanted to sleep in the open (in the sleeping bag of course) and not set up a tent as it would save us some time in the morning. Since I had never slept in a tent, I was really looking forward to it. But I thought, I could do it the next day. Hans made some delicious chai and we called it a night. End of day 1 and it wasn't so bad after all. I felt I could do it for the next two days. I stared at the beautiful star studded night sky. This reminded me of the time when as a kid, during summers, we used to sleep on the roof of our house to beat the heat. Ah.. long time...

Next day we woke up to some breathtaking views. There were some powerful high tides of pacific in front of us. As we were drinking the morning chai, we could see the fierce waves rising high as if trying to reach the top of the cliff we were camping on. The sea lions were still holding their fort strong, although occasional waves would wash them off their rocks and then they would again nonchalantly crawl back up.

We packed our stuff and started again on our path. We had a long ground to cover today. We wanted to reach the 12 mile point today as we had to return the next day. After navigating our way through some mountains, the trail eventually led us back to the beach. This time it was different though. It was a rocky beach. Turns out, walking on rocks is even more difficult than on sand. If the rocks are small, they would be unstable and can throw your balance off. If they are big, you spend a lot of energy in stepping up and down them. A heavy backpack multiplies the  difficulty by 10x. We walked on the beach for what seemed like an eternity. I stumbled twice, my ankle twisted once but thankfully nothing major happened. I was totally drained out of energy.

Then came a crossing which I had read about. The beach there was very narrow and waves were reaching till the end. You have to time your start and cross it quickly to avoid getting wet. We managed to do that successfully. Eventually we came to 8 mile point and the campground we were looking for. It was the broad opening of a stream right before it merges in the ocean. There was a raised platform next to it and looked like a decent place to spend the night. It was about 3pm. We left our bags there and marched ahead to get to the halfway point. Now without the backpack, I felt as if I was flying. My arms would just raise with the wind. It felt really nice.

We came back to our campsite by the evening and started collecting firewoods for a campfire. Then Byron and I tried to set up my tent but it turned out to be very complicated. We gave up on it and since the weather was still pretty warm, we decided to sleep in the open in our sleeping bags. Byron and I started the campfire while Hans prepared pasta. It had been a really long day and warmth from the fire felt really good. We burnt pretty much any dry piece of wood we could find and kept the fire alive for about 2 hrs. Then, we went to the sandy bed and starry roof and it was the end of day 2. I congratulated myself for being strong thus far.

The next day we woke up to the usual high tide. But today, they didn't seem to settle. We waited till 12 pm before we could walk out of our campground as its opening was closed by the high waves. We were hoping to be back at the parking lot by 4 pm but we now had a much delayed start. Plus while going back, we were going to face very strong wind currents. It was going to be a difficult route.

We passed through the same rocky sections, but they made us much less miserable this time. At around 3 we were at our 1st day's campsite. This was a good sign. We had travelled much faster today, I am not sure what the reason was: lesser food to carry or the fear of getting trapped there during the night. Finally we came to the abandoned lighthouse and this marked that we had crossed all the tidal crossing points. I dropped my backpack and ran up to the old structure. I took the rusty iron stares in it to reach the top. Standing there, I felt myself as a part of mankind's eternal desire to explore. I somehow felt I have been here always.

I stared at the immersive ocean for a while and then closed my eyes and let myself soak into it.

We walked about a mile more and could sense that the parking lot was quite close. Hans and I decide to run. This was the very sand on which were struggling to walk on the first day and now we were running on it.

It's amazing how much we are capable of. The only way to find out, is to put ourselves through it.

This entire trip had been an amazing experience. I had learnt so much about myself.

Thanks Byron and Hans for planning this and inviting me to join you.