Lost Coast, Part 2

After the ice cream sandwich in Honeydew (it wasn't a sandwich, it was a Nestle Crunch Ice Cream bar--a very, very strange choice for me because they had It's Its as well [my usual choice], but for whatever reason as soon as I saw it, that Nestle Crunch ice cream bar called out to me)...

After the ice cream bar in Honeydew, my next stop was the 15 miles and 40 minutes down the road at the Petrolia General Store where I got a turkey sandwich*, chocolate milk and piece of someone's amazing red velvet cake**. I took my iPhone out to take a picture of the gorgeous red velvet cake, and I thought, "Maybe I take enough pictures", and I put my iPhone away. I regret that decision now. In fact, whenever I respond to the thought "Maybe I take enough pictures" (because I've had it before) by putting my camera away, I have always, always regretted it later. So I hope that I will never, never do that again. The red velvet cake was amazing.

And what did I take a picture of in the Petrolia General Store, if not the red velvet cake? I took a picture of the rack of used paperbacks.



WTF?

*Nevermind.
**Ice cream bar, chocolate milk, red velvet cake? Yep.

I drove down to Mattole Beach and ate my lunch in the car.



It was my dinner too. This whole trip I was only hungry about once a day, and I only ate once a day. At home, I eat much more often than that (I also don't eat ice cream bars, chocolate milk, and red velvet cake at home. At least not very often). I have to say it felt very liberating to feel not that hungry most of the day, and not very inclined to go look for food during the usual times. I have no explanation for it.

Mattole Beach is the starting point (or finishing point) of the three-day Lost Coast wilderness trail hike. Sections of the trail become impassable during high tide so you have to incorporate tide tables into your planning. I asked my friend/guru Emma if she's ever thought about doing it, and it turns out she's done it five times. Once, she even added five days by extending the trip into the Sinkyone Wilderness. She's hardcore.



The beach was very quiet. Again, I was alone. (If it seems remarkable to have a beach alone in California, it's not. It happened a lot when I lived in Santa Cruz, and even once or twice in Los Angeles County. However, I don't think I've ever had a beach alone in San Francisco.)



Leaving Mattole Beach, I headed north to Ferndale.

Wooded glens,



Cattle grazing,



and quiet country roads



give way to extended coastal vistas.



The roads everywhere in here are pretty rough. Lots of potholes, gravel, even just plain dirt.





After awhile the road starts to rise,



And turns inland, we don't see water again until Eureka.



I did not stop for any more pictures until I reached Ferndale, perhaps because I was overwhelmed (I started the day in Founders Grove), but also because it was getting late and I still had a ways to go to stay on target.

For what it's worth, I think it's kind of funny that epic Mattole Road ends smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood one block from downtown Ferndale.