On The Road to Big Sur

Last weekend friends and I took a trip up to Big Sur. We were very informal about the plan. I brought a tent and supplies with no campground reserved. We tried all the typical camping spots in town but naturally everything was booked solid for weeks. The first night we had to set up camp at a hotel in Carmel, not quite glamping and not at all camping. We were lucky to have anywhere to sleep. Appropriately there was a poodle parade going on in town the following day. It was like being in a Christopher Guest film. We shrugged off the faliure with an over priced meal and a beer at the hotel restaurant. The next morning after loosing sleep to a caravan of barking poodles, just when we were about to throw in the white towel, a friend of a friend tipped us off about a campsite that was, "More off the beaten path, Six miles down a bumpy dirt road."  We were in a Prius, not quite the off roading machine one would volunteer for such a trip. About a mile away from the campground there was a washout in the dirt road and we had to turn back.  

We stopped at a turn-out to take a breather and collect our thoughts, unwilling to accept defeat. We were greeted by a man singing "You are my sunshine" while balancing rabbits on his head.

Determined to set up camp, we searched for another route.  Two hours later after traveling down another beaten up dirt road. We found the Mecca of all campsites. Nestled 3300 feet above PCH above the clouds we were greeted by a shroud of fog.

Along with fog comes the photo op. through the fog as we neared the campsite we could hear the faint crackling of walkie talkies in the distance. There was chatter about a landing zone and weather conditions. We walked toward the voices and through the fog to find out what all the commotion was about.

 Following the voices, we navigated up to what was clearly the highest point in the campgrounds. To our complete surprise we ran into about a dozen Para gliders and Hang Gliders. It was their launch pad. Another immediate photo op, we began snapping away.

Exhausted we set up our tent and did all the things one could hope to do in the raw wilderness thousands of feet above the ocean and millions of miles under the stars.

Happy trails, 

Evan Lane

#LETSGOSOMEWHERE