Mountain Classroom checks in after four days on the Pine Ridge Trail in Big Sur, California. Freya '26 walks us through the rhythm of the trip – provisioning at the grocery store, setting and breaking camp, hard climbs and harder descents, conversations that filled the miles, and the crazy creek circle back at the bus after four days in the coastal mountains.
We have just emerged from a four day backpacking excursion on the Pine Ridge Trail out in Big Sur, CA. From the last blog, I’m sure you gathered Hailey’s excitement to be away from civilization for a minute, so let’s get into it:
The very first thing anyone must do when preparing to spend four days in the woods is shop for food, so for our last night, Saturday, 04 April, at our campsite at Laguna Seca, we began planning our meals. Our big group of 10 students was split up into three separate cook groups that also paralleled our tent groups. At the grocery store, we set off, and each group searched high and low for nutritional items that could still correlate with the budget. Tillamook baby loaves were in high desire for one group, while the other groups favored legumes or grains.
Grocery shopping took it right out of us — it’s hard returning to big areas of civilization after interacting with just each other day-after-day — so we spent the next few hours resting back at our campsite before packing our backpacks in the evening. Many showered during this time, but the Laguna Seca racetrack was a big hit as well. There were tons of expensive cars on the track; an honorable mention: a $1m McLaren Senna! (Thank you, Elliot, for the car knowledge). Our very own Bennie, the MTCLRM bus, felt a little jealous and just wished to be ripping out there, but alas, he stayed put at the campsite.
We had to get rid of all our pent-up excitement to begin backpacking, so we spent the night playing manhunt and searched for each other all around the campground. There were fantastic trees that branched out; perfect for watching everyone look for you from above.
Sunday morning, 05 April, was spent with heaps of fresh fruit, like bananas, strawberries, and blackberries, that we piled onto our oatmeal before packing our backpacks for good. It was very important that we enjoyed these last bits of fresh fruit, as these luxuries are not so common in the backcountry. The drive to the beginning of our excursion was a little over an hour, and the ocean view was absolutely stunning; the contrast against the deep blue sea and the luscious green hills, and all the jagged rocks scattered in between, threw us for a loop, and we just had to stop the bus.
After a little time to stretch our legs and admire the view, we were back on the road and arrived at the parking lot of the Pine Ridge trail shortly after. And away we went! The first stretch of our hike was primarily a brutal uphill that had us catching our breaths, but the views were so rewarding; similar to the drive, there were rolling green hills and the ocean peeked through a gap near the ridge. Finally, we found some downhill, about a mile down to our campsite, but we soon missed the uphill, as this last bit was hard on the knees and feet. Fortunately, there was a cold stream at the bottom, which we took full advantage of after setting up camp. Dinner came a little while later, and I believe most groups prepared quesadillas in different ways, with refried beans, corn, or summer sausage.
The night ended with evening meeting, where we each shared rocks from the stream that held significance with us. