View Workout (Joe Uhan)
King Range - Lost Coast "Trail" from Mattole Point CG
February 19, 2021 (Morning)
Exercise Type: Run
Weather: Sunny! Breezy but felt like nearly 60
Comments:
Slept pretty well at Samoa Island. Got up, drove (under dry skies) to Eureka, loaded up on Happy Donuts (the all-time best "cheap" donuts!) then headed south.
The plan was to go check out the King Range NCA. Its northern tip is adjacent the "Tour of the Unknown Coast" century ride I've done thrice (3/2009, 11/2009, and 4/2019). Super-remote, rugged, really cool.
Through this "range" is the Lost Coast Trail - a similarly rugged and remote route that runs the length of the coastline. DBo got the FKT for it a few years back and made a video. It looked pretty cool, so we've always wanted to check it out.
Drove from Eureka down to Ferndale, then "backwards" on the bike route, south to the tiny town of Petrolia.
Slow, winding driving on a road that I've only driven 2x (but biked 3x).
Weather was so-so early on, but once we got to Petrolia, it brightened up! Just south of town is the Mattole Point campground, at the mouth of the Mattole River.
We picked a camp an, excited by our first sunny skies in DAYS, we went for a run.
The northern terminus of the LCT is at the south end of the tiny campground. We launched from there...and within about ten steps were in pure sand...or varying degrees of sand, ranging from egg-sized rocks to grains of rice. WORST sand I've ever run in!
But since it was a cool route, we persisted, and got some respite here and there with some grass that might be found between the intertidal area and the rugged rocky coastline.
Made it 1.5 miles before all that grass was gone and it was nothing but pure "quick-rock" sand. We stopped, and turned back.
However, we did stop midway back at a decent "beach" to jump in! Water wasn't too frigid.
I was pretty damn tired, again. Feeling overall pretty rough.
Rest of the day:
* showered, then cooked brunch in the sun
* lounged outside in the sun at the campsite, then took a little nap in the van
* by 4:30...the rains started...and never stopped, all night
* "dinner" was some sandwiches and beer in the van!
Our plan for a nice campfire was thwarted, but it was otherwise a good day.
| Distance | Duration | Pace | Interval Type | Shoes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 Miles | Topo FlyLyte - Blue |