Lost Coast

[John H]

I have not fished for a while. I had two trips planned. The first was cancelled due to low water and the second was cancelled due to high water. I decided to do some hiking instead. The drought conditions we have here now are conducive to hiking so I thought no reason waiting for the spring or summer to go.

The first trip was to Ventana wilderness. That place is generally an impenetrable, brush choked, tick infested, half burned poison oak thicket. If you are looking to get a sufferfest going I can recommend some overgrown trails. There are some nice places though and I would go again. The Arroyo Seco river is a beaut and I followed it on a 60 mile loop to its headwaters at Cone Peak. I expect Arroyo Seco had a nice run of steelhead back in the day but farming in the Salinas Valley put an end to that.

https://i.imgur.com/7472hGgh.jpg
One of the nice spots on the Ventana hike. Easy walking along a ridge 4000' above the ocean. Big Sur and Highway 1 are down there somewhere.

The second trip was to the lost coast. I hiked from The mouth of the Mattole to Shelter Cove which is 25 miles. There is a surfer camp in the middle and there were some elephant seals laying around but other than that there was nobody out there. There are several beautiful streams coming out of the mountains and I would guess three of them I crossed get a steelhead run.

https://i.imgur.com/syvdhC4h.jpg
The big view from the Shelter Cove end of the trail.

https://i.imgur.com/BJcvIf5h.jpg
This is Cooskie Creek which is right over the ridge From the AH Way campground on the Mattole.

https://i.imgur.com/Gmw8Sm7h.jpg
This is Big Flat Creek. I crossed it at the beach and spotted 2 inch and 8 inch steelhead. The big ones should be heading to the ocean soon. It will take them all of 30 seconds to get there. I expect the adults come into a stream like this during very high water and get in and out pretty fast.

https://i.imgur.com/uL6ejPOh.jpg
This is a beach camp just above the high tide line. I spotted abalone in the rocks at low tide which was nice to see given the hard time they are having due to the kelp die off.

https://i.imgur.com/Sc6UWV1h.jpg
Nature can be brutal. I would guess this is a mountain lion kill. Looks more like a scene you would expect to see on Kodiak Island or somewhere like that. Wild place. Bear, deer and fox tracks on the beach.

https://i.imgur.com/UeVTTPMh.jpg
Crab buoys look good hanging in your backyard but you have to carry them a long way to get them out.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Wow John...............thanks so much

At 75 I am living vicariously through your wonderful posts and photos.

That "25 mile hike" from the Mattole to Shelter Cove sounds so amazing.

Were you by yourself?

[John H]

That was a solo hike. It is tough to find people to match up with your schedule and ability and that also want to do the trip you want to do. Once you get comfortable solo tripping it opens up a lot of opportunities. Canoeing and drift boating work a lot better with two people but hiking has a lot of advantages as a solo.

I am glad you like the posts. If I thought nobody cared I would not do it.

That is an amazing hike. That coastline and the streams are pretty well untouched. It is like going back in time and seeing things as they once were.

[cool breeze]

Fantastic posts, I always look forward to your adventures.

[Larry S]

John,
Always look forward to your treks and the accompanying photos.
Any thoughts of surf fishing on that Lost Coast venture?
Thanks,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have heard that the Searun Cutthroat trout are from our north coast rivers all the way to Alaska?

[John H]

I don’t know much about surf fishing. I have tried it twice and not gotten a grab but have not given up. The beach I go to in Oregon is flat and has lots of deep channels that look like places fish would hide. I did some surf fishing at Pyramid once when the waves got big. A deckhand in Shelter Cove told me he fished on the hike. I expect he pulled some mussels off the rocks and used them for bait and caught something. It might be more doable in the summer when the ocean is not as rough.

[ARichcrook]

Really happy you “ bring us along” on your adventures!
Thank you!

[John Sv]

Bill,
Not sure about this far south but I saw a good number and decent sized cutties in the little Creek that goes up Fern Canyon in Redwood NP. Not an area that is fishable but super cool to see them in a super cool spot!!!

[Jeff F]

Very nice, John! I lived in Eureka for 5 years and never once ventured down there. I spent most of my free time picking Mike Kaczynki's brain at his fly shop, then trying to put that great info to use on the Eel and other rivers (to not much avail).

Keep posting your pics. We all enjoy them.

