We took the day off to do some hiking in Big Sur. We said good bye to Trevor and Ned as they planned to head south on their bikes. It was a cold morning but it was going to be a beautifully sunny day (forecast calling for no rain for the next 2 weeks!).
Out guide book mentioned a hike to a hot spring which we thought of doing, but Trevor and Ned had talked to a couple who had done it and said that it was a 10 mile hike each way. Would make a good 2 day hike but just too far for a one day hike. We headed to the nearby visitor centre to ask for advice about some day hikes. The lady was not too helpful, recommending hikes that would clearly be too far and strenuous for the amount of day light in the day. In the end we decided to do a 9-mile round trip hike up Mt. Manuel, a 3340ft climb. A perfect rest day activity! 😮
We had great weather and quickly warmed up in the sun as we hiked up the mountain. There were signs about Mountain Lions, but instead we had some exciting encounters with some lizards, but more importantly a Tarantula! We got some great photos but left him alone. We never knew they were around the area!
The hike was long, and required getting over fallen logs and getting through overgrown vegetation. There was a forest fire here in 2008, which drastically changed the area.
The last stretch to the peak was one of the nicest hikes I have ever done. When we eventually made it to the top after 3 hours, we were rewarded with incredible views all around. We had beautiful mountain ranges on one side, and the ocean on the other. It was a breathtaking spot, and we had our lunch which we had been putting off patiently. We ended up putting all 5 of our layers back on as even in the sun the occasional wind was enough to make us feel cold. While we were having lunch we met a couple guys who had arrived. One was from Poland and the other from North Carolina. They had lunch there too after they layered up.
After lunch, we enjoyed the scenery and began our descent. It was 2PM, so we only had 3 hours of sunlight left. We met a few people who were climbing as we descended down. After chatting with us one couple came to the conclusion that they didn’t have enough day light to make it to the top and back.
When we arrived back at the campground it was cold and dark in the Redwoods. We cycled to the laundry area at the far end of the campground (about a mile away), and cooked dinner under the lights on a picnic table while the laundry machines worked their magic. It was cold but the hot pasta warmed us up. While doing laundry we also cleaned and re-lubed our bike chains which needed it after a day of riding in the rain.
After dinner we stopped in the lodge for a few minutes to warm up, and then headed back to our tent for the evening.
Trip Around The World 
Leave a comment