Eventually the redwood groves gives way to more serious terrain. The redwoods thrive in the coastal valleys, but the steep rocky slopes of the King's Range are more suited for spruce, madrone, and oak trees. Our drive takes us up, up, up, and finally over the King's Range and we drop down into the Mattole River valley and into the tiny town of Honeydew. Honeydew consists of a general store, three lazy dogs, a couple of farmsteads, and some amazing scenery. The area we are in is referred to as the Lost Coast. The Lost Coast runs from the mouth of the Mattole River all the way south past the tiny fishing village of Shelter Cove. The area is beautiful and very sparsely inhabited. The roads throughout the area are sketchy, especially if you find yourself blazing down them in a Chevy G20 camper van. I really enjoy the way the roads are winding and the locals are surly. If it was easy to see this area, then it would be packed with random Southern California tourists and eventually it would be just like every other easy to find place; crowded. I like the flavor of the area, it is still very much farmers, ranchers, and people with no desire to live on the grid. It's much better for the soul to see a community which hasn't drastically changed in half a decade.
After close to 2 hours of driving through the wonderful, rugged scenery; we arrived at the mouth of the Mattole River and the start of our hike. The day's hike was going to take us about 4 miles down the beach to the abandoned Punta Gorda Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built around 1910 after a series of tragic wrecks along the treacherous, rocky, and often fog shrouded coast. The lighthouse was active all the way up to the end of World War II, where it served as an outpost to guard against invasion from the Japanese. At the end of WW II, it was abandoned to the elements and random nesting seabirds. In the 1960's a counter-culture group found the abandoned lighthouse and set up a coastal shagrila of drugs, sex, and rock-n-roll in the ruins. After repeated attempts by the National Park Service to remove the hippy squatters, the NPS burnt everything but the actual Lighthouse down. Now, the Bureau of Land Management monitors the site and keeps the site open for people to explore. The 4 mile trudge down the beach manages to keep a ton of people out. We only saw a couple people the whole day and we were there on a Sunday afternoon!
The walk along the beach from the Mattole River to Punta Gorda is fairly spectacular. The way is simple enough; walk south to get to the lighthouse, then turn around and walk north to get back to your car. The path varies between long flat stretches through soft sand, pebble beaches, rocky coves and tide pools, and narrow footpaths along a crumbling ridge above the surf. It's necessary to consult a tide table before starting out, a couple of places along the walk are impassible at higher tides.
On the walk we saw loads of birds and seals, plenty of shells, beach debris, dried seaweed, kelp, driftwood, and all the other great stuff that makes the beaches around here spectacular. It's just nice to spend an entire afternoon walking along the ocean and not see houses or other man-made intrusions spoiling the views. Nothing but nature around here. Walking along the ocean is just wonderful; the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls arguing, the salty smell and taste of the wind, the smells of fish, seaweed, and driftwood drying in the sun, and the feeling of the sand beneath your feet. It's just a very powerful experience. The energy of the ocean and the sheer vastness of it is palpable here.
At the Lighthouse, you can explore all around and inside the Lighthouse. Not much is still standing except for the actual Lighthouse and a shed that once held fuel containers. A little tiny spiral staircase leads to the top of the Light. The opening at the top of the stairs is barely big enough to fit through with a daypack on. The view from the top is amazing. Nothing but ocean in front and the Kings Range around you. It reminds me of the Neil Young song; 'Looking for a Love' (Where the sun hits the water/And the mountains meet the sand). We had a picnic at the top of the Lighthouse and just kind of lazed around in the sun. If you find yourself there, the roof of the light makes an excellent picnicking perch.
After a little lounging in the sun, we decided it was time to walk back. The walk North was not quite as fun as the walk South...the main reason being a solid NW wind had picked up. But we made it back to the van all the same.
We took a different road home and I think it's the most amazing road I've been on yet. The road follows the coast North to Ferndale. the scenery is spectacular. Broad green hills stretching from the mountains to the coast. Cows grazing lazily, maybe 25 yards from the beach. Most of the land in the area is still owned by ranchers, they use the acreage as pasture land for herds of cattle and sheep. It makes for a very scenic drive. It's definitely a jaw-dropper of a drive. Definitely dangerous though, the road is narrow and often steep while the views are great. Between staring at peeling waves or chuckling at random cows, the van was all over the road. It's a good thing we only passed two cars the entire 1 1/2 hours it took to drive the 30 miles.
All in all it was a great time and a great weekend. Even though the Boilermakers lost, we managed to recover our sanity and feed our souls some much needed scenery. Eureka is a weird and often annoying place to live, but the beauty just beyond the city more than makes it worth the while. Another weekend is almost upon us...Hopefully it brings good surf, sunny skies, and solid Boilermaker defense. I know it's gonna bring good times with my lady and another adventure in Northern California.
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