Backpacking in Big Sur

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678)
06/18/2018 at 19:08 • Filed to: None

This past weekend I went up the coast to Big Sur in order to do some hiking and camping. It was a pretty epic trip and truly one of the best hikes I have ever done. This was also the first time I’ve gone on my own with my full gear onto the trail, as opposed to car camping in an established full service campground. In general ive only ever had one other backpack camping trip as well so this was quite the experience. I spent two nights in the woods, hiked 10 miles (~1500 ft up) with 37 pounds of gear, and hiked 13 miles (~4000 ft up) with just water/snacks (~10 pounds). It was definitely an adventure! And of course the drive there and back was a wild ride in the Miata.

The hike with full gear on to get to my “base camp” was definitely rough just due to the pack weight but overall the much more challenging hike up to the peak was still more of a physical challenge. My goal was to hike Cone Peak, which is the highest coastal peak in the lower 48. The 4000 foot climb to a peak of 5100 feet was certainly something within my capabilities so I had a blast. The views along the way and at the top made every bit of effort worth it. The typical coastal cloud cover didn’t allow for spectacular ocean views but it just gives another reason to come back! Photo dump from Saturday’s peak climb:

Plus my campsite was totally empty unlike the fully booked campgrounds down by the ocean. Although, they did have some pretty sweet views down there with no effort required!

Overall I was more happy to have the quiet solitude of a trail camp rather than the simplicity of not carrying my pack. Plus I wanted to work on my Backpacking skills anyways. My preparation needs more work since 38 pounds of gear is a lot for my 150 pound body weight. Ideally I want to get that closer to 30 to make it a little more pleasant to hike with.

Didn’t get time to do any crazy PCH driving but I’ll save that for another trip. Climbing over Naciemento-Fergusson road instead was harrowing but not particularly entertaining. It was super narrow and crowded since it’s the only open route to/from the South of that area. It was hard to go 20mph so it took a while and wasn’t really suitable for spirited driving. I had fun though since Miatas feel fast still at 20 lol.

DISCUSSION (12)

Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/18/2018 at 19:47

lovely, i’ve only done campground camping in Oceano Dunes but this looks awesome

Future Heap Owner > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/18/2018 at 19:56

Good work on your first solo trip! I love backpacking. You get to experience tons of incredible nature without the crowds, and there’s something I find inherently satisfying about carrying around everything I need to survive and have fun for a few days. And I find I only feel truly relaxed and worry-free when I’m without cell service a few day’s hike from the nearest road.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Future Heap Owner
06/18/2018 at 20:41

It was especially great to pay $0 for camping! I’ve definitely got to do more Backpacking since this is way cheaper than PCH campgrounds. While yeah I’ve got to spend more on gear, at least most of that is buy once and use for a long time. I did end up spending like $60 at REI beforehand but I needed basic stuff like a headlamp, some water purification, and a few other things. Plus now I’m a member for life woo hoo.

nermal > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/18/2018 at 21:51

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/19/2018 at 11:14

I did that trip with my wife and cousin back in ‘98. We went down from Santa Cruz in his Ford Taurus wagon. We poached a campsite on the ocean, they are all reserve camp sites but no one ever shows up. Fantastic trip, brings back memories. Thanks for sharing.

daender > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/19/2018 at 18:23

Sweet, a M551 Sheridan!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > daender
06/21/2018 at 14:15

Yup, I saw it and knew that I had to stop and take a Miata photo with it. It was kind of neat driving through that Army base, there were some cool armored stuff driving around doing some sort of training.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No
06/21/2018 at 14:16

I always camp with my one person tent anyways so this made sense for me. The only thing a campground would have gotten me was maybe a toilet and a shower depending on which place. Most places in that area don’t have much in the way of amenities anyways so I certainly prefered the free site!

BeaterGT > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/21/2018 at 14:47

Looks like an awesome trip. What was your gear list like? I’m working on moving from car camping to bikepacking/backpacking.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BeaterGT
06/21/2018 at 23:44

1 man tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, extra clothes, 3L water sack, 2L (empty) water bag as my day pack, sunscreen, bug spray, hat, sunglasses, small cooking stove, 2 fuel canisters, 2 small pots, 1 spork , 1 steak knife, a book, wet wipes, toilet paper, toilet in a bag, water bottle for Gatorade, some Gatorade powder, water purification tablets, a ribeye steak, 4 sausages, 2 eggs in a plastic egg holder , 2 freeze dried meals, peanut butter pretzels, banana chips, 2 cliff bars, 6 trader Joe’s peanut butter granola bars, 2 leak proof air tight gallon sized bags, headlamp, matches, flint, drier lint, and an ice pack for the meat. This came out to 38 pounds in total, I forget the size of my bag but it's not particularly large. It's an internal frame bag. I need to cut down the weight a bit so I'm planning to pack less fuel, probably load less water to start, and maybe lighter food. Although I was already hungry lol.

BeaterGT > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
06/22/2018 at 09:08

That is a good amount of stuff, didn’t expect the ribeye steak. Did you cook it on the fire? I think that is my biggest challenge currently, what food/drink to bring and how much.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > BeaterGT
06/22/2018 at 10:13

So I just used my stove for all cooking rather than make a fire. My hike Saturday went from 8am to 6pm and I was in bed by 9pm so I had very little time or energy to bother with fire building. Basically it was a small steak and I cut it in half in order to fit it on the pot. And somehow I didn’t ruin it having no cooking oil. I meant to bring some butter but just forgot. Food was definitely my luxury item and is my biggest problem with Backpacking too. I had frozen the meats at home and kept them in a cooler until I got to the trail head. Then I cooked both meats that first night and ate them for Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, and Saturday lunch. Then I just had the freeze dried meals for saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. Snacks definitely equated to more calories overall though and I was eating those nonstop. I still was very hungry on Sunday and had in n out shortly after leaving. Dinner Sunday night too was just a huge meal at home. It was 23 miles of hiking with 5000 feet of elevation gain and drop (more if you are talking total up/down). I think I did okay on food with my complete lack of planning outside of 15 minutes at trader Joe's.