Point Reyes—Coast Camp
Camp Review:
I backpacked at Coast Camp last year. In addition to what I wrote last year, I’d like to add the following:
We stayed at site #4, and although it required a bit of a walk, the site worked well for us.
The site’s tent spot was not fully level, but level enough for comfortable sleep.
There were tons of rabbits and quail around the camp.
The camp had running water, clean toilets, and a trash bin, making the camping experience an easy one.
What I Learned:
I tried the Three Sisters Southwestern Quinoa & Beans meal by Backpacker’s Pantry and found it a great meal. It didn’t blow me away with its deliciousness, but it grew on me throughout the meal, and by the end, I found myself smiling.
Conversely, we tried Backpacker’s Pantry’s Crème Brûlée, and it was too sweet for our taste.
The girls had Mountain House’s Mashed Potatoes meal, which was a favorite for them in previous trips, but this time, it did not bring them joy. They did love the Spaghetti one from Mountain House.
For the first time, the girls helped choose the trail that they hiked. They had a choice of a 3 mile trail with almost no elevation gain or a 2 mile trail with small elevation gain. They chose the latter for both directions.
Media Consumed:
The Push
2.15 miles, 1 hr 42 mins, 309 ft of ascent
2.1 miles, 1 hr 12 mins, 344 ft of ascent
What Happened?
When I camped here last year, I knew immediately that the kids would love the beach. And, given that earlier this year, they hiked 3 miles with more than a 1000 ft of elevation gain, they were more than capable of backpacking to this camp.
So, that’s exactly what we did. We hiked to the Coast Campground, which took a bit more than an hour and a half, and enjoyed the afternoon at the beach. We had to watch the skies as the clouds threatened rain, but those clouds drifted to the north of us.
We woke up early, and found the camp warm. The coastal fog that enveloped me in the morning last year stayed in the sea, and we had the sun warm us. We ate our breakfast and cleaned up at a leisurely pace. By the time we were done packing, it was getting really warm, so we ditched our plans to visit to beach, and hiked back to escape the heat on the trail. We actually hiked back in good time, and we headed off to find lunch.
Despite worries by the girls that they would be bored on the trip, they loved every minute of this camping trip. Well, except for hiking in heat with elevation gain, but those uphills didn’t last long. They actually asked that we come back next year, but for two nights. I guess I should start booking it soon.