~Jeff

[Larry S]

Bill,
Back in the 60's - 70's a Jedidiah Smith State Park worker, also named Larry, used to kayak
guide on the Smith for the cutthroat in the summer. Over the years, we caught some there
in late winter trips. Believe they also enter Lake Earl just south of the Smith. The Smith
is the jewel of all California coastal streams. Folks should make an effort to enjoy
its beauty and wildness.
Best to all,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[Randy Lee]

The beaches look fairly clean of garbage. I did some camping and hiking on an island off the British Columbia coast years ago. Desolate, but there was crap everywhere. Lot of plastic and rubber items, commercial fishermen I'm thinking. A little disappointing. Great pictures as usual. Be careful! Being alone has its disadvantages.
Thanks,
Randy

[lee s.]

Wellll John,
SUPER! As always.
I don't do solo.....I have a dog. As I think I remember you having. Solitude IS hard to find without using your legs....yes? INDIVIDUAL preparation and accepted consequences are so hard to find in people anymore. YOU are SO appreciated.
Grand post John....
....lee s.

[John H]

I do have a dog and she was going to go until I talked to the shuttle operator. He said a lot of dogs get chewed up pads and have to turn back, get carried out, suffer through or get a Coast Guard rescue. A lot of boulders, cobbles and coarse sand. Sounded risky so she stayed home. I think she would have been okay but I did not want to ignore his advice and watch my dog suffer.

Off season can get you some solitude as well. I think that trail gets a lot of use in the summer but not in the winter.

[lee s.]

Hey John,
Booties.....?

[Larry S]

lee s.
John does indeed have a dog and is featured in several of his amazing treks.
The San Diego Tribune had a sports writer, Jack Murphy, who had
several black labs. Every time he took out the shotgun before a hunting trip,
the dogs knew exactly what was coming.

One of the Kiene posters has a line that goes something like this:
"Lord, help me to be the person my dog thinks I am." How great
is that!

https://www.billkiene.com/forums/showthread.php?42587-Berryessa-Bass&p=191567&highlight=#post191567

Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[gitt]

John,

You certainly know how to play with the light in your photos. I am curious how you did the shuttle? A couple of us will be doing the commute from Fortuna to Lighthouse Rd on the Mattole shortly. We don't expect to see smolts in the river this time of the year. The road from Garberville is a piece of work and should be experienced at least once. Last time in there we hit snow over broken pavement after cresting the ridge in the dark. I swore I would camp at AH Way instead of fighting the commute in favor of a dry warm bed. But the memory of the layer of ice on the picnic tables and frozen boots in the morning somehow persuaded me to drive back into town. I feel sorry for the soul that dropped you off. You certainly made a good choice hiking to Shelter Cove.

[John H]

I thought about booties but had not used them before and did not have time to get them and try them out. Having done the trip now I think taking my dog and booties would work. They do tell you to get a vaccination for a virus the elephant seals carry. That seems like a hassle.

There are a couple of shuttle operations up there driving hikers from trailhead to trailhead. The guy that drove me lives in Ettersburg. He drives hikers year round. Big talker with lots of interesting local history. He said he changed a flat in 12 minutes once.

[noyo55]

Those small streams below the Mattole all have Steelhead during the winter. When I went to Humboldt State, back in the early 60s, I had friends who would hike down the beach after a rain and fish them. Hard to time it right as these streams as well as the small Mendocino Coast streams are only goos a day or two after the rain stops.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I can only imagine how beautifully wild those steelhead are in those tiny remote streams.

Like silver jewels of nature.......


I get really emotion just thinking of wild steelhead.

[hwchubb]

We did the Lost Coast (Mattole - Usal) with a group of Scouts in 2015, what a fabulous trip. Virtually every little stream in that stretch had steelhead and coho fry and smolts in them. It was amazing to see that, no matter how we try to screw things up, those populations were hanging on. The spawning area on all of them is no more than a couple of hundred yards long, and in many places much shorter.

I did bring a fly rod for the northern half of the trip, but left it with the friends who resupplied us at Shelter Cove. I got the biggest Barred Surfperch of my life on that trip, but they were few and far between. I wish I hadn’t chosen to leave my rod. At Little Jackass Beach (the first beach north of Usal, and one of my all time favorite campsites) there were huge schools of smelt right in the surf line, being chased by seals and river otters and getting dumped on the beach by every breaker. I’ve always wondered what else might have been chasing them...

It’s a spectacular 65 mile hike. The Sinkyone Wilderness trails are pretty rough in spots, there is a TON of poison oak, and the humidity has got to be 70% up in the redwood forests 1000’ above the ocean, but it’s worth every discomfort.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Wonderful post Wayne....thanks........any photos left from that trip?

What a great adventure for those Scouts.

