Thought the Lost Coast Trail in California was overhyped until I did it last fall

Everyone kept saying it was just a flat beach walk. Did the 25 mile northern section over 4 days. The tide charts were no joke, had to wait 2 hours once. The constant sand walking wrecked my ankles. Anyone have a good route that's actually tough but not just a slog?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_garcia2mo ago

My buddy tried it and ended up with such bad shin splints he had to hitch a ride out on a ranger's ATV.

riley_price2mo ago

Was that before or after the ranger laughed at him?

jamiekim1mo ago

Dude I used to think shin splints were just an excuse people made up to get out of hikes. Thought you could just power through it and be fine. Then I did a 12 mile loop in the Grand Canyon with bad shoes and man that changed my mind real quick. By mile 8 I could barely walk and had to take breaks every 10 minutes. Ended up having to call my buddy to come pick me up at the trailhead cause I couldn't even make it back to my car. Never making fun of anyone for calling for help again after that.