(dramatic music)
- So right now we're on the Lost Coast Trail.
We just started.
The Lost Coast Trail is a 53 mile stretch of beach
along the northern California coast
that runs along the King Range mountain range.
The area is so mountainous and rugged that when
they were building the Pacific Coast Highway,
they rerouted it around the King Range,
leaving the Lost Coast to be the most undeveloped
and remote portion of California's 840 mile coast.
The adventure began with a message from my college friend
Carlos, saying he got a permit for the hike and asking
if I wanted to join.
Along for the ride was our third companion, Pete.
Our goal was to hike the 26.5 mile northern portion
of the trail.
So yesterday I flew from Miami to San Francisco,
met up with Pete and Carlos, and we drove up
to Shelter Cove.
This is here part one of our journey.
We're at (inaudible) right now,
doing a little bit of exploring.
We're staying at a hotel tonight,
and then we're gonna get up early to go catch a shuttle
to take us to the trail head and start the trail.
So right now we're at Black Sands Beach.
So this is actually where we're gonna finish the trail
in five days, four days.
Parking the car here.
We hired a shuttle.
They're gonna take us to the other site of where
the trail starts up north, 25 miles north,
gonna take us two hours.
And then we hike down and end back at our car.
(dramatic music)
So this is Black Sands Beach,
and as you can see the sand does not disappoint.
It is black.
(dramatic music)
Man.
We're officially starting the hike.
(upbeat music)
So our goal today is to make it to, it's called Sierra
Point, Sea Rock.
Camp out.
(upbeat music)
(wind)
The biggest challenge with the Lost Coast Trail
are the tides.
There are two portions on the trail that are
impassable during high tide, so going through them
must be timed when the tide is low.
Our original plan was to camp out at the start
of the first tidal zone, but we made such good time
that we hit that spot around noon.
We wanted to keep going through the first tide zone,
but making that decision means we'd have to commit
to going the entire way.
There's no stopping in the middle of the tide zone.
(upbeat music)
Our start time was a little later than ideal,
but our pace was swift, and we figured we could make
it out in two hours, well before high tide.
So, in a couple hours, this'll all be under water.
(dramatic music)
It's like knives.
Just walk out, Pete.
So, end of the day for day one.
In the tent now, about to go to bed.
Overall, we did a lot more than we planned on doing,
I'd say about 10.8 miles, 11 miles.
Tomorrow will be a little bit lighter of a day.
We'll do about six miles.
We'll stop before the next tidal zone,
and then we'll end up finishing about a day
earlier than we thought.
Relaxed day tomorrow, so no wake up time.
Just gonna kinda take it easy, which sounds nice.
This is a vacation for all of us just to unwind.
(dramatic music)
How are you feeling today?
- Good, my knee's a little sore from the meniscus.
- [Narrator] What's your knee issue?
Because I got my knee issues.
- It's meniscus and I've got bad IT bands.
- [Narrator] How you feeling, Pete?
- Good.
My chafing has gone down.
I took a nice hearty relief of my bowels this morning.
I'm feeling light and jumpy, ready to go.
- [Narrator] Have you ever taken a dump with a better view?
- I have to think about that, but my short term memory
says no.
- [Narrator] That is some kind of carcass.
What do you think, whale?
- [Pete] It's either a whale
or one of the monsters from the coast.
(dramatic music)
Nothing but sun today, and then this crazy thick fog
just rolled in.
(dramatic music)
Great fish, thumbs up.
That's the cove where we got a fish.
(dramatic music)
I'm guessing this is the start of the tide zone.
- [Pete] How long is the tide zone?
- [Narrator] My map doesn't have a mark, his does.
Four miles?
(dramatic music)
Go Carlos, go.
Go Carlos.
Sort of like the halfway point.
We are finishing right there.
(upbeat music)
And I believe that is the hill we started at.
Let's get a Lost Coast selfie.
(dramatic music)