[pct-l] Lost Coast

Wed Mar 16 22:59:10 CDT 2011

Darn...........now what am I going to do with this Huge bag of "dog poop" I have 
been gathering up the last few days, to stuff into Your sleeping bag while you 
were getting water one evening ? :-) On a positive note, will be neat not to 
have to carry this extra 6 lbs now.
S'do  

________________________________
From: John Abela <pacificcresttrail2011 at gmail.com>
To: Benjamin Grunbaum <bengrunbaum at gmail.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Wed, March 16, 2011 8:18:11 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Lost Coast

Ok everybody... clearly I need to shed some light on this matter... as
some of you just did not get it... and others have... and thanks to
all the off-list jokes everybody sent me. Most were very funny. And
some of you, via your hate messages off-list, just further emphasized
my point ;-p

So for those out there who haven't gotten it yet, this was all nothing
but a joke aimed at you extra zealous dog lovers from the previous
post we had about dogs.

Come on... pepper spray 4 dogs in three months, kill a dog in my own
back yard, having attack dogs on every trail up here... sheesh people
- Lighten up already with your dog-love would you :-p

On the truthful side: yeah, I have had a few dogs come at me here in
Humboldt, one pit and one regular mut. The pit bull did get pepper
sprayed, but the owner of the dog was right beside me. It started
going ballistic and there was nothing he could do to control it, so it
was his call to pepper spray it. Felt sort of bad for it, but we had a
hose and as soon as it got off it's adrenaline rush we tended to it.
No idea what set it off, the owner just yelled at me to come help him
over the fence between our houses. And lets see, yes, I did use to
work with K9's include some very hot ones directly from Germany. And
the story about the dog that rushed me on the Headwater Forest was
true - and yes it was without a leash, and no I did not pepper spray
it, but yes, the owner did beat the crap out of it as I kept on
jogging down the trail. Did kinda scare me for a second or to - and
no, I did not have any pepper spray... get over it all ready ;)

Beyond that calm down folks. Was nothing more than to (once again)
emphasizes that some of you have a serious dog-love factor going on
out there ;)

As for the real topic that this was all about... the Lost Coast
Trail.... yes, you can take your dog on the LCT. If your dog has pad
issues with constantly wet feet you should consider booties - but that
will raise the risk of sand causing other issues within the booties.
Because of the amount of beach walking, just really keep an eye on
your dog - as you normally hopefully would. The LCT is a great trip
for you and your dog outside of that. Also, there are times when jelly
fish wash ashore. Keep an eye out for them as they are usually gelatin
clear in color and your dog might step on one. The beaches up here
almost always have them, sometimes it just gets a bit worse than other
times. At times there are dead birds on the beach so you'd want to
make sure they are not eaten. And, on rare occasions (usually about
once a year somewhere up here) other sea life - whales, sharks, etc.

There are lots of creeks so carrying a lot of water is not usually
necessary (between the two sections it can be, but you do not have to
take the bypass and instead go into Shelter Cove for a drink and some
food and resupply at the market).

There are two (or is it three?) spots where you have to make sure you
hit low tide as they are impassable at high tide.

As for shuttle services... there was a service doing it last year but
they wanted over $300 bucks for the full drive from one end to the
other. Seems to be a bit high, but, it is a long drive through some
backwood roads. Oh, also, I have no idea if these shuttle services
will allow your dog... they are usually nothing more than the persons
every-day-car... so make sure you ask about that when you call them to
arrange.

Lets see, what else... umm... be sure to have a bear canister. You can
rent one for a local town, but if you have your own, best to bring it
as it can be risky on the store being open or not. Also remember that
the LCT is actually a two-part trail. There is a Northern half and a
Lower half. There is a bit of road walking between the two sections -
especially if you take the non-town route. If you take the town route
(Shelter Cove) than you can stock up on supplies, eat at couple of
places, and even spend the night in a hotel - and, if you own a plane
you can fly into Shelter Cove.

@Ben, totally agree that the LCT is very likely one of the best trails
in all of Northern California. I think the only thing that beats it is
probably going to be the "Bigfoot Trail" (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot_Trail ) . I have not done it yet
but plan to this year. It still is a number of years away from being
fully developed out but I think there is enough at this point to make
it through with little trouble.

John "Pepper Spray" Abela
(giggle)
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/