After a few years in California, I finally am exploring Big Sur. This is my second hike, much more enjoyable than the first one. The weather was cool enough for hiking, fresh air and minimal numbers of people. For whatever reason, nobody wanted to hike early.
The trail I selected is Bluff Trail Loop. Located in Andrew Molera State Park, the trail is a combination of two trails - Bluff and Ridge Trails - that create the loop. We started with the Bluff Trail and were soooo glad that we did! It started out quite easy with amazing views of the ocean. The trail is almost completely exposed to the sun, so having overcast skies in the first part of the hike was truly a blessing in disguise.
We found a neat grotto and took a detour. The trail was poorly visible, dark and treacherous, but how exciting to face a little adventure.
As we finished the Bluff trail, it steeply decided to go uphill, and we gained about 1,200 feet within a short distance. The views on the top were neat, and the breeze cooled me down quite a bit, but the trail continued to Ridge trail. Mostly, shady in the beginning with rich tree cover, the trail was rather flat with minor elevation gain, and then started going downhill. The views of the ocean from higher elevation started to open up. If we did Ridge trail first, our backs would have been turned as we climbed, and I doubt I would have enjoyed the views as much as I did going downhill.
The trail soon merged with Bluff trail, and we went back the same way. By then it was getting warm, and more crowded, so it is definitely a good idea to go early.
Wine tasting at Scheid Winery and dinner at Il Tagamino (an amazing Italian restaurant in Monterey) together with a local car show week completed the day.
As August nears the end, the weather in Fresno is still going 105 degrees Fahrenheit strong... Time to go back to the coast!
Together with a friend, I headed to check out a new winery near San Luis Obispo. Laetitia Winery had their annual grape-stomping event that draws hundreds of people to do this unusual activity. While neither of us wanted to get dirty, we gladly considered this an excuse to taste wine.
We then took a short walk around the vineyard, tasted grapes and I successfully got a good amount of sunburn... Yes, I STILL forget to apply sunscreen after all these years...
We didn't stay too long there. After a purchase of two bottles of wine, we decided to check out the beach. Within 15 minutes from the winery, we were on Avila beach, a less-crowded (but still very crowded) than Pismo beach, sunny, yet quite pleasant spot along the shoreline. Neither of us is a beach bum, so after about 15-20 minutes, we were ready for lunch.
I found a tasty eatery (literally, the name of the restaurant is "TASTE") in San Luis Obispo where we had a few sliders/small plates. We both found the food quite good, but service lacking a bit, attributing it to an inattentive waitress.
Sicilian and Earth Patty sliders
We then decided to finalize this trip with Luis Wine Bar, a place that had a decent number of excellent reviews. It was a bit abandoned, but really nice. Probably a great place if you stay later, a luxury we could not afford today.
Both of us thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to just walk out of our apartment/house and be able to go to an establishment like this?" We then went back to Fresno...
What is a better excuse to get out of Fresno than to attend the annual Jazz Festival in San Jose? How about adding on a few hikes in Santa Cruz? With an extra day off, it is possible!
I left Fresno on Friday morning and headed to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. I found a trail there that looked particularly interesting because of the changing landscape and the proximity to a creek - Redwoods Reborn - Fall Creek. As I arrived at the trailhead, I found a sign that said there was a landslide, and the trail is impassable about 3.5 miles from the trailhead.
A bit disappointed, I decided to still hike the trail partially and see for myself whether the warning was worth complying with. On a Friday morning, I met only 5 people on this trail, peaceful and isolated. It loses elevation pretty quickly in the beginning (something that you have to suffer through later on) as you walk on a narrow trail on the side of the hill.
At the bottom of it, there is a beautiful creek with dozens of butterflies flying around in sunny areas. This is the second time I saw so many Monarchs in one place, the first time was in Big Basin a few months ago.
I couldn't stop admiring the landscape and surroundings. It reminded me of a fairy tale with witches and small huts, very mysterious and mesmerizing.
I approached the spot where the landslide happened, decided not to challenge my luck and turned around. The climb back was quite tough, but certainly doable. By then the air warmed up and thickened, and the thought of a possible mountain lion kept me moving swiftly up the hill. Tired of silence, I started listening to Animal Farm by George Orwell, quite a fascinating book and very insightful.
I finished the hike and decided to go for a walk on the beach in Wilder Ranch State Park. The Old Landing Cove trail was yet again recommended on AllTrails as a short and easy hike on the coast. You can park either on the main highway and walk to the entrance (saves $10), or just pay the fee and park in their parking lot, which is what I ended up doing. The hike was certainly picturesque.
