Wow! What a route!
Took this one on at a whim. I’ve always wanted to explore the Big Sur area, and had the opportunity to detour a little bit during my road trip to go after this one, and it did not disappoint!
Got a much later start than I wanted, so I made sure to pack a headlamp and some extra layers just in case I had to run into the night. I took a variety of fuel, but mostly subsisted off of Gnarly Nutrition Fuel2O for most of the day. The morning was very cool, but as I started gaining elevation, it warmed up quickly and I found myself shedding layers. I encountered a lot of people on the trail in the first 10 miles or so, but after that I only saw two people. The day got really hot and I started overheating on the climbs. I stopped at almost every water crossing to splash cold water on myself and fill up my soft flasks. Thank goodness for the single serving Gnarly packets, because those things got me through the day! I ended right around sunset. The whole thing was pretty brutal but it is so so so pretty out there. There is a lot of poison oak though, so if you’re super sensitive to it I wouldn’t recommend this route.