Project Coastin' It : An Introduction to Backpacking Plans (aka me thinkin' things out for a hike)

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What is Project Coastin' It?

Project Coastin' It is me giving my travel planning for a backpacking trip up the California Coast Trail a dumb nick name. This has been a long time travel goal of mine and is a great way to experience and explore the California coast. 

A friend and I will be backpacking from San Diego towards the Oregon border. We have decided not to make any hard plans because we may decide to go inland towards a National Park or my foot might fall off and I will need to crawl the rest of the way...or have the dog drag me...

Purpose

The main reason I want to do this is for photography purposes. The coast, it's various natural environments, and towns offer a significant amount of photo opportunities. I may bring one of my drones with us. That will depend on the final base weight of my pack. As well as me deciding if I want to carry that much extra weight in my pack. If we take bikes I will probably take the drone since I can load my pack on the bike, but taking bikes has its own cons/pro list to consider. There is also plant hunting, rockhounding, and urban exploring to look forward to. 

Possible travel date : Early Feb to Early March

Research

I have been researching the California Coast Trail for a few years now. I've been actively hiking throughout California since I was a little kid. Some of my earliest memories are of California State/National Parks, like Yosemite. 

I have read Hiking the California Coastal Trail: A Guide to Walking the Golden State's Beaches and Bluff from Border to Border Volumes 1 and 2 by Bob Lorentzen and Richard Nichols. These books are not just wonderful guides to the California Coast Trail. They're also good quick guides to the various locations, such as beaches and parks.

We plan on ultralight backpacking to help save time and our backs. There are also regular spots to fill up on drinkable water and food for at least the first half of the trails. The California Coast Trail is actually many trails. Before we are about to start a section with little to no water/provisions along the way, we can stock up for that part of the trip.

Currently Researching

Public restrooms and wifi access along the trails. Walmart, Target, Starbucks usually allow public restroom access and offer free wifi. A cup of coffee or a snack is worth the "free" restroom access or wifi. 

I have a VPN to help protect myself when using public wifi. I wouldn't need to use it too much if at all since I have unlimited access with my phone plan. Starbucks also has the option (usually) of power outlets to charge devices. Power outlets are still a big plus even when carrying a 22000mah power bank, possibly with a backup 10000mah power bank (depends on the final base weight of my pack). 

I don't want to rely on my phone service while out and trying to find a bathroom. Cell service could drop. The info will be stored on my phone so iff my battery dies I will still be out of luck. 

I made the art for this post using Midjourney and GIMP.

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