Tales from the Lost Coast (Sept 2-5, 2005)

My journey to the Lost Coast in Humbolt County was quite extraordinary. Our group of 17 city planners saw things of immense beauty and magesty. We experienced the cosmos unadulterated by artificial light pollution. We observed wild sea lions. Some, like myself, excelled in the art of bathing creekside. Others decided to just remain smelly. We ate like kings (although we had to because we brought enough food to feed 35). We were lulled to sleep by the soft murmur of the tide's ebb and flow.

There were hard times, too - an inseparable part of the rugged life out there on the beach for three nights. Some of us wrestled with mice that found refuge in our tents. Others constantly nursed blisters and hot spots on their feet. Some suffered from abdominal indigestion and irritation due to the carb-heavy mandatory diet consisting of entirely too much dried fruit and peanut butter. In groups of 3 and 4, we struggled to stay awake during the 24 hour food/bear watch that lasted in two hour shifts beginning at midnight. The 4-6 a.m. shift was voted the least desirable the group concluded.

On the way home, we picked up a hitchhiker. Gwendolyn* was a resident of Shelter Cove and told us that she needed a ride into Garberville to buy things at Ray's Food Place. Although she has a van, the vehicle can't make it up the hill out of Shelter Cove. Therefore, she prefers to hitchhike into Garberville 2-3 times per month. Gwendolyn enlightened our urban-biased group about he perks of small town life and her dislike of the Bush Administration. We also learned she works as a cook at Mario's, which we later guessed was Shelter Cove's local Italian eatery. We dropped her off in front of Ray's at 5:30 p.m., leaving us only with her lingering scent of perspiration and curiousity about how she would ever get back home to Shelter Cove that night. We prefered not to think too hard about that, actually.

On the way back we stopped into In-N-Out in Rohnert Park, joinging the bastions of other Labor Day commuters for one last calorie laden meal before returning to the Bay Area environs.

*name was not changed to protect identity