Pics from the lost coast winter solstice hike. The gale was totally awe inspiring...wished I had brought the tarptent to try it out...had the heavy 2 person north face instead...but I was very dry.
I saw this trail marker washed up on the beach. lol! It truly is the lost coast huh?
moonrise over cooksie creek- was hoping to see more of the moon, but it was cloudy and rainy most of the trip.
the sand was made of compressed shale and was a dark grey when wet...argh...hiking in the sand. Constantly trying to find the right blend of pebbles/ wet sand to walk on. Forgot gaiters (!) and had to improvise ones from legs of convertible pants...worked well
It was so windy on top of kings peak (4087)! I love power stretch gloves. Boots were frozen all day- toes numb, but motile. Great hiking- clear crisp skies. Ate some good madrone berries they were so filled with living energy after all the trail food. Had a slightly rotten manzanita berry...kinda late for those. The real revelation of this hike is the effect of daylength on hormones- I had never been on a week hike overlapping the solstice...I found my energy low- my body was saying this is the time for rest...Which, along with the monster swell and my fear of getting hit by a rouge wave during high tide on some of the beach section, made for some short days. But I brought a penny whistle and a random smattering of oldtime tunes in D- it turned out they were really light and gay...so here I am supporting my tent during 38 mph gusts while playing "angeline the baker"! A memorable hike, and another park crossed off the list.
