Lost Coast Trip Report

“Yeah. It's called the Lost Coast for a reason. Way up on the Mendocino/Humboldt Co coastline where even CalTrans was too scared to venture. It takes sooooooo friggin' long to get there! Left in the a.m. Saturday before last. Was fully packed out with all sorts of luxuries including the 4 oz backpackers grill and the 2.5 lb tri-tip to go on it for the first night. I had enough food for four + days, including some of Bacpac's recommended powdered eggs from King Arthur Flour (kick ass) and the packable fry pan. This was to be a base camp trip with side excursions during the day so I could bring along fun stuff, including a little surprise!

Weather was slotted to be a mixed bag with possible thundershowers, sunshine, heavy fog and no moon. I dragged along the tent tho we would never need it.

Seven hours later we pulled up at the trailhead. I always have this phobia there are going to be a ton of cars and people there and that I'll be soooo disappointed. Once again, not a car in the place. They'd constructed some permanent restrooms to replace the portable jobs. Nicely done. The first to sign the trail registery in a couple of days and headed up the beach with woman and mutt in tow. The sun was shinning and of course, the wind blowing. Is there nothing finer than a fresh offshore breeze and all the positive ions that go with it? The wildflowers were amazing and colored the hillsides in waves of gold, yellow, purple and red.

About a 3 mile hike up the beach in mostly soft sand brought us to the historic lighthouse constructed at the turn of the century. Along the way we'd seen several beached seals in the process of dying. Strange and sad, it is all par for the course of the natural cycle. Off shore their healthy counterparts frolicked in the waves, sunned on the rocks and barked at each other. Some of the bulls were huge and there was definitely some contesting going on over mates.

Another mile or so down the beach from the lighthouse we came to a series of driftwood shelters and chose the one most removed from view as a base camp. Someone had let a camp fire get out of hand and it had burned a portion of the shelter. Partially burnt logs were strewn about but others had taken time to reconstruct damaged sections. We forwent setting up the tent as the weather seemed fine and we prefer to sleep under the stars when possible. A stream gurggled nearby and looking up the hill side one could view a towering waterfall that turned the rock face green. A later attempt to climb to the falls was thwarted by the copious amounts of poison oak lining the route. I turned back before reaching the falls but am still scratching at the vestiges.

We ate mussle appetizers gleaned from the rocks at low tide, sailed the stunt kite for the first time until the 30 mph winds snapped the 20 mph rated test line, read books, day hiked down the coast to explore other canyons, drainages and the new boat wreck on the beach, and practiced our Spanish flashcards. It never rained.

On the final day, as the sun was setting and we were collecting firewood and some mussles, I pulled from a secret location, my surprise. I turned, dropped to my knees, held the engagement ring up to her and asked the love of my life to marry me. She said yes without hesitation.

And so, a place already very special to the both of us took on even more meaning in our lives.

Oh yeah. And just to throw a bone to you unromantic types, the backpackers grill was da bomb! Boiled water, grilled meat and all that. Highly recommended alternative/backup to a stove.

Hee hee!”

“Yaaay!!!!! CONGRATS!!!! When's the party?!”

“And by the way, your report just made me decide where my next week-long trip will be!

I'm going to the Carson Iceberg wilderness for four days this next week, so maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll get some poison ivy too.

Congratulations again!!”

“Congrats Rosey!

BTW, where did you get the BP Grill? I've been looking for one.

Phaedrus, no need to worry about Poison Ivy in California, or Poison Oak in C-I, the elevation is too high.”

“How romantic ....... congratulations!”

“Congrats and good luck! I am so glad you went traditional and went down on one knee!”

“Yeah: one for now, two for the rest of your life.

:)”

“Nice to know that some guys still are a credit to our gender! Great style points, roseymonster. And congrats, too.”

“what a great bedtime read.............too cool”

“Thanks all! If you haven't been to the Lost Coast and have an opportunity, do it. It's is VERY worth the time it takes to get there.

Dunk: www.purcelltrench.com I spoke with the owner before purchasing and he's a very cool cat. They're a little spendy but worth it IMHO.”

“Excellent!”

“wow, that sounds like the best trip!! congratumalations :-)”