Hike: Vicente Flat Trail, Big Sur, CA

Distance: ~8 miles (total to campground 10.9 miles)
Type: Out & Back
Elevation Gain: 1,687 feet
High Point: 1,851 feet
Duration: ~5 hrs

 

Getting There

I drove up from San Diego, likely a Friday. I camped at the Kirk Creek Campground at the south end of the Big Sur since it was close to the Vicente Flat Trail. I had a chill evening after arriving.

The following day I went for the hike.

The Hike

The trail runs more or less parallel to the coast and Hwy 1 for a while, then head into the trees, hills. I remember being in awe of these humongous Redwoods. I drank from a creek. I'm not sure if I did the exact distance as this trail but it was a way passed Espinosa Campground¹.

"Average mature trees are from 200 to 240 feet high with diameters of 10 to 15 feet at 4 feet 8 inches above the ground." ²

I videotaped a confessional on the trail. This was the turning point for my move to Oregon.

Vicente Flat Trail

Fun facts

Crows ate my food during the hike so I drove up to the Nepenthe for a fancy dinner.

The 40-minute drive each way was worth it. The irony was not lost on me that I was camping but having a sit down meal at an iconic restaurant, visited by notable guests including Jack Kerouac and "Henry Miller, Anais Nin, Man Ray, Ernest Hemingway, Joan Baez, Kim Novak, Steve McQueen, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor."³

 

Sources:

¹ https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/california/kirk-creek-campground-to-vicente-flat-trail
² https://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/redwoods.html
³ https://montereyfarmgirl.com/2018/07/06/nepenthes-phoenix-bohemian-bliss-big-sur/