July 15, 2009
Day 6: Rest day at Big Sur
Since I'm not traveling today I slept until 9AM . 11 hours in bed. It was warm and sunny, somewhat buggy. I did a late morning 3-mile hike to Pfeiffer Falls and the Valley View viewpoint. Pfeiffer Falls is in a lush canyon, but it doesn't have much flow. Unfortunately the most scenic trail through the redwoods was closed because of floods and mudslides in the fall of 2008. I could see mud stains on tree trunks 20 feet above the present creek level. That event also washed away the bridge to the campground (over the Big Sur river).
The view from the end of the Valley View trail wasn't especially impressive. But it was interesting to see the distant wall of fog over the ocean. It was sunny all day in the inland valley, but the coast is foggy today.
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Pfeiffer Big Sur is one of California's largest and most developed state parks. It has hundreds of campsites, a lodge, restaurant, cafe, and grocery store. After lunch at the cafe I got on the bike and rode up the hill to the "town" of Big Sur which consists of a store, post office, bakery, and a couple of houses. Near the town I took the unmarked turnoff on Sycamore Canyon road, towards Pfeiffer Beach. The beach is popular and well known, but there is no sign at the turnoff because the beach has limited parking and the 3-mile road is only one lane. The road winds down Sycamore Canyon, dropping 550 feet to the remote beach. Several times on the way down and up I had to stop and wait for cars to jockey around. Sometimes a car had to back up a very long distance to find a place wide enough for another car to pass in the opposite direction. 1/4 mile before the beach I got into the fog.
Pfeiffer beach is a magical place. The fog gave it an otherworldly atmosphere. But the fog layer was thin enough that I could still feel some warmth from the sun. There were at least a hundred people there, but there was plenty of space for people to spread out. I walked the length of several beaches, separated from one another by rock formations that jut out into the ocean. The mountain climbs steeply above the beaches, but of course it disappears into the fog.
After a couple hours on the beach I reluctantly got on the bike and began the 3-mile, 550-foot climb up Sycamore Canyon to Highway 1. Then a fast 300-foot descent to the state park. I was back in the sunshine shortly past the beach.
In the evening the hiker/biker camp was nearly full with at least 10 touring cyclists camping there. I wasn't the only one who spontaneously decided to spend an extra night there.
Today was a wonderful day. The weather was perfect, with a high of 75F. Definitely warmer and drier than it would be if there wasn't a big hill between the park and the ocean. And it was nice to have a grocery store and cafe nearby. I expected the redwoods to be the highlight of the day, but Pfeiffer beach turned out to be more memorable.
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Distance: 8.7 miles (13.9 km) all unloaded
Climbing: 1054 ft (320 m)
Average speed: 8.0 mph (12.8 km/h)
Maximum speed: 36 mph (58 km/h)
Hiking: 5 mi (8 km)
Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 232 miles (373 km)
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