> Big Sur California: May 2006

Part II: Monday-Tuesday May 8-9

Monday May 8: We started with the breakfast goodies we had bought yesterday (yogurt, fruit and rolls) and then picked up a yummy lunch at the Big Sur Deli. They made me a tuna and avocado on tortilla and John had pastrami and cheese. Add an apple for each and we were ready to head for Peiffer Big Sur State Park. We parked by the Nature Center, which was closed, hiked up to Pfeiffer Falls (right) via Valley View trail because the Falls trail was closed due to a bridge out. After enjoying the falls for a bit, we hiked down the Pfeiffer Falls trail along the creek (left), through the redwood groves until we came to the damaged bridge; then backtracked, walked out to Valley View Point, had some snack and hiked back down to the parking lot. We took out time and saw impressive redwoods, lots of little lizards, juncos, Stellar jays, wonderful wild flowers including iris, forget-me-not, Indian paintbrush, buttercups and more. The nature center was open by this time but very small and not much there we didn't already know. Below are some pictures of trees we passed. It's really hard to get the feel of just how big these things are but I tried with views like the ones in the center and at the right below.

  

Here's a picture of us below the falls (it's not the same without the sound effects), an interesting "shaggy" tree, and the view from Valley View point:

  

We drove down by the ball field to visit the Colonial - the largest tree in the park (left). I had to back waaaaaay up to get the whole thing into a picture. You get an idea of its height just by comparing to the trees around it. We had lunch there at a picnic table - a mule deer munching not far away (right) but not paying much attention to us.  After lunch we walked along the gorge trail, saw the Homestead Cabin that John Pfeiffer built in the early 1890's, then went across the river and spent some time there watching butterflies and playing with rocks and driftwood. Pictures below include the Big Sur River, the Homestead cabin, and us messing around at the river.

   

   

   

After that lovely part of the day, we made a critical error. It was such a nice day we decided we should change into shorts and go visit the Andrew Molera State Park that was said to have a wonderful beach. Mistake number one was forgetting that it's cooler and windier on the beach. One of the guys at Fernwood told us that the "seasonal bridge" wasn't up yet - they apparently take these bridges down each year because they interfere with fish migration. His advice was to just wade across the river. I looked and decided it was too deep so we took the alternate trail, mistakenly believing it would get us to the beach just taking a longer way. Nope. We still had a river between us and the beach. Mistake number two was partly bullheadedness and partly not being able to tell how deep the water was because it was so clear. So we waded across and discovered that it was waist-high! By now we are pretty wet. And when we got over there, it was freezing and so windy that the blowing sand hurt my legs. But having gotten over there, John wanted to look around. So I found a spot behind a big rock and tried to hide from the wind while he wandered along the shore. This is the one picture (below right) that I took from behind my rock. It doesn't LOOK so threatening, does it?

But the worst was yet to come. Mistake number 3 was deciding that going back the "other" way couldn't be as bad as how we came and mistake #4, assuming that was the "short" way, we just put our wet shoes back on. So we walked a mile or so with the sand digging into our wet heels. By the time I recognized I had to stop and put socks on, blood was running down into my shoes. Then we got to the river. It was much narrower there but the implications of that didn't sink in until we waded in - that meant it was deeper and with a stronger current. VERY strong current. I couldn't keep my balance and fell and John came down trying to help me up.

Yes, obviously we eventually got ourselves up - totally drenched and freezing. Fortunately this crossing was very near the parking lot. We dried off as well as we could (not having come prepared for swimming), got back to the motel and filled up the hot tub. We decided that the hot tub was much more urgent than supper - we just had snacks while it was filling and then soaked our achy muscles and admired each other's cuts and bruises!

The good news here was that 1) nobody was taking pictures of us getting washed downstream and 2) the only casualty was John's cell phone. The cameras and my phone were in my backpack and came out okay. The picture to the left is an "epilogue" picture. The next day I had to figure out how to go hiking with big gashes in my heels. A bandaid just rubbed right off as soon as I put a shoe on. Duct tape to the rescue. Yes, we always have a travel supply with us - this year we each brought one! With the bandaid firmly taped down with duct tape, it didn't hurt at all and was fine for the rest of the week!

Tuesday May 9: We drove a little further south today to the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. We started slowly with the short, level walk to a view of McWay Falls and a lovely little cove. We saw the remains of McWay Waterfall House - pretty much just the terrace and some remnants of the original landscaping (like palms and eucalypti). Here we are at the furthest viewpoint by the house.

Having gotten the stiffness worked out of our bodies, we set off on Ewoldsen Trail along McWay Creek and branched off to Canyon Trail that ended at a lovely little waterfall. (Below center. Can you tell I chase waterfalls?) We went back to the trail intersection and continued on up Ewoldsen Trail for maybe 8 switchbacks - it's a 6 mile trip and we had no intention of doing the whole thing but we wanted to get a feel of the environment further up. Around 11 AM we hiked back down to the parking area, passing lots of sunning lizards, wildflowers and redwoods.

  

We elected for lunch out today and drove back north along the highway (viewpoint at left) to Nepenthe. This is a restaurant perched on a bluff, situated so that no matter where you sit you have a delightful view of the Big Sur coast. It is well known as an excellent place for watching sunsets but we were obviously too early for that. Being a beautiful day, we sat outside; the meal and the view (right) were both splendid. The jays that must be a nusiance to the employees we found rather entertaining. After lunch we decided to head to a beach once again - but this time we were prepared. We also didn't have to ford a river to get to Pfeiffer Beach!

You have to know where you're going to get to Pfeiffer Beach because the turnoff from the highway isn't marked. It apparently is Sycamore Canyon Road (or so the books say) and is a little over 2 miles of "one lane road with turnouts" as we were warned by a sign. That basically means it's a one lane road. We didn't find out "turnouts" other than just pulling off the road into the brush as far as you can! This is a photographers' beach. Everybody there was taking pictures. There are numerous rock formations and natural arches that gave the waves stunning effects. One book we have said "foaming surf crashes through dramatic nearshore arches." Yep. The sand is predominantly purple - it seemed to me that the Park Service lady said it was "magnesium garnet" but I haven't found any reference to this. Interestingly, most of the write-ups talk about the arches and the views but don't mention the purple sand at all. Well, here are only a few of the numerous pictures we took that afternoon. When I got tired of picture taking, I took advantage of an enclosure some other enterprising folks had built to get out of the wind. I could sit and read comfortably while John continued to find interesting things along the water's edge.

     

     

     

For supper, after we showered and changed, we went to River Inn and sat on the terrace by the Big Sur River. Pricey by our standards but good food, nice people. Our strategy here is to mostly "do it yourself" for breakfast and lunch so we can enjoy supper without me cringing at the price tags!