I was even lucky to see a coyote!
A bit chilly from walking on the shore line, I wanted to stop at one of the Santa Cruz wineries to do wine tasting. I ended up stopping at MJA Vineyars where I met an amazing and fun couple and spent a couple of hours just chatting with them.
It was getting late. I was hungry, but the two places I wanted to try for dinner were full, so instead I decided to go straight to my AirBnb and check in. The house was located right across from Henry Cowell State Park and was really quiet at night, except the disturbing cicadas and crickets chirping their life away outside. This AirBnB ended up being such a pleasant and restful place.
The next day, I got a coffee and a croissant...
...and went to Butano State Park. I planned to hike Canyon, Goat Hill Trail Loop, but when I arrived there, the mobile connection was gone and the GPS directions were nowhere to be found (or downloaded, to be exact). Another disappointment, but in the past that did not discourage me from hiking. I tried to use the map, but was quite confused. I hiked about 2 miles on the trail, and then the trail disappeared. I had to turn around (strike two this weekend!) and head back. In the meantime, I got to enjoy peaceful and desolate hiking, but started to miss people (who knew this was even possible?!). I would like to come back here with a hiking partner to do this again, because the park is truly incredible, but I guess I didn't have the guts to continue.
Instead, I went back to the coast, stopped at a couple of vista points and drove to a small town, Pescadero, CA, where I found a unique grocery store that also bakes their own artichoke bread (I didn't know that even existed). I bought a fresh, still warm loaf of bread and enjoyed another not-gluten-free day.
Munching on artichoke bread, I drove to San Jose to check in in my AirBnB there and take a shower. I needed to get ready for the Jazz festival! As last year, it brings a lot of people to Plaza de Chavez. I met up with a few folks there, enjoyed some jazz and local art and finished the day at a whiskey bar, one of my favorites in San Jose. It is becoming a tradition, the second year in a row, that I go to Labyrinth at the Jazz Fest. They make AMAZING mules!
The night at the AirBnB was hot... Really hot! Somehow I did not notice that the place did not have air conditioning. Usually, it is not an issue in San Jose, unless it is 90 degrees outside. Luckily, it cooled down at night, so I was able to fall asleep.
In the morning, I got some coffee and was ready to head home. As always, I was really sad leaving San Jose, a town full of social life and nice and trendy places, something that I truly miss in Fresno. I need to move... Really do...
Some days are better than others, and some are worse. Today was one of the latter...
A few days ago, I found a group that was going to hike in Big Sur on Saturday. Having no plans this weekend, I figured I wanted to get out of town and its awful air quality. I woke up at 4.30 AM (too early even for me) after a sleepless night (probably anticipating that I would have to wake up at 4.30 AM, bummer!), made breakfast and a cup of coffee and drove a bit over 3 hours to the meeting location.
The group was already there. Since this was a one way hike, we had to drive to the trailhead and left a few cars at the finishing point. The group seemed a bit slow, so after a group picture, we started the ascend. At 8.5 miles with roughly 2,500 ft elevation gain, this hike was not anticipated to be anything that I have never done before, except that I was really tired after minimal sleep. No big deal!
The beginning was quite tough, quick elevation gain in the sun is never an easy experience.
The views were undeniably amazing!
We then continued the hike in the woody area with dozens of little flies swarming around us. For whatever reason they liked me very much, even after a bug spray. I later realized they were attracted to sweat, so I ended up wearing my light sweater on my head - I looked ridiculous, but it did do the trick, the flies left me alone. The heat did not... It was really hot and humid, and with a sweater on your head... well, let's just say "misery" was not just a sad word for me then, but reality. "Exercise!", I was thinking. "Where else would I get all this exercise if not in nature! Bugs? They are part of nature, hence, I should be enjoying the bugs as well!" I tried to convince myself. No luck...
The woods provided some shade, such a relief!
The group continued to stop and wait for the slow hikers, which added extra time. Lunch at midpoint at Buckeye Camp took the group the whole hour, so I was anxious to get going. I usually like my hikes at a consistent speed with multiple, but short breaks. Not this time. As the group waited again, I said that I would continue since I had another 3 hours drive back. The leader agreed. By then I was really tired, thirsty (I drank all my water) and desperate to take a shower. This little buddy agreed with me...
The remainder of the trail was along the ocean, but not much cooler. Light breeze was a nice relief, but still the heat emanating from the ground was enough to cook a couple of eggs. The views were still incredible, but unfortunately I was too hot to truly enjoy them. I bet in a few months this will be a fabulous trail to hike, but today it was exhausting, annoying (mostly because of people) and hot.
