There is a reason that Highway 1 heads inland at Fort Bragg to join 101. The coast north of this point was simply too rough and rugged for a highway…

There is a stretch of coast in Northern California where Highway 1 cuts inland because the terrain was too rugged to build a road along the water. This area, called the Lost Coast, is difficult to get to and some of the most scenic and wild terrain in California. This weekend I headed up there with a bunch of friends to backpack along this coast.
The group was planning on a 25 mile trek from the Mattole Beach access point to Shelter Cove (Black Sands Beach). I was only able to join for Friday and Saturday night, so I met some of the group in Shelter Cove on Friday afternoon. We car camped and the rest of the group arrived on Saturday morning and we shuttled up to Mattole. Although Mattole Beach is only 25 miles up the coast it is about a two hour drive to get there, including a long and steep stretch on Kings Peak Road, a beautiful 4WD road through the Kings Range. After the shuttle we had lunch at the trailhead and then started the hike south to Punta Gorda Lighthouse, where we spent the night in a rather fancy driftwood wind shelter.
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