It definitely ranks up there as one of the top 5 most beautiful places I have ever seen. And it is pretty much on the door step of Santa Cruz, well, it is just south of Monterey Bay and only takes about 90minutes to get there! It is about a 90 mile stretch where the Pacific Coast and the Santa Lucia Mountains reach so it is full of steep valleys, waterfalls, mountains, forest, everything naturey.
It was another UCSC Recreation trip I went on, like the rafting trip a few weeks ago, so didn't know anyone. A stranger mix of people this time, the majority of them were really cool and great fun to hang out with, but there were 3 who ironically were taking the trip as part of a requirement for this leadership program they were doing, and yet they were the most reclusive, non-cooperative people! Oh well, we just let them do their own thing.
We drove down to Pfieffer State Park which is known as 'Little Yosemite' and covers a fair bit of Big Sur. This is where we set up camp. I was convinced by a new friend that sleeping outside, under the stars (i.e tent-less) is way more fun so I tried it! I was slightly scared about being mauled by a coyote or mountain lion but actually it was a couple of wild turkey's that were the most annoying; a 5am mating ritual. LOUD. (As well as a couple in the next camp site. Enough said.) Sleeping under the stars was really relaxing and definitely worth trying if you haven't already. A bit cold, but camping always is! I think I would camp more if I could bring like a portable heater or something so I could stay warm all night. Ah First World problems. Along with the humongous marshmallows that we had bought for s'mores that were so big that they just would not cook! The burritos were good though.
The day we arrived we went and checked out Big Sur River, where we took off our shoes and climbed over rocks and through the rapidy parts, and just hung out in the sun. A bunch of people got pretty far up the river, but I had to stop as my knees were hurting. I hung out with a fuzzy caterpillar while lying on a big rock over a waterfall. I didn't complain!
The next day we packed up our stuff and headed further south to Julia Pfieffer State Park (not the same place!) as there are some great hiking trails and vista points. When we first arrived the weather was pretty overcast and misty but this made the views really dramatic and eerie. We saw an 84ft waterfall cascading onto a beach as well as a bit of a view down the coast. Breathtaking.
But after we had spent a couple of hours hiking inland, along a creek, the sun came out and after stopping to watch some condors (there are only 100 left in the wild so it was amazing to see them!) we headed back out to look at the waterfall in the sunlight. It looked like we were in paradise! When I am rich I am buying a property on the Big Sur coastline!
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