Got completely turned around on the Lost Coast Trail last month

I was hiking the northern section near Mattole Beach and the tide tables said I had a 4 hour window. My map showed a clear route over a headland, but a recent slide had wiped out the trail. I spent a full 90 minutes scrambling up loose shale, backtracking, and checking my GPS, totally convinced I was missing something obvious. The clock was ticking and I started to panic about getting cut off by the tide. Finally, I just committed to a sketchy climb over the top, which took another 45 minutes of careful moving. That little detour burned over two hours of my safe time and I had to practically jog the next flat section. Has anyone else hit a surprise trail closure out there and how did you handle it?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_schmidt531mo ago

Sounds like you made it out fine though, maybe the panic was overkill.

jamie7121mo ago

Happens everywhere now, feels like basic trail maintenance is just gone. Makes you realize how much we rely on stuff just working until it doesn't.