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.

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.