Jonesin for a Ride!

Second Days Trek – 11.2 miles.

Day 2 Elevation and Distance

There were a few pictures from Day 1 that were missed, which shows the start of the first impasse and how rocky it was. Just before the impasse we were traversing along a bluff, but you could see in the distance, the cliffs and the shoreline with the tide coming in.

But we went forward at a quicken pace to make it half way through the impasse.

As you can see in the picture of Paul and I chatting it up at the mouth of the canyon we camped, there were plenty of rocks to contend with.

And as it became the norm, every evening we would all gravitate to watch the sun set before heading back to the campfire.

Cynthia and Keith hauled in a special treat for our first night to celebrate Sam’s birthday – a whole bottle of wine and items for making s’mores! What a treat!

Sleeping wasn’t hard either as we were on the beach, so the sound of crashing waves are continuous and for the first night, a babble brook too.

As you can see, our low tides were during the mid to late mornings. Since we were already 1/2 through the first impasse, we only had 2 more miles till we were safe, but the start of the 2nd impasse would be another 10 miles pass that. That was our goal for the day, to camp just before the 2nd impasse at Big Flat, so day 2 was to be our biggest day.

The next morning everyone woke up at different times. Paul was up early and killed some time making cairns on the beach. I was up shortly after that – not feeling too sore, but sure could feel it on the back and the calves.
We all traveled in twos. Paul and I , Keith and Cynthia, Sam and Tim. I always wanted to get a little head start in the morning as I was the newbie and the slowest. Today Paul and I started out about 9 a.m. Shortly there after Cynthia and Keith passed us by. at 10ish we were at the end of impasse 1. We all took a break here and enjoyed the creek, refilled our waters and took in the scenery. only about 10 miles to go!

The next 10 miles brought vastly different conditions. The morning started out calm and cool. After our first break, the winds picked up considerably.  Although at our backs, it was a cold blast off the surface of the ocean and at times, pushed you along, weather you liked it or not.  It was tricky crossing creeks, balancing yourself on a log crossing only to have the wind catch your back pack and almost toss you in the creek.

Our footing conditions changed quite a bite on this stretch also – from sand, to sand and rocks, to bouldering, and to hard pack trails. In the late morning and early afternoon we had a strong cold wind to our backs, with the only relief was to find a creek canyon or very large rock.

Walking in sand you loose about 20% efficiency with each step. Your foot sinks and slides with each step. At times, I would walk in someone else’s steps as it made it a bit easier. Other times you would search out rocks that were flat that  would give you some traction, and when you were on a hard trail, you felt like you were superman.

By late afternoon we found ourselves on a grassy plateau. This turned out to be the beginning of Big Flat – and area which is the draining for Kings Peak (the highest point in the county) and the Kings Peak range. We found places to set up camp after a long days hike. Looking south, we could see the lights of Shelter Cove farther down the coast.

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