Camping in California

Big Sur, California



This past weekend in January, Kenny and I were able to go camping in the beautiful state of California! I am not really an "outdoorsy" camping kind of person, but am usually up for an adventure, and eager to explore and meet new people. A group of other Ensigns (navy 01 officers) were organizing a camping trip to Big Sur National Park, so Kenny and I went along with them! 

Big Sur is about 7 hours north of Naval Base San Diego and contains many beautiful ocean views and forests with the famous red wood trees (that's all we knew about it). We geared up with 2 cars, tents rented from the base, food supplies, clothes for 3 days, and headed out! The drive up went according to plan, yet we got separated from the other car not too far into it. The traffic going through Los Angeles is always a nightmare and we definitely got stuck in it. After driving about 5 hrs we stopped for dinner at this beautiful little stop along the beach that had a pier and restaurant, then got back on the road. 

We drove on Highway 101 for most of the trip, and the drive is one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the country! The highway snakes along the coast right by the water and the backdrop transforms from flat open land to climbing cliffs and coastal ridges - incredible! Once you get to the mountains the road gets very WINDY with a STEEP drop only feet away - many spots without even a rail. The Big Sur portion of the highway is definitely not for the faint of heart, reckless drivers, or big trucks or RVs. 

As one fellow camper put it, the view is "a mixture of beauty and terror". The ocean is IMMENSE, going out as far as the eye can see, and jagged cliffs below sprinkled with age old trees promise sure death to any who drop from the road into the crashing waves. :O

The highway goes along the mountainous coast for about 2.5 hrs, with hardly any other alternate roads along it. By the time we got to the mountains night had already fallen unfortunately, so all we could see was perilously winding roads with a jagged cliff-face on one side and inky shimmery blackness on the other. 

The campgrounds we passed along the road all said full, and there was ZERO cell phone reception, so we couldn't contact the other car! At this point it was getting quite late, so once we got back into reception range we contacted the other people, decided to stay in a hotel in Mt. Carmel (closest town north of the mountains), and find a campsite in the morning. 

Saturday:
The next morning we decided to venture more inland off the beaten path (Hwy 101). We turned off the highway down a easily-missed narrow road into the depths of the forest. The road twisted and turned through the thick woods of the mountains. After about 30 perilous winding steep minutes, the road finally ended at a small parking lot and National forest camping ground. 

The breathtaking view by our campsite! - don't tumble off the cliff though ! :O

We quickly set up each of our tents and unpacked the two cars. Our campsite was pretty much between cliff and the small parking lot, so it was easy to move our things from the cars. The area seemed to be a popular spot for hikers to start from. Since we had just driven by all of the beautiful beach and coastal views that morning, we decided to go and explore the beach for the rest of the afternoon. 

Pfeiffer Beach

Much of the coast in Big Sur is actually mountainous rock going straight to the water. Pfeiffer Beach is one of the few state park areas where visitors can walk on the sandy beach formed after centuries of waves pounding on the rocks. Each car needs to pay $5 to park in the limited parking area, but the stunning views are more than worth it!
Take a walk on the beach with us ... :)

Walking on the path to the beach!

The waves were really big, and very few people ventured into the water, besides a few brave wet-suited surfers. 

stunning blue aqua waves

Water in Motion!

The waves gushed through this opening in the rocks, practically like a setting out of a movie (;

Kenny made a sand castle, strategically constructed behind the protective shield of a beached sea weed clump. He was very proud of his construction, and other tourists were even taking pictures of it that afternoon! Or they could have been taking pictures of the ocean rocks right behind it ... 

We decided to stay on the beach a few more hours to watch the sunset. We read, sat awhile on the highest point of the sand going up the cliff, and walked around the area. The sunset we waited for really was stunning!

That evening we drove back to the campground, roasted hot dogs (organic chicken sausage, not cancer dogs) on skewers over the fire and made s'mores to finish the quintessential camping evening. We talked around the fire and later went to bed sandy, smelly and happy. 

Campers near us were using in hammocks! They looked like string beans hanging in the forest, lol. 

Sunday: Hiking Day

View from a high ridge on the hike

On Sunday we all woke up bright and early (I don't think anyone was that comfortable over the night anyway), ate a quick breakfast, packed some lunch stuffs, and headed out on the trail to hike. After looking at the map awhile they decided on a roughly 10 mile trail going along a ridge and to Devil's Peak. 

The trail was really good, and while it was pretty steep at times and bone dry (CA is definitely going through a drought now), it had some really great views of the valley and ocean! It took us about 1.5 hrs to hike to a 3 mile marker on the trail. Directly ahead the trail went up a pretty steep, very dry and dusty mountain. For me, going uphill on trails is fine, but going downhill is Awful! I literally teeter/shuffle along and still feel the ground sliding underneath so I practically skoot down or cling to the unfortunate person in front of me (lol!)
Kenny was ready to head back, and we wanted to go slower and take in the views, so we stopped at that point and the rest of the group forged ahead to Devil's Peak. 

We stopped and soaked in the view for awhile, then headed back to the campsite. 

Amazing views! This is from the top of the ridge on the hike. 

Campfire Banana Boat

Campfire Banana Boat - 
Cut a banana, place chocolate, marshmallow, peanut butter, and/or nutella inside, wrap in tin foil and roast on a skewer over the fire. Goey, sweet yumminess.

Unfortunate side story: 
During the hike my hands were feeling strangely sore/tight/puffy. I thought it might be from the hand sanitizer I had been using on the trip (no running water. gross toilets. old hand sanitizer = only option), but Kenny thought I might have brushed against something poisonous on the trail. I was wearing my wedding ring, and since my hands were feeling so strange and puffy I decided to take it off. I twisted and pulled and finally got it off, then Carefully placed it in the front pocket of my book bag. Kenny and I both knew where it was and were very careful to make sure it was safe. After a nice hike back to camp, we ate some lunch, lounged around,  read books and what-not. Around 3pm the others made it back to camp, and we just had a good evening of resting and relaxing. The next morning I looked in the bookbag pocket to get my ring, but it was not there!!! Kenny and I emptied the entire book bag, tore through my purse, all my belongings, all his belongings, the entire tent, all around the campsite, re-traced our steps, and we could not find it anywhere !!!! D:,  It still has not turned, so I officially lost my wedding ring in the woods of California. I feel so stupid, but oh well ... I literally don't know what I did wrong. I thought I was keeping track of it the whole time! 
Wedding rings are only material things though, and don't have eternal value I guess.... I don't need jewelry to prove that I am married or to embody my love for someone. A huge part of this camping trip is teaching me there are a lot of things I don't need to live, and that even earthly treasures mean nothing compared to the treasures in Heaven and what God really values. 

We stopped at one of the Vista Points on the highway to admire the view again. God is truly a master artist!

Overall the trip was great! By Monday we were very dirty, sandy, smelly, gross, and in desperate need of a full bathroom. On the trip we were grateful to have some sort of toilet, even if it was just a pit in the ground thronged with flies and smelling of the seventh hell. However by the end of the weekend I think we were all ready for a good dose of civilization again. 

I am very grateful for the chance to have gotten to know more of Kenny's Navy co-workers and to have seen these AMAZING views this side of the country!