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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Boulder
    Posts
    850

    Lost Coast Backpacking Shuttle?

    Mrs. Spank and our pup are looking to do the northern half of the lost coast trail around June 20 or so. Anyone interested in doing some sort of shuttle or sharing one from one of the companies?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    22
    Quote Originally Posted by spankthepow View Post
    Mrs. Spank and our pup are looking to do the northern half of the lost coast trail around June 20 or so. Anyone interested in doing some sort of shuttle or sharing one from one of the companies?
    Did you end up doing the lost coast? How was it?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Wasatch Back
    Posts
    193
    I've done the Lost Coast hike, north to south twice. The private shuttles are pricey, but after you do the drive , you'll realize it's totally worth it. The hike distance on the beach is only in the 20 mile range, maybe less, but to get to the trailhead via the back woods roads, which is very slow driving with all the twists, turns, ups and downs, was at least double the hike distance. I bet those drivers go through brakes like candy on those steep mountain roads.

    The second time I did this hike, there was one dog in our group. Here are a couple of dog tips for you...
    1) Bring booties for the pooch... the sand will chew up their pads (the dog on our trip was a highly active dog that goes for 20 mile mountain bike rides). The poor pup had raw, bloody pads after the first day, and we had to craft some make-shift booties for the pup for the remainder of the hike.
    2) Ticks!!!! Although none of the hikers picked up any ticks on this hike, the dog collected a massive amount of ticks over the course of the 2 and 1/4 day hike. It was so bad, the dog was taken to the Vet to get "dipped" after the hike.

    As for the hike, both times were super fun. Very few people; the wild coast is spectacular; lots of wildlife... saw seals on the beach, bald eagles, pelicans, whales and deer; fires on the beach in the evening were nice too. From what I've been told there are only 2 places in the US that have "wild coastline"... The Lost Coast in CA and some other spot in Maine. Definitely a very different backpacking experience from my usual alpine backpacking trips. If you hike with pace, you could easily do this hike in 2 days, but we wanted to enjoy the beach, so we stretched it to 2 nights, and the third day of hiking was really short (done by 11a).

    Last tip, buy some low rise gaters... does wonders keeping the sand out of your shoes/boots.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Boulder
    Posts
    850
    Quote Originally Posted by Q-Park View Post
    Did you end up doing the lost coast? How was it?
    Did not. Friend bailed, shuttle got complicated/expensive.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    3,262
    Lost Coast is beautiful. Never saw anyone else when we did it several years ago. Love that wild feel of the North Coast.
    Education must be the answer, we've tried ignorance and it doesn't work!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    WA
    Posts
    2,524
    Quote Originally Posted by barkcity View Post
    The private shuttles are pricey, but after you do the drive , you'll realize it's totally worth it.
    Agreed completely regarding shuttles. It's hard to make a living out there, and the folks who drive hiker trash around are not making a killing. Once you see the crazy roads, you'll understand the cost.

    Do this hike once in your life. Then don't tell a soul.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2016
    Posts
    66
    Ah shoot sorry that happened man same type of thing happened to me this summer as well! We were planning on hitting the Lost Coast but my cousin and brother both couldn't do it anymore because life got in the way... It's the worst

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