Northern California's Lost Coast is an amazingly mystical place, where craggy, primitive mountains slope right down to the sea. At the north end, the Mattole River completes its winding progress and spends much of the summer trapped behind a sandbar just short of confluence with the ocean. Birds are constant companions, as are seals, sea lions, and various livestock. I've run head-on into a skunk right at the water line in the foggy shelter of Punta Gorda (we were both pretty damn startled, I recall). And always in the background, the constant pounding of the surf, which is steep and short and toothsome to look at. More than a few ships have gone to ground along the 25-mile length of the Lost Coast between Shelter Cove and the Mattole estuary near Petrolia, with no one there to see it happen - that 25 miles is the only undeveloped coastline left north of Morro Bay. The only way to see the Coast is from boat or plane, or by foot, backpacking its length. There are several lateral trails that connect with the sea from the hills above, but unless dropping 3000 feet in 2 miles sounds appealing to you... stick to the beach.