Little Jackass Gear Checklist
Little Jackass Creek Camp is the middle camp of the 22-mile Lost Coast Trail in Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, 3.6 miles past Wheeler by one blog and 7.5 miles from Usal Beach. Getting here from Wheeler means climbing over a ridge above 1,000 feet, and the climbs from Usal are long too, so the people who wrote about it carried food for a slow pace, long pants and a wash for poison oak, a tick routine, and a way to treat the creek beside camp. Beach sites go early, and a late arrival ended up in the redwoods instead.
What shapes your gear on Little Jackass Creek Camp
- Distance from the neighbors
- Live and Let Hike measures 3.6 miles from Wheeler Camp and 7.5 miles to Usal Beach. A 2011 forum poster gave 4.5 miles from Wheeler to Little Jackass, and a 2017 group covered 7.5 miles from Usal in about 6.5 hours of walking and breaks, arriving at 6 pm.
From Live and Let Hike, Backpacking Light and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
- The climb
- The trail from Wheeler crests above 1,000 feet, drops into the Little Jackass drainage, and a day hiker must climb the same 1,000 feet back, a 7.2-mile out-and-back. The blog calls this a challenging section. A 2017 hiker found the stretch between Wheeler and here easier than the first day out of Usal.
From Live and Let Hike and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info
- Where the sites are
- Past a pit toilet on the right, a hard right leads about 2 tenths of a mile to the beach. There are several sites, and the best sit just off the tidal flat. A 2017 group of five found one big enough site in the mossy redwoods along the creek because a few tents already held the beach spots.
From Live and Let Hike and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
- Water
- A stream feeds the ocean at the beach cove, and the redwood sites sit along a creek that the 2017 group heard flowing all evening. On the way in from Usal that group passed a cold creek in Dark Gulch. A forum poster in 2011 said there is plenty of water on the trail and you do not need to carry much.
From Live and Let Hike, Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1 and Backpacking Light
- Wildlife
- The beach is a landing spot for sea lions and harbor seals and draws pelicans, ospreys and sandpipers. The blog adds that migrating whales may show up offshore.
From Live and Let Hike
- Why people stop here
- The blog says many hikers choose this camp because the next stretch is harder, while others push on to Anderson Gulch and Usal Beach. A 2011 forum poster called it about the middle of the 22.1-mile trail and said he often hiked halfway to Jackass point and turned around.
From Live and Let Hike and Backpacking Light
What the agency requires on Little Jackass Creek Camp
Food stored in a bear canister or a locked car
The park asks campers to store food and scented items in a bear canister, with a locked car as the other option. A locked car does not help at a hike-in camp.
The $5 per person nightly camp fee
The park lists environmental and horse camps at $5 per person per night, payable at the Jones Beach gate or Needle Rock or by mailed check. Its sheet does not name this camp.
Extra food and supplies
The park says the area is remote, help may not arrive for hours, and visitors should bring extra food and supplies in case they are stranded.
What hikers carry on Little Jackass Creek Camp
Food for a slow day
The 2017 group measured a pace of a little over 1 mile an hour on the climb from Usal with bags full of first-day food and water. The park also tells visitors to carry extra food.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1 and California State Parks
Long pants and a poison oak wash
The 2017 group wore long pants against poison oak and scratchy brush, and washed with a cleanser made for poison oak oils as soon as they reached this camp.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
Tick-treated clothing and a tick check
The 2017 group treated their clothing and did a tick check at camp. A 2011 forum poster said treated clothes work well once dry and that some years are bad for ticks and others are not.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info and Backpacking Light
A way to treat creek water
The creek by the redwood sites and the stream at the beach are the water here, and the 2017 post names creeks along the trail as the drinking source.
No page here says how the park wants creek water treated, so ask the park.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
Trekking poles
A 2011 poster planning this trail was borrowing trekking poles along with a tent and pad. The blog describes a long steep climb on the way in from Wheeler and a harder route beyond.
From Backpacking Light and Live and Let Hike
Boots that can stay on at creek crossings
A 2011 forum poster said leather boots are fine in Sinkyone because the streams are few and easy to cross, and that he never took his off.
From Backpacking Light
A printed guide page and the park map
The 2017 group navigated with a printed guide page and the free Sinkyone map from Needle Rock, and said little else about the southern section was easy to find online.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info
Going as a group? Split this list between you so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Little Jackass Creek Camp
Arriving at the end of the day
The 2017 group reached camp at 6 pm and found the beach spots held by other tents, so they pitched in the redwoods along the creek.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
Reading 3.6 miles as an easy day
The blog gives 3.6 miles from Wheeler but with 1,000 feet of climbing each way. A 2011 forum poster put it at 4.5 miles.
The two sources disagree on the distance.
From Live and Let Hike and Backpacking Light
A heavy first-day load
The 2017 group said the first day's food and water made the climb out of Usal tough, and they were pretty beat at camp.
From Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
Gear questions for Little Jackass Creek Camp
How far is Little Jackass Creek Camp from Wheeler Camp?
Live and Let Hike measures 3.6 miles. A 2011 forum poster gave 4.5 miles. Both describe a climb over a ridge between the two creeks.
From Live and Let Hike and Backpacking Light
How far is Little Jackass Creek Camp from Usal Beach?
Live and Let Hike and a 2017 trip report both give 7.5 miles. The 2017 group left at 11:30 am, walked a little over 1 mile an hour, and arrived at 6 pm.
From Live and Let Hike and Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1
Where do you get water at Little Jackass Creek Camp?
A stream runs into the ocean at the beach, and the redwood sites sit along a creek. Bring a way to treat it. A 2011 poster said water is plentiful on the trail.
From Live and Let Hike, Ben Hiking: Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1 and Backpacking Light
Does Little Jackass Creek Camp have a toilet?
Yes. The blog says the trail passes a pit toilet on the right before the turn toward the beach, which is about 2 tenths of a mile from the trail.
From Live and Let Hike
Sources
- Sinkyone Wilderness State Park information sheet · California State Parks · Agency
- Lost Coast Trail: Wheeler Camp to Little Jackass · Live and Let Hike · Blog
- Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness: prep and general info · Ben Hiking, Ben hiking · Trip report
- Lost Coast Trail, Sinkyone Wilderness Day 1 · Ben Hiking, Ben hiking · Trip report
- Lost Coast Trails trip set for next week (forum thread) · Backpacking Light · Forum thread