Lost Coast Trail

Weather window is clean and consistent across all four days. Highs of 66–71°F with light NW winds (6–10 mph max today, dropping to 1–7 mph Saturday and Sunday) and essentially zero precipitation chance through Sunday night. No fog bank building, no marine layer concerns flagged — unusual and excellent for this stretch of coast. Use the long daylight (nearly 15 hours, sunset at 8:33 PM) to your advantage on the longer mileage days, but the golden hour light on the headlands is worth slowing down for.

Stream crossings are the variable that bites people on the Lost Coast, and right now they're non-issues. Nearest relevant gauges are running at or below median — Salinas near Bradley at 103%, others trending flat or falling. No snowmelt pulse to worry about: temps are warm but nights are cool (47–49°F), and the low-elevation SNOTEL stations show negligible SWE. Mattole River and Gitchell Creek crossings should be straightforward at current conditions. That said, the NW swell pattern can push tidal surge into the lower creek mouths — time your crossings at low tide on the beach sections regardless.

No active fires within 50 miles, so air quality is clean. The persistent NW wind pattern would push any offshore smoke away from you anyway. No concerns there.

Snowpack data from this region is irrelevant at trail elevations — the Lost Coast Trail stays below 1,000 feet and you won't encounter snow. The 61-inch depth at Long Lake (840 ft) is a Sierra station, not local — ignore it. Plan your miles to hit the impassable-at-high-tide beach sections (particularly the King Range stretch near Punta Gorda) during low tide windows. Check the NOAA tide chart for Shelter Cove before you leave — that's the one logistical piece that can make or break your schedule on this route regardless of how good the weather is.