Fall weekend trip - Usal Road and the Lost Coast adventure - 10/05/13

"The Lost Coast, Humboldt County, California

On the western edge of Northern California, due north of where Route 1 ends in Humboldt County, the earth rises some 4,000 feet in less than three miles. Here, along 35 miles of steep roadways beneath the towering King Range Mountains, are coastal redwoods, rocky shorelines, and black sand beaches, as well as a menagerie of fauna: black bears, mink, deer, and river otter traverse the land while peregrine falcons and bald eagles patrol above. This essentially untouched strip of land has been dubbed "The Lost Coast" for good reason: It's the only significant stretch of California without a shoreline highway, and so has thus far escaped tourism's aggressive paws.

To visit this tucked-away treasure – which makes even pastoral Big Sur seem commercial. Our meandering drive took us through the Victorian-style hamlet of Ferndale; on to Cape Mendocino, a collection of gnarly shoals famous for shipwrecks; to Petrolia, a river valley town with Norman Rockwell flavor; to the hippie paradise of Honeydew, where marijuana farms and California drifters converge; and finally Shelter Cove, an adventure surfer's paradise. In that diminutive beach burg, tucked into sea cliffs and headlands with its own inn, we found powerful waves that rival those of the Bay Area's notorious Mavericks break (obvious expert tip: don't even plan on kayaking these churning waters without first having honed your skills in safer tides, especially ones in areas less hospitable to sharks). From Shelter Cove, we drove into the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, an elk-spotted wonderland of redwood groves and prairies.

The Lost Coast is full of hiking options, but in particular we like three: King Crest Trail, a 5.6-mile forest hike with an amazing vista view of King Peak; Chemise Mountain Trail, an easygoing 1.5-miler to the eponymous summit; and then the celebrated 24.6-mile Lost Coast Trail, a three-day hike along one of the few wilderness beaches in the U.S., along which you can still find ancient Native American middens (enormous piles of discarded shellfish). This area teems with options, though, so also consider a visit to Richardson Grove State Park, which is full of virgin redwoods as well as access to swimming and fishing in the Eel River. And you'd be a fool to miss a visit to Humboldt Redwoods State Park: There, we drove down the humbling Avenue of the Giants, 31 miles of some of the tallest, thickest trees in the world (and where there are plenty of places to stop and take in a picnic or even camp).

There are some restaurants and stores worth visiting in the neighboring towns, and sure, it's always nice to have an itinerary. But for us, the key with traveling, which this forgotten California nature node epitomizes, is to literally get lost. Who cares if you're driving north or south, the most efficient route, inland, or toward the beaches on this land? This place is away.

– Adam Baer"

"MILE150: SHELTER COVE The most remote inhabited town in the lower 48 states may well be Shelter Cove, accessible by leaving the Avenue of the Giants at Redway for a rough 50-mile round trip on Briceland and Shelter Cove Roads. Commercial fishermen had a small settlement here when, in 1966, land speculators drew plans for a much larger community, laying out 4,000 lots. So far only about 400 houses have materialized, and regular visitors still include deer, foxes, huge Roosevelt elk and black bears. The town has a golf course, an airstrip, nine miles of beaches and abundant spectacular scenery. There are several inns; the hilltop Ashbrook is particularly nice. Mario's Restaurant, with a stunning view of the coastline, serves fresh-baked bread and locally caught fish to hikers, kayakers and sport fishing enthusiasts.

MILE 262: USAL ROAD At Leggett, California's Pacific Coast Road, Route 1, makes its northernmost appearance, splitting off from Route 101 and wandering off westward toward the Pacific. Follow it to the water, where it turns south and the Lost Coast ends, and look for the words "Usal Road" spray-painted on the pavement.

They announce the turnoff for a rutted, single-lane dirt trail heading north back into the Lost Coast to the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a friend with another to accompany you into the wilderness, you can try a portion of it. Five and a half miles and a few hours (literally) from the turnoff, you'll descend a precariously steep slope to Usal Beach, strewn with boulders and logs and perched ominously between gloomy cliffs and enormous roaring waves. You may not be alone; off-roaders like testing their machines on this terrain. After your sojourn at the beach, turn back. It's possible to continue on dirt roads all the way back north to Shelter Cove and then to Honeydew, but it's a time-consuming, treacherous trip."

Having read the above descriptions and many others like it, I had always had a desire to visit the Lost Coast and Usal Rd. The weather reports were forecasting an offshore flow condition with highs in the mid seventies and spectacular, fog free weekend weather for the area. After some persuasion that his friends would probably be able to rob 7-11's and flee from the cops without him, I was able to convince my 17 year old son to tear himself away from his new Grand Theft Auto 5 game and join me on an adventure / exploring / camping weekend. 

I prepped the truck and trailer on Friday evening while my son tended to his Friday night social obligations - part of the negotiated deal we had agreed upon. Prepping for a trip is relatively easy with the trailer as most of our gear is in it at all times, so I only needed to replenish our fresh water supply, grab some food and gas the truck up to be ready to go (we also bring a microwave that plugs into an inverter under the hood so I usually just pick up pre-cooked food and heat it at camp...I know, I know....but sometimes after a long day on the road its just so much easier).

We drove north on Hwy 101 to Leggett, then south on Hwy 1 to Usal Road.

We camped at Usal campground for the night,

The next day we drove Usal Road and on to Shelter Cove.

