Coastal Trail and Friendship Ridge Trail

 
Saturday: (10/10) Granola and bacon for breakfast. We all headed out Davison Road to Gold Bluffs Beach and Fern Canyon about 1000.

 
They have already removed the bridges in Fern Canyon so it was a wading trek for Lou and Dawn and some careful crossing and balancing acts by me to keep my feet dry. We went all the way up the canyon then I left them to find their way back and I hurried out and then up the Coastal Trail to the West Ridge Trail onto the Friendship Ridge Trail and back home on the James Irvin Trail.

 
I like the prairie like areas under the bluffs by the beach. The Coastal trail wanders through that prairie and along the bottom of the bluffs in the trees.

  
The West Ridge Trail departs the beach via the stairs on the left above. There is a good climb up the ridge through the forest and past interesting old giants.

 
A total of about 16.5 miles today.

On Lou and Dawn’s return from the beach they picked up a couple of hikers, Phil and Meia. They had been camping on the beach. Today it is rainy so they appreciated a ride back from the beach. They all had lunch at the Palm Cafe. When I returned about 1700, they were all chatting under the awning of the RV out of the rain. My hike was rather wet either from the rain or from the wet plants overgrowing the trail. Did you know a single fern plant seems to hold about a gallon of water, or so my wet clothes seem to indicate. We all had dinner under the canopy in the rain which turned into a real downpour later in the evening. Dawn and Phil both told some stories. Lou made a chicken artichoke and rice dish with a green salad for dinner. Lou is practicing being a trail angel.

Here is the GPS track.