High and dry in the shadow of Cone Peak

(delayed entry; adventures from 22/23 March)

Lately we're addicted to the Ventana Wilderness behind Big Sur. Turns out, a lot of other folks are, too: for the past two weekends, the campgrounds have been all booked up! Not to worry, a few gallons of water in the trunk and a sense of adventure are all you need to find lovely car camping down here. Four wheel drive doesn't hurt either, though you can get by without it if the roads are dry. Where? A fire road high up on the ridge, several miles from route one, off Nacimiento Road.

We rolled in kinda late as usual, and were treated to a pre-dusk view of Cone Peak, clouds ripping over the ridge from the Pacific and spilling into the canyons of the Ventana:

The next morning we drove up Cone Peak Rd to Cone Peak Camp, to the North Coast Ridge Trailhead. This was a decadent treat: the last time we were here, Cone Peak Road was impassable, gated and locked, and so we ran it. All 6ish miles of it. It wasn't bad, just a long climb up a rough fire road with great views of the interior. Not today! Today, we were able to start our adventure at about 4000', with fresh legs... 

We quickly skirted the peak and headed north on the Coast Ridge Trail. Lovely views to the south:

and to the north...

You can see the Coast Ridge trail in the center of the frame, and then again in the distance on the ridge at the top of the frame... this view in particular has me amped to run the entire Ridge Trail. Evidently, it makes a comfy day trip for the truly hard core :)

Canyons spilling down to the Pacific...

We didn't go too far, a couple of miles... just a bit past the junction with Arroyo Seco Trail. We realized we were going to run out of water, and turned around! The only refill option near us was Cook Springs Camp, a steep dog leg off our route (which we of course explored). The spring was wet, but barely flowing. I probably could have filled a liter bottle in a few minutes. Didn't pack the purification tabs, though, and didn't want to chance it :)

***

The next day, we explored Mill Creek Trail. It looks fairly ho-hum at the trailhead, but it quickly drops into a gorgeous canyon with towering redwoods and a swiftly flowing creek. Quite a change of pace from yesterday. After a mile or two, the trail becomes less of a run or hike, and more of a poison-oak-avoiding, route-finding exercise. Its hard to believe, since you are basically tracing a creek... but the canyons are steep enough that a few sections take a minute to comprehend. It was worth pursuing. Below are two shots of water falling over rocks. There is a primal appeal to this sort of thing..

This second shot shows root-like structures in the rock, evidence of some geological process I am happy not to understand clearly (that way, it retains all of the magic).

Having had our fill of fresh water, we finished the afternoon with a dip in the Pacific, at Pfeiffer Beach,

and a crisp, racey Austrian wine at a place called Nepenthe. I could see China from their deck. Woot.