That one day on the Lost Coast Trail where the tide tables were wrong

I want to talk about planning versus flexibility on coastal routes. A few years back, I was hiking the northern section of California's Lost Coast Trail with a friend. We had our tide charts printed, planning to cross the infamous 'impassable at high tide' zones during the narrow 2-hour window. We woke up at 4 AM to hit the first stretch, but the water was already surging against the cliffs, a good foot higher than predicted. We were stuck for over 6 hours on a tiny, rocky beach, watching our schedule dissolve. It was a long, cold, frustrating wait, but it forced us to just sit and watch the sea. We saw seals fishing and the light change on the King Range in a way we would have missed. It made me wonder if over-reliance on data can sometimes blind you to the reality on the ground. Has anyone else had a trip completely reshaped by a plan that fell apart?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim18810d ago

Used to be a real stickler for the plan, but a similar thing happened to me. Being forced to stop made me see the place instead of just hiking through it. Sometimes the wrong tide is the right lesson.

the_piper7d ago

But what if the plan is the only thing that lets you really see it, like @simonb92 said?

simonb9210d ago

Yeah, I was the same way until I got stuck once.