We then returned to Calistoga via Hwy 101 to Leggett, south on Hwy 1 through Fort Brag to Jenner (about 150 miles of Hwy 1 with fantastic weather)

Map of Usal Road area.

We gassed up in Willits at the Safeway gas station. My rewards points got me gas at $.90 savings per gallon. Unfortunately I could only squeeze in 10 gallons. Reminded me of the good old days.

Saw this nice 40 series for sale in Willits. Very nice!!

Looks like the local farmers will be bringing in a good crop this year!!

About 15 miles south of Leggett we turned north on Usal Road.

We managed to collect some of the local flora as we squeezed into our camp site.

We got our camp set up for the night about a quarter mile inland from Usal beach on the banks of Usal creek.

Our accommodations for the night.  

My son got the fire going and had some fun eradicating some non native invasive plants.

We encountered this guy and some of his buddy's occupying some of the empty camp sites at the campground. All in all  this is a nice camp ground with private sites spread out along the creek canyon and among the groves of trees.Some are in groves of Willows others further back are in deep shade among giant Redwood trees. There had been substantial rain in the area in the weeks prior to our arrival so some of the low / shaded sites were damp to muddy. The sites had fire rings and picnic tables and there were pit toilet outhouses spread among the sites. Cost was $25.00 per night  dropped into the iron ranger at the south entrance to the campground. (The campground is a state park so we didn't have to worry about being arrested for using it during the federal government shut down) There is no garbage service, so pack it in and pack it out. We had to pick up cigarette butts and other small garbage scattered about our site to make it comfortable (personal issue - I hate looking at this stuff the whole time I'm in camp). We hiked down Usal Creek and on to the beach. This is also the South end of the Lost Coast Trail, a hiking / backpacking trail that will take you 24 miles north along some of the most remote black sand beaches in the lower 48.

I had read accounts of some pretty wild partying, gunfire, illegal off road driving and drunken behavior that is known to happen at this beach at night on a pretty regular basis. Some accounts say the locals turn it into their own version of the "Wild West". The memorial plaque in the picture below is a sad reminder of the tragedies that can occur. 

We shared the campground with about a half dozen other campers, spread out far enough apart that we could easily feel all alone. We had only one visitor during the night, a loud truck playing loud music, with bottles clinking in the bed on every bump, that cruised through the camp at 12:30 AM. The truck left again at 1:30 after noisily going through a couple of deep mud holes and stopping for several minutes next to our camp, revving the engine and playing loud music before moving on.

Despite the temperature being in the mid 70's during the day the temps dipped into the high 30's during the night. Our camp site was located next to the river, in the lowest part of the canyon, so all the cold air funneled down into our area. We arose early, packed up our camp and were on the road before 0900. We continued North on Usal  Road and it took us about 1.5 hours to cover the 19 miles to four corners. We saw no other cars on the road and only passed two hardcore cyclists touring the road South on adventure touring bikes with drop bars and skinny tires. Tough ride on this road with many steep up and down grades. 

Other than being steep, the road was in good condition and we only needed four wheel drive for one large mud hole that my son didn't feel we were getting out of fast enough. We had to navigate some off camber parts a few drop-offs and some deeply scoured ruts.  There were many filtered views down the steep slopes to the ocean far below us. We passed several gated small roads that appeared to be hike-able to the beaches and steep rocky shores below. Parts of the road were so densely overgrown that our headlights lit the road ahead as if it were dusk. Definitely a remote place. The first five miles we had traveled the day before on our way to the campground were by far the most dramatic and the most scenic. 

By the way, no cell phone service out here either.

There are gates that they close when the road is too wet to travel without doing damage and closures are also posted on the Mendocino County DOT web site. I had checked before we left and the section we traveled was listed open.

We reached the north end of the unpaved road and came across these signs that gave us a bit of insight into the local culture, though we never actually met anyone.

Can't argue with that!

We continued on the paved / gravel roads to Shelter Cove Road and on down to the little town of Shelter Cove. We did a quick drive-around tour of the town, checked out the harbor and got a picture of the lighthouse. It is also possible to continue north past Shelter Cove Rd on Kings Peak Rd, a dirt road that connects to several other small paved roads and eventually to Mattole Rd, along the Mattole river, and on to Ferndale. Along the way the roads passes through the remote small towns of Honeydew and Petrolia.

Due to the fantastic coastal weather conditions, temps in the mid to upper 70's, no wind or fog and an almost flat ocean, my son and I decided to make the trip home along the coast from Fort Brag to Jenner. We made a quick stop at the Shelter Cove General store to pick up junk food and sodas for the road, and headed east on Shelter Cove Rd to Redway / Garberville (lots of "interesting" characters in this town)

Along Shelter Cove Rd we came across this "welcome wagon" which seemed to sum up the underlying general sentiments we felt from the local populous toward outsiders during our visit - stalking our camp in the middle of the night, the man wearing a tee shirt with large lettering "Lost Coast Local" who went out of his way to make sure the screen door slammed  in my face behind him at the Shelter Cove General Store - were some of the thing that give the impression that there is a faction that is not keen on tourism in this neck of the woods.

We followed Hwy 1 west ill it emerged on the coast north of Westport and finished out our trip with a beautiful drive down the coast through the coastal towns of Fort Brag, Mendocino, Albion,Elk, Greenwood, Manchester, Point Arena, Gualala, Stewarts Point and on to Jenner where we turned inland towards home.

Not a challenging off road trip but a chance to get some dirt under our wheels, explore some new country in a beautiful location with fantastic weather and spend some great time together.