4th of July backpacking

 
Had an amazing 4th of July weekend backpacking and surfing with Joanie and Gus. I'm sore and tired and still exhilirated from the trip. Such amazing sweeping vistas, empty waves, and wildlife. Sadly lots of starving seals, as well as dead octopi washing up into the rocks. No bear encounters, just racoons at night, and Gus did a good job scaring them off.

Waves weren't big or hollow really, but it was still a lot of fun, especially being the only one in the lineup for the most part. When we arrived the only other waveriders camped on it were a surfer and a bodyboarder who were only in the water when I first got there. The rest of the weekend I surfed alone, save for one guy who paddled out the last day. He was there on a bachelor party, he and his friends arrived on a boat that day with a ton of beer. I was envious of their beer situation, only having packed a Nalgene flask of vodka in Gus' backpack. Anyway, yeah the waves, I took a lot of pics in the water but it's tough to get a sense of scale with nobody out there. Joanie's pics do a better job of that, but still some pretty water shots.

We had an adventure on our last night, as we underestimated how high and fast the tide was rising, and ended up having to scramble to high ground in a little cove and wait for numerous hours until the tide dropped enough for us to pass the next section without getting smashed into the cliff by the roaring surf. We made the best of it though, Joanie is a real trooper and Gus was zonked out through most of the ordeal. After the tide dropped enough, we setup camp at the mouth of a really beautiful creek and got a few hours of sleep before making the trek back to the car in the morning.

This was our second trip up there, and despite the surf not pumping as good as last fall, it was an incredible adventure and one of my most memorable 4th of July's to date. Hope to make this at least an annual pilgrimage, I know Joanie does too. Gus might be having reservations, as he's still nursing his tender paws, but I think he'll be game for another trip next year.

North Coast Backpacking 2009 -water cam