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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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/sho...ht=#post191567
Best,
Larry S
Sun Diego
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.