Lost Coast Trail – Mattole River to Black Sands Beach

North to South – 24.6 miles

Day 1 – 8.3 miles – Mattole River to Randall Creek

Day 2 – 9.7 miles – Randall Creek to Shipman Creek

Day 3 – 6.6 miles – Shipman Creek to Black Sands Beach

Slowly. Step, wait, step; balance, step.  Head down, eyes on your feet, step, look up to the hazy California coast dropping to the fury of the winter Pacific, step; the rock you’re on wobbles, slides, and down, propped up by a hand.  Struggle.  A push up with forty on your back, a knee that says no, an aching body that only wants a view; affirmation.

Sand. Soft dry sand, wet firm sand, granular sand, powdery sand, sand with rocks, sand with sticks, sand with seaweed.  Step, sink, step. Slow going on this section, tide is returning and your race to escape it takes on new urgency.  In a few hours violent waves mercilessly pummel rock into sand. Move along.

Blocked.  Stuck, knee deep and rushing; gallons upon gallons screaming for escape.  You gaze up and down the stream, hoping to see something different, a log, a series of rocks, nothing.  Pack off, bend down, laces untie, boots off; step.  Slowly, carefully, propped by a pole, still slipping; stub a toe, a curse.  Other side, trail in front, boots on, laced up, forty on your back; step.

A bluff; bright green, well fed grass, a worn trail of firm dirt to coast along.  Up and down, side to side, eyes ahead; take it in, and down.  Rocks.  A uniform groan and it begins.  Slowly. Step, wait, step; balance, step.  Head down, eyes on your feet, step.

All photos taken with 35mm film on a Canon AE-1.