California: Big Sur

Two days after Hardly Strictly's bluegrass madness, my friend Kate and I loaded up our bags and headed down south for a few days on the Big Sur coast.  It'd been a while since I had been backpacking, and I was excited to have a buddy to go with me.  I've really enjoyed driving across the country and camping on my own, but there are some things I don't do because I'm alone.  Backpacking is one of those things.  I'm sure I could go backpacking and everything would be fine, but I don't think I would be able to relax and enjoy the experience. For my own entertainment, I've grouped all the things that bother me about hiking and backpacking alone under the category of "tigers" - twisted ankles, running out of water, strange sounds in the night and sketchy strangers all count as tigers.  For day hikes I send a friend a text message with the trail name so she'll know where to send the search parties if the tigers get me.  With backpacking, it just seems that the tigers would have way too much time to get me before anyone would notice that I'm missing.  But with Kate nearby to keep the tigers away (or at least be eaten first) I was excited to pull on the pack and head out. 

Our first night we stayed in a campground on the Big Sur coast, with some amazing views of the sea. 

After setting up the tent we climbed down the the shore to watch the sun set.  It was AMAZING! I couldn't believe the colors and the waves!  Unfortunately it got dark quick, so we headed back to the campsite for hobo dinners cooked over the fire.

Wednesday morning we woke up early and drove to the trail head.  We had a ten mile hike up and away from the ocean then through a mountain valley that had been severely burned two years before.  But it was recovering fast - the grasses and shrubs were back, and bigger trees were green on top, despite charred bark going up twenty feet or more.  New redwoods had sprouted and were four or five feet tall. Here's a view looking straight up at a big redwood tree.  The charred part ends in a big green healthy top.

Our campsite for the night was along a creek.  Here's Kate and her dog Banjo hiking along the creek.

 Then we got to our final destination: Sykes Hot Springs!  There are at least three hot water pools in the area -  spots where hot water seeps out of the rocks near the creek, and industrious people have built soaking pools out of rocks and sand bags.  It's a great way to relax after a hike.  It's also quite popular - even mid-week in early October we met several other people at the springs.  We set up camp then went for a long soak, then came back for dinner.  The next morning we opted for another soak before hitting the trail.  Here I am, enjoying my breakfast from our pool.

On the way back out we passed a redwood that did not survive the fire, and had to be cut to clear the trail. 

A little later Kate spotted a swarm of ladybugs and decided to let them crawl all over her...

And as we got closer to the ocean, we left the forest behind and returned to the dry mountain hillsides. 

Thanks, Kate and Banjo, for a great trip and especially for keeping those tigers away!