Mileage: 10.5
I have about 1 month until I set foot on the trail, and shit is starting to get real around here. I'm working on my resupply boxes, (which I'll feature in my next blog post) training, and finalizing/ second-guessing nearly all my gear choices.
But enough of that talk, here is another beautiful Big Sur hike.
I parked at a turnout on Highway 1 and the trail was all business right out of the gates. Uphill and through to a wild flower-filled meadow. Late winter/early spring hiking is amazing this year!
Eventually I turned a corner and the appearance of an old friend took my breath away. Pico Blanco towered over the landscape, watching over the wild like the sentinel it is. My Iphone camera does it no justice.
My last blog post detailed my hike last week up this beauty. I could not take my eyes off of Pico Blanco, which caused me to skip right up the steep ascent with little effort. After about 2 hours of climbing, I gazed west toward the Big Sur river valley, then saw my destination, and headed up the spur trail to Post Summit.
The trail was steep, overgrown, and rocky, and I loved every minute of it. Every direction I looked, I had to tell myself to keep moving, there was so many stunning views. I mad my way up, stopping frequently to check for ticks.
An hour or so later, I was at the summit. Big Sur Valley and the coast was to my West, Pico Blanco to the North, Mount Manuel and countless other peaks stretching to the South, and the Ventana Cones to the East. I sat in silence for a long time and gazed at the distant peaks, and trying to figure out ways to hike to them.
I could live my whole life in, and die in, the Ventana Wilderness and it would be the best life ever. The Santa Lucias are so wild and rugged, and so mysterious. I'm drawn to this land. When I spend a lot of time here, I start having vivid dreams about the wild. One thing is for sure, this is a great place to train for the PCT. I'm still breaking in my Merrill shoes too.
They feel ready for the PCT actually. I don't want to wear them out too early. Here are some more pics of today.
One more thing, I finally got a small blue tooth keyboard for my iphone and it's something of a game-changer in terms of blogging. It's now so much easier to blog. I bet I'll break it by week 2.
This would be the last level ground during the hike; elevation gain is always a good thing in Big Sur, because it means more vistas and views. I climbed up some steep and rocky terrain and eventually came to rolling green meadows that felt more like the Scottish Highlands than California.
Eventually I turned a corner and the appearance of an old friend took my breath away. Pico Blanco towered over the landscape, watching over the wild like the sentinel it is. My Iphone camera does it no justice.My last blog post detailed my hike last week up this beauty. I could not take my eyes off of Pico Blanco, which caused me to skip right up the steep ascent with little effort. After about 2 hours of climbing, I gazed west toward the Big Sur river valley, then saw my destination, and headed up the spur trail to Post Summit.
The trail was steep, overgrown, and rocky, and I loved every minute of it. Every direction I looked, I had to tell myself to keep moving, there was so many stunning views. I mad my way up, stopping frequently to check for ticks.An hour or so later, I was at the summit. Big Sur Valley and the coast was to my West, Pico Blanco to the North, Mount Manuel and countless other peaks stretching to the South, and the Ventana Cones to the East. I sat in silence for a long time and gazed at the distant peaks, and trying to figure out ways to hike to them. 
I could live my whole life in, and die in, the Ventana Wilderness and it would be the best life ever. The Santa Lucias are so wild and rugged, and so mysterious. I'm drawn to this land. When I spend a lot of time here, I start having vivid dreams about the wild. One thing is for sure, this is a great place to train for the PCT. I'm still breaking in my Merrill shoes too. They feel ready for the PCT actually. I don't want to wear them out too early. Here are some more pics of today. One more thing, I finally got a small blue tooth keyboard for my iphone and it's something of a game-changer in terms of blogging. It's now so much easier to blog. I bet I'll break it by week 2.
NEXT: RESUPPLY
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