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| Lost Coast Trail - Needle Rock to Jones Beach, CA | |
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| | Lost Coast Trail - Needle Rock to Jones Beach, CA | | | |
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Lost Coast Trail - Needle Rock to Jones Beach, CA
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| Hiking | 2.90 Miles |
418 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.90 Miles | 2 Hrs 14 Mns | | 1.30 mph |
| 418 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This triplog is for a short hike north along a segment of the Lost Coast Trail in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park which is in the southern tip of the Lost Coast. The Lost Coast is an area where HW 1 leaves the northern California coast going inland about 15 miles to join up with HW 101 and bypasses this rugged section of coast. The area is accessible by a few roads, most of which are winding dirt roads subject to closures after storms due to landslides and fallen trees. Most of the beach is only accessible by hiking trails. There is a description and a triplog for the Lost Cost Trail on this HAZ website for the northern part of this trail from Matolle Beach south to Black Sands Beach at Shelter Cove.
Background:
Sinkyone is a name given by some guy to the local tribe of Indians in a study he was doing of the coastal tribes speaking a variation of the Athabaskan native language. After an experience my second night I wondered if the name was actually Stinkyone. This area was settled by people of European descent in the 1860s who started cattle and sheep ranches as well as farms and orchards and drove most of the Indians out. In the mid 1860s they started harvesting tanoak bark to be shipped to tanneries in San Francisco, then later red woods were logged. Small communities sprung up at several places along the coast including Jones Beach, Needle Rock, Bear Harbor, Anderson Creek and Usal Creek. Wharfs and chutes were built to load ships with the tanoak and lumber. Pictures I've seen of the chutes look like they were a cable tram that stretched from a tower on the beach out to the ship anchored off shore. Later a railroad and roads were built for transportation and communities started moving inland away from the coast. In the early 1900s they started to run out of virgin redwoods to log and the communities and mills started to close down. In 1975 the state started acquiring local land to preserve as Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. In 1986 Georgia Pacific who owned much of the remaining harvestable forest sold 3000 acres to the Trust for Public Land. Funds for the purchase came from the Trust as well as environmental groups and other donors. Restoration of the land to its natural state began and now few traces remain of the communities, saw mills, ship loading chutes and the railroad.
Accomodations:
I arrived at Needle Rock on Sunday afternoon after a long but scenic drive from Central Point, OR. The last 5 miles is on a windy one lane dirt road which under favorable conditions can probably be driven with a moderate clearance 2 wheel drive vehicle. However you could find yourself stranded at Needle Rock for a few days if heavy rains occur making the road a muddy slippery mess. My plan was to car camp if possible but the nice park hosts (Charlotte and George) at the visitors center made it clear that the $20/night campsites were walk-ins about a 100 yds from the road and sleeping in the back of my FJ on the side of the road didn't exactly fit the park requirements. However they had one "camp" site in a room in a small barn that was equipped with a table and wood single level bunks for an extra $5 per night. I could park my FJ beside the barn. I told them my concerns about rodents in this type of accommodation but was assured mice would not be a problem. With high winds forecast for that night and rain possible late the next day I decided to stay there for the next two nights. It turned out to be well worth it for both the convenience and staying out of the wind except for one little problem.
On the second night I woke up to the sound of the rickety plank door rattling. I grabbed my flashlight and lit up the room. There was the cutest skunk I've ever seen calmly walking around the room sticking his nose into all my stuff and seemingly oblivious to my presence. I decided to stay in my sleeping bag but kept the light on. I also gave him a few kind words of encouragement to exit the premises just to make sure he didn't wander over to my side of the cabin and stick his nose in my sleeping bag. After a few minutes he satisfied himself that there was no food to be had. I keep my food in a latched metal box and had the garbage bag hanging on a cord from a rafter. He went back to the door but had trouble squeezing back through the gap under the door. I thought about getting up and opening the door for him, he seemed friendly enough. Deciding that was a bad idea, I waited for a few more minutes and he finally got out. The rest of the night was uneventful and I slept well.
The next morning I dropped by the visitor's center and told Charlotte I had been visited in my room by one of her little friends during the night. She replied without a moment's hesitation to think about what I meant: "Oh, the skunk!"
The Hike:
So, back to the hike. I was astounded by the beauty of this coastal area with the rugged cliffs dropping from lush green meadows to the ocean below. The meadows were dotted with large clumps of blooming blue lupine and there were clusters of large white Calla lilies along the creek banks. Blooming Iris, presumable wild, lined the sides of the trail. The forests bordering the meadows were thick with fir, alder and oak trees. The trail follows an old road through the meadows on top of the cliffs. There are amazing views up and down the coast line but few opportunities to access the very narrow to non-existing strip of black sand beach along the base of the cliffs. A herd of elk were spread out in the meadow along the trail and barely took notice of me as I passed through. These were all cow elk and there recent offspring. The bulls hang out together in small groups away from the herd this time of year.
I passed two maintained campsites which the park calls e-Camps. There are several of these camps for backpackers at intervals of 2 to 5 miles along the Lost Coast Trail in this Wilderness. The campsites are equipped with tables, a fire ring and nearby access to an outhouse. The catch is that you are only allowed to camp at these sites and there is a $20 fee per night. Also, some sections of the trail do NOT allow dogs. Seems the elk are annoyed by them.
After hiking about 1.5 miles including some off trail exploring I arrived at Jones Beach accessed by a side trail down a drainage. There's a small sign announcing the side trail. You would need to time your visit to low tide to have much of a beach. I preferred the meadows to the beach so didn't stay long. After a quick check of the time and my map, I decided this would be a good place to turn back. |
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