Backpacking in Big Sur

At the end of May we went down to Big Sur and met my uncle James, Debora and little Gilbert for a little backpacking trip. Getting down there was not without its setbacks. Our car's radiator gave up the ghost on the way down so we got stuck in Half Moon Bay. There were no car rental places or repair shops open at that hour. So we hung out at a burrito shop for a while. Emily and Aragon hadn't eaten dinner, so they ordered the super huge burrito to share, which came with a side of chips, and then there is the salsa bar. The burrito was indeed huge. We all had tastes of it, well, except Jeremy who was on the phone trying to figure out what to do. We sat there for a long time, and 3 chip refills later, Jeremy told us that his Dad was on his way up to pick us up. He would take us down to their house where we had planned to spend the night, and then we could borrow Jordan's car to meet up with James et al the next morning. So when Jeremy came in, he wanted some chips too, but we had eaten them all and we proceeded to get another chip refill. Turns out we really got our money's worth for that $8 burrito. We were in that little shop for a good 2 hours. They probably wondered if we had a home.

We still didn't know where we were going to leave our car but then remembered that we knew someone from church who lived in Half Moon Bay. We were able to obtain his phone number. He just happened to be a car expert and diagnosed our problem, and let us leave the car at his place till we could get it towed. He and his wife had us in for milk and brownies while we waited. So sweet. Let me just say that my father in law Glenn is such a champ. He stayed up so late and drove so many hours to come get us, and all that with such a good attitude. We were so grateful, since cell phone reception is Big Sur is bad and we would have no way to contact James to tell him we couldn't get there.

The next day we drove to Big Sur. After meeting up with the others we hiked in 8 miles to Barlow Flat, where we set up camp. It was beautiful! It felt really good to be in the outdoors.

Gilbert wanted his own "packpack" so he carried this the whole way. Mind you, he was carried on James' shoulders for a lot of the hike. Still, he was a trooper!



Our campsite was complete with its own river and swimming hole

Aragon was the first in

Followed by Jeremy


Emily was working her way in when someone (we won't name names) pulled her in as she let out a blood curdling scream. After she was in, it was hard to get her out!

I knew that I would never warm up after going in the water now that the sun was going down so I saved the swimming hole adventure for the next day.
Here's me all nice and dry:

Emily and Aragon walked back to meet James, Debora and Gilbert who had lagged behind because Gilbert needed a nap along the way. Jeremy took a nap himself after we set up the tent. I decided to go on a little walk and just enjoyed all the little natural beauties:




Debora made it to the camp before too long and enjoyed her own little time with nature before also heading back on the trail to see what had become of James and Gilbert.

They were fine--Gilbert had just decided to take an extra long nap that day. He was excited to be at camp and was soon throwing rocks into the river, an activity to which he was committed the rest of the time there.


As it grew dark we foraged for firewood and were eventually able to make a fire. We pulled out our little stoves and heated our camping food. Our crew had brought Indian food, sealed in bags that just needed to be submerged in boiling water for a bit and presto! It tasted divine. We followed it up with S'mores...our way. That is, we use Reese's PB Cups instead of plain ole Hershey wax chocoate. So good.

The next day involved more swimming hole, drying out in the sun, and then heading back.
I did actually go under water.

We enjoyed fantastic sunny weather on the way back. Gilbert did nap again, but this time James carried the limp noodle out in his arms. I bet he was sore the next day.

On the way home we stopped by our favorite taqueria of all time, El Charrito in Salinas for some burritos. Later that evening we picked up a rental car and headed home to San Francisco. Our car was rescued by triple A, and now has a shiny new radiator and is loving life.