Los Padres Dam to Carmel River Camp

My dad and I decided to get one last backpacking trip in before summer officially ends for me, and after purchasing new tents and sleeping bags, we were excited to plan it.  After a failed attempt a few weeks ago in Santa Cruz, we opted for a more desolate trip in the Santa Lucia Range in Carmel Valley.  We took Carmel Valley road and Cachagua Road until it reached the Los Padres Dam trailhead.  There is a big dirt parking lot next to the entrance, and it is free! When we arrived, there were only two other cars, one with an empty bike rack, and another truck with a family unloading a large canoe.  We talked to them a bit and they were going fishing for trout in the dam.

The hike begins on a wide fire road all the way out to the dam. We crossed over an old shaky bridge over the dam, and had some pretty amazing views of the dam with the mountain as a backdrop.

The trail forks right at the top of the dam (stay left) and the trail wraps around the whole west side of the dam.  Eventually, we found this sign which marked where the trail changed from a fire road to an overgrown, poison oak filled single trail.

After a long trek quarter-mile trek up the side of one of the ridges, we took a snack break to rest and change my shoes (I was wearing my Chaco sandals because I thought there would be a lot of river crossings...but there were none.  So I decided hiking shoes would be better protection against the poison oak)  During our break, I jokingly mentioned that I wished our campsite would be just a few hundred yards away after one last downhill climb...and shockingly enough, I was exactly right. I felt a little silly for taking a break so close to our site, but we had no idea.

We decided to camp at Bluff camp instead of Carmel River camp when he arrived and say how spacious and close to the river it was.  As the site was completely empty, we picked the closest site to the river, and took a quick swim in the freezing cold river. 

After we set up camp, we took a short 2 mile hike out to Carmel River Camp to see what it was like.  Carmel River Camp is technically in Ventana Wilderness (see sign below) and is at the confluence of Miller Creek and the Carmel River.  It was   a great little camp site as well - not quite as big as Bluff, but just as nice.  Supposedly, the trail is well maintained up to Carmel River Camp, and then after it, it gets pretty bad.  We were satisfied with our decision, and after a quick swim, we hiked back to our site. 

We woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday, and decided to hike out before it got to hot.  The clouds burned off just as we finished the hike out and made for some amazing reflections on the dam.

Having done a few trips in Big Sur, it is amazing how much hype surrounds every trip there, but I rarely hear about trips in Ventana/Carmel Valley.  My dad and I both mentioned how amazed we were that we only saw one other couple backpacking and no one at any of the campsites we passed.  I think we may have found our own little gem tucked away in Carmel Valley!

Berry Creek Falls - Big Basin National Park.

When a weekend sailing regatta got cancelled at the last minute, my dad and I looked at eachother and new we could quickly fill up a weekend with a backpacking adventure.  My good friend from UCI, Rick, was also visiting for the weekend and he quickly joined in on the trip as well.  We packed up Saturday morning and drove 1.5 hours up to Big Basin National Park.  With all our backpacking gear packed, we learned from the park ranger at the camp that a reservation was necessary to stay where we had planned to camp.  The only open site was over 10 miles away, which we declined for a short one night backpacking trip.  After weighing our options, we decided to just complete the roundtrip hike to the falls as a day hike.  We lightened our loads, checked out the map, and started.

We decided to take the Howard Hihn Trail, which was much quieter than the main trail to the falls and had amazing ocean views.  We stopped at the McAbee Mountain outlook for some water and snacks, and to enjoy the amazing view of the ocean.

The scenery quickly changed from a flat fire road, to a small trail and a long downhill climb.  And we even spotted a few banana slugs along the way! It is amazing to be surrounded by huge redwoods - as long as I remembered to look up every once in a while.

We eventually reached the main trail to the falls - and realized how many people were on the same adventure as us.  After the first 3+ miles when we only saw one other couple, now we were on a highway of families, couples, and tons of different languages.

The waterfall was amazing! Somewhere between 60 - 80 feet, and you can view it from the bottom, the top, and far away between giant redwoods

(We were too chicken to look over the side when we were standing at the top of the waterfall)

Until next time - Happy travels!

Citadel Climb - Pinnacles National Monument

Over the past few years, I have been blessed with people in my life who have all sorts of gear to take me on amazing adventures.  My good friend Thom has accumulated climbing gear over the years - and is nice enough to share it with people like me!

On Sunday morning, myself, Jacob, and Thom met in Toro Park at Thom's house to head up to Pinnacles National Monument.  After a long, rocky, and slippery hike to the bottom of the climb, we started our adventure!  Thom started the lead up the first pitch, set an anchor, and belayed myself and Jacob up after.  (It was Jacob's first time climbing).  We completed four pitches in total - the third of which started at an anchor with no ledge at all, so we were literally standing at an angle while we were tethered in - after a few short minutes, this position become very uncomfortable!!

We were able to walk around at the very top of the climb, eat lunch under a manzanita bush, and even throw some rocks off the side to see if we could hear them land at the bottom (and we couldn't).

Here's a picture from the top of the climb - 

And me after the climb - we went to the very top!