THE LOST COAST

I had heard of it for years—this overlooked part of the California coast. Ever since I started roaming up and down the coastline of the west, I’d hear people talk about the area. “Have you ever been? You should go,” they would say. I had never been, nor did I know much about it, but recently a couple of friends of mine started talking about making the trek from north to south. They wanted to hike the 25 miles of rugged coastline with gear and surfboards on their backs in the hope of getting away and scoring some waves.

It’s called “The Lost Coast,” as there are no direct roads that venture there. When they built Highway One years ago, they had to divert the road 30 miles inland due to the treacherous landscape of the area. The resulting region, untouched by mankind’s footprint, harbors beautiful stretches of pristine beaches and naturally provides a home to a throng of wildlife that freely roams the land, including black bear and elk. This truly is one of the last wild frontiers on this continent—a place to get lost for a while.

Although I had never been on any sort of overnight backpacking hike, I asked my buddies if I could join them. I knew it would be rough, but figured I couldn’t pass