Backpacking at the Lost Coast - Day 2

The goal for this morning was to hike south to Miller Flat where we would spend the night. After we set up camp I did some more exploring. Walking another mile or so was no problem once I was able to ditch the pack. The scenery and flowers were spectacular.Wild iris.As I've said in other posts the poison oak can be very pretty although its definitely best to avoid it. Back at camp there was no shortage of wildlife, although I wasn't able to do much about photographing sea lions or a river otter with my 40mm lens. (I tried, but won't bore you with those photos where you have to know which speck is the subject animal.)  Kaleena was photographing one of her favorite flowers right next to camp and was about to step over a log when she saw this: It eventually slithered under the log. Maybe the beach is a safer trek.My kids could be active-wear models.This made me nervous. Matt wanted to get photos of the surf as it rolled in under his camera.Another great dinner. This time it was mac and cheese with fresh veggies followed by s'mores with your choice of graham crackers or fresh apple slices or both.Of course there was always trail mix for snacking.  

Sunset on the beach. The  colors of the sky and ocean changed to pinks and greens as the sun went down.         My tent at dusk. (Rainfly necessary this night.)

Backpacking at the Lost Coast - Day 1

My son and DIL invited me to join them and a couple of their friends on a backpacking trip to one of their favorite spots. According to Wikipedia, "the steepness and related geo-technical challenges of the coastal mountains made this stretch of coastline too costly for state highway or county road builders to establish routes through the area, leaving it the most undeveloped and remote portion of the California coast". Since Matt and Kaleena did all the planning, food prep, etc all I had to do was gather up or borrow the right clothes and gear.  We drove about 5 hours north to a campsite outside of the town of Honeydew in Humboldt County where we spent the night. The next morning we drove to the the Kinsey Ridge Trailhead to begin the hike.  I borrowed  backpack since I couldn't find mine (and the last time I had used it was about 30 years ago so this one was probably a little better). There was a four mile trek down the mountain to get to the beach. After that the trail is along the beach or through meadows just above.  Every mile or so there is another river running out of the mountains into the ocean. This was where we camped the first night.Time to unpack the dogs and relax a bit. First order of business was to secure our site by setting up the tents. There were not very many people hiking the area, but Matt and Kaleena have their favorite spots and you can't exactly reserve a site.  This is the view of the ocean from inside my tent. No rain fly needed the first night.Matt and Kaleena's friends didn't bring tents but constructed a temporary shelter from the wind with rocks and driftwood. Next it was time to explore the area and wash the poison oak off the dogs.  Matt was the chef. He and Kaleena had prepared enough veggies to last us for 3 dinners.After watching the sun set over the ocean...…we enjoyed s'mores back at camp before turning in for the night.