[John H]

That sounds like a great time. Probably 7 or 8 days hiking. I just did the north half. I now am thinking I need to do the whole thing. There is a five mile road gap between the north and south halves. The shuttle operator will meet you and drive you over that and I assume bring your food resupply box. He said walking that road section was not safe - no shoulder and lots curves and traffic.

[Odonata]

Great shots. I've spent a lot of time in the Ventana. It is exactly as you say. You have to have a taste for suffering to enjoy it, but it is wild and remote in places.

I've only been to the Lost Coast once, on a trip with a group in May in the early part of the century. Got rained on heavily during the last day and a half, but it had its moments. I've heard the surf fishing can be fun, but I prefer bootfit waders in Norcal surf, which would be kind of a drag to pack.

[John Sv]

John,
We are thinking, if schools are part time this fall, of doing this as a family.

Coupla questions if you don't mind:
The stuff on the interwebz says you can bring your dog but shouldn't because their pads will get destroyed. Is that your opinion too? ( we have a dog that hikes daily on sierra granite)

Also this trip is not recommend as a kid trip due to the rough terrain and the tide critical zones. Our kid is hikes regularly and is a nordic ski racin’ 4th grader so he is pretty adept. Often times the interwebz descriptions are conservative- do you think the hike is particularly gnarly?
Thanks in advance

[John H]

It was not a difficult hike. You do need to plan around the tides. The tide level needs to be below 3.0 to get through the narrow sections so you typically have one six hour window a day to hike. It could be afternoon or morning or in the dark. I had to wait until about noon to hike. The shuttle driver gave me a tide graph with the 3.0 line marked so I could see my window. You can push the 3.0 a little but I would not do that with the family along.

I think a 4th grader is fine.

The shuttle driver talked me out of taking my dog. There were a couple of beach areas that were small boulders that would have been tough but doable for a dog. Otherwise it is coarse sand or gravel or trail above the beach. Almost half the hike is on dirt above the beach. If your dog hikes a lot I think he will be fine.

There are good day hikes into the hills so take you time because there are things to do while you wait for the tide to drop. I hiked four days. I made an effort to stretch it out and not hurry. It is a long drive so slow down and enjoy the place.

[John Sv]

Thanks very much John
Other john

It was not a difficult hike. You do need to plan around the tides. The tide level needs to be below 3.0 to get through the narrow sections so you typically have one six hour window a day to hike. It could be afternoon or morning or in the dark. I had to wait until about noon to hike. The shuttle driver gave me a tide graph with the 3.0 line marked so I could see my window. You can push the 3.0 a little but I would not do that with the family along.

I think a 4th grader is fine.

The shuttle driver talked me out of taking my dog. There were a couple of beach areas that were small boulders that would have been tough but doable for a dog. Otherwise it is coarse sand or gravel or trail above the beach. Almost half the hike is on dirt above the beach. If your dog hikes a lot I think he will be fine.

There are good day hikes into the hills so take you time because there are things to do while you wait for the tide to drop. I hiked four days. I made an effort to stretch it out and not hurry. It is a long drive so slow down and enjoy the place.

[hwchubb]

’ll reply to both Johns. First, the Sinkyone (Shelter Cove to Usal)is the polar opposite of the Northern half. Each night is camping on beaches, but then you immediately climb 800-1000’ into the redwoods. Fabulous views, just utterly different than the sea level Lost Coast section. There are spots where the trail is in pretty rough shape, and Usal Beach has pretty much been abandoned by any authority. Still, we did not have any car break-ins in the week we had them parked there. I’d also go north-south if I had the option.

That said, Little Jackass Beach alone makes the southern half worth the trip, as do many spectacular views from the redwoods.

John SV, I wouldn’t”t hesitate to take a fit, moderately experienced 4th grader on the northern half. There is really only one spot where the tides are a real concern, and it’s probably less than 100’ long, but it”s absolutely impassable at anything but close to dead low tide. I’m thinking of taking my 15 year old on that hike This summer, as he is an avid backcountry hiker but is really susceptible to altitude sickness.

I think John H mentioned Big Pine Flat Campground, which is the first one north of Shelter Cove. Surfers hike their boards in 10 miles to surf the break there, and they have built board racks and waxing tables out of driftwood in several of the campsites. It’s a pretty awesome site.

I’ll try to post some of the photos from our trip. They don’t compare to John H’s shots -very little does - but it is tough to screw them up with a subject like that.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This make me happy and sad because at 75 with a marginal knee I would not attempt these hikes.

Sounds like something that would be a bucket list event for many though.


What are good months for these hikes?