After a couple months of non-stop craziness, I decided to take a few days off and enjoy my birthday in the quiet and solitude of the outdoors. Squamish and Crater Lake were close contenders but in the end, the Eastern Sierras won out because hot springs. Seriously, what better way is there to rejuvenate than in the mountains soaking in a hot tub?
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a beautiful park, but it’s a fairly small park. There is probably less than 15 miles of hiking trails, some connecting deeper into Ventana Wilderness like Sykes Hot Springs via the Pine Ridge trail. Some are gems like the Big Sur River Gorge and Pfeiffer Falls. Others are less so.
When my friend and fellow purple fiend, Oshie, invited me on a camping trip at Pinnacles National Park for a weekend, I couldn’t say no! My friendships with internet people have spawned some of the most fun and awesome memories. I packed my Teton Sports Hiker 3700, grabbed the keys and started the two hour drive to Pinnacles. And then I realized that I had both sets of keys to our building and apartment. I’d managed to absentmindedly grab all the existing keys within a 50 mile radius to my home. Whoops.
Big Sur is one of my favorite places to escape for the weekend. With unparalleled views of the California coastline and little to no cell service, it’s the perfect place to recharge, if only for a little while. Day two of the long long weekend was reserved for some hiking, and hike we did. I decided to lead our group of campers to the Tin House via the Tan Bark Trail. I’d been here last Christmas, but the hiddenness of this trailhead changed our start point to park headquarters instead.
The Bay Area is a treasure trove of lush forests dotted with redwoods and picturesque cascades. I set out to do an 8 mile loop up Cataract Trail to High Marsh Trail to Kent Trail to Helen Markt Trail a few weekends ago but turned around due to torrential downpour. Ideally last weekend would have been the most ideal weekend for the hike, but this past weekend was just as good and the falls were still flowing!