Despite living here for just over a year now, I still stand in awe and wonder at the beauty of the West Coast. When we get visitors we get giddy to show them what we have fallen in love with. So earlier this summer, when Mike’s parents visited from Minnesota for two weeks, we had lofty aspirations of showing them as many of our favorite places as possible. Of course, that required more camping and backpacking than staying in town.
Our plans were to drive up to Bishop, over to Yosemite, out to Monterey, and then down the Big Sur coast on the iconic Highway 1 on our way back to LA. It may sound somewhat easy, but when you are trying to fit four people and all the equipment needed for a 2 week camping/backpacking trip through desert, mountains, and ocean into an extended cab Tacoma (not exactly meant for a 4 person road trip…), things can get interesting. After some careful packing and numerous conversations about taking only what was needed, we managed to squeeze in and even had a bit of room to spare.
Bishop was a must for Mike and I to show his parents. We had finally figured out the best camping spots, secret waterfalls (even with the drought) and best bouldering that was just barely bearable during the summer heat. We had this town down to a science and it was a great kickoff to our trip. Not to mention I pre-made and pre-froze our dinners for a no mess feast for the first three nights. Not to toot my own horn, but it was my best Pinterest follow through yet. We enjoyed two extraordinary free campsites that were quiet, relaxing, and scenic.
Next stop Yosemite! If you come to California and don’t visit Yosemite, you’ve missed out. Our goal was to arrive early and get a backcountry permit for three nights of backpacking from Tuolumne Meadows down to The Valley, however Mother Nature (with help from some hunters careless with their fire) had other plans for us. A large fire just north of the park had caused a closure of the Tioga road – which we needed to get back up from the Valley to our car in Tuolumne Meadows after the hike. Time for plan B. After some discussion with the backcountry rangers, we decided to visit the Ten Lakes region to the west of Tuolumne Meadows. The next day we packed up our packs and slowly headed up from Tuolumne Meadows to the mountains on the south side of the Tuolumne River valley. I want to place an emphasis on the “up” part of that last sentence, as this was the main theme of day 1 (did I mention the other hike was mostly downhill?). After a long and grueling day, night 1 was spent below a little lake just off the trail. As the sun set we quickly ate and passed out in our cozy sleeping bags, with hopes that our legs would feel less like the rocks we had just hiked through come morning. Day 2 presented a shorter, though no less hilly, hike to the beautiful high-alpine lakes of the Ten Lakes Basin, where we would spend nights two and three. When we made camp I quickly made it over to the hammock and didn’t move for a few hours. My feet had no more walking left. Mike did some fishing and even caught a few little rainbows. After dinner we enjoyed a cozy fire and some pretty decent stars. Our lay over day was full of reading, sitting, and some swimming. The next morning we hiked out and, to my relief, it was all down hill for a change. Fresh out of the backcountry we headed to The Valley for a much-needed shower and post-hike pizza and beer. Later we had dinner at the bar in The Ahwahnee Hotel. Sitting outside by the lawn was peaceful and relaxing, not having to clean our own dishes was icing on the cake.
The next morning we woke up and enjoyed some touristy things around the Valley and then headed towards Monterey. We got a hotel in Salinas (just outside of Monterey) and stumbled upon the best barbecue I have ever had. I am not lying to you, best barbecue ever. After a much appreciated night in a hotel, we drove to Monterey and walked down the pier, where every restaurant attempted to entice us to dine with samples of “the best chowder in town.” Pro-tip if you visit Monterey: you can get a free meal just by sampling everyones chowder.
Next stop Big Sur. We drove through Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and stopped to see the waterfall. We took a cool hike down to the coast through an old pirate tunnel to a bay that offered views of sea otters and passing whales. Then, Mike started driving us toward our campsite for the night up in the mountains and soon we found ourselves on a dirt road. This was no ordinary dirt road. This dirt road had one soul purpose in life, and it was to terrify us all. Except for Mike, who seemed just fine driving as close to the side of the road as possible. After a few (read: many) terrifying turns we made it to one of those breath-taking spots that you don’t get at your run-of-the-mill campground. We were above the clouds floating in wonderland. We took some pictures and didn’t stop until we left. Everywhere we looked was photo worthy. For dinner we enjoyed some mouth-watering foil burgers (my specialty!). As the sun set under the clouds and the sky lit up pink I was loving our West Coast and couldn’t have been happier to share it with anybody else.
The trip came to a close the next day with us driving the coast back to LA, with stops along the way to see Hearst Castle and the Elephant Seals near San Simeon. A fitting end to what was an overall amazing trip.
-Jess
Travels of Jess & Mike 
Amazing review of an unbelievable adventure! We loved being a part of all of it. And I will say that Jess out did herself with the meal planning/prep and….foil burgers. A new favorite! Love you guys! Mom/Paula and Dad/Paula
LikeLike