The Pine Ridge Trail in Big Sur

"Are we almost there?" This is a typical question you might hear while out on the Pine Ridge Trail. The interrogator is invariably a college-aged kid, sweating profusely, sprawled out in the trail taking a break from the oppression of their over-stuffed pack. Despite this being a vast wilderness area with countless destinations, campsites, ridge lines, peaks, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, etc, etc, "there" is tacitly, always and forever, Sykes hot spring (but you knew that -- gosh!).

The hot spring is nice, if you happen to be there on one of those rare moments when no one else is. This little issue with congestion does not seem to have been communicated to the eager pilgrims who come here en masse, dreaming, one imagines, of an idyllic and solitary hot tub perched beside a river. Lo and behold, an overcrowded campsite awaits, strewn with the trappings of modern life. Then, a quasi ant track of folks heading off to find the spring. Is it up river, or down river? Hmm!

Fortunately, there are other reasons to hit up this trail: the views are world class, and the Big Sur river is too. And its easy to forget about the crowds. Often, all it takes is looking down at a sheer 200 foot drop straight to the valley floor.

Today's plan is an out-and-back run from the trail head at Pfeiffer pBig pSur pState pPark, to the Big Sur river. The trail rises immediately from sea level to about 1600' in a few miles.

Above is an attempt to capture the euphoria of cresting out at the top of that first ridge. Below, and slightly more convincing I'd say, is the view 180 degrees off: Ventana Cone, and Double Cone, both on the other side of the canyon from us, separated by the Big Sur river.

I lost track of pretty much everything after the first few miles, and forgot to take pictures :). Sure sign of pure enjoyment. Winding in and out of canyons, all the while listening to the river gurgle below and desperately switching between oggling the views, and panicking at the thought of slipping over the edge of the cliff... 

On the return, very close to where the ridge run switches over to all out descent, we caught a stellar view of the Pacific. If you squint at the photo below you'll see a tiny sliver of ocean, trapped between the land and a massive cloud bank that is rolling in.

Below is the pictogram elevation chart summary of the run:

The initial blip is driving in on route 1. Then, trailhead antics: digging bars out of the trunk, trying to find change for a $20, giving up, paying our $5 fee with a $20, assuring new arrivals that this is the trailhead to Sykes (yes! it is...), sunscreen, more sunscreen, chatting with the ranger, sorry to hear they lost a few mules last week (fell off the cliff down into the river), yes we know about the fire restrictions, we weren't planning on burning anything but our legs.... then,

UP! More up. Yup, stilllllll climbing... then, ridge run, lovely ridge run. Nothing too significant until the climb out of Barlow Flat campsite (right under the "t" in "alt"). Then down to the Big Sur river, in all its wild and scenic glory (providing one stays away from the Sykes camp and the hot spring). Relax for an hour... then back to the car.

The plateau at the end of the elevation pictogram, with us sitting pretty at 237 m (~770 feet) is evidence of lingering over a killer view of the pacific and a glass of wine, from a roof top deck.

Marin Headlands 24k loop

It is easy to be seduced by the Sierra, to think of them as not only the pinnacle of out-of-doors enjoyment, but also as the only possible place for such enjoyment. The fact that they are a 4ish hour drive distant really puts a damper on that.

Fortunately for those of us who live in the San Francisco Bay Area, truly sublime trails are only a fraction of an hour away.

Today, case in point, a lovely jaunt with the Berkeley Running Club up in the Headlands. Above, two of our crew cruise along Middle Green Gulch, with cloud islands to the north and the Pacific hiding underneath. OK, those aren't really cloud islands, the picture framing just gives them that appearance; BUT! Redwood Peak in the East Bay was a genuine cloud island today, viewed from Cardiac Hill.

Above, pausing for a group photo on top of Cardiac Hill. This, the aforementioned cloud island, and a brand new water fountain are one's reward for scrambling up the Dipsea Trail. Speaking of which, the Quad Dipsea race is coming up soon... are you people mad? :)

A few miles to go, flying down the Heather Cutoff trail (aka 57 switchbacks). The clouds were chilly but the sun was warm.. its a great combination, until the sun goes away. Below, enjoying hard-earned fish'n'chips and a pint at the Pelican Inn.

All of these photos were shamelessly borrowed from the BRC Meetup page. Thanks Chris and Drew for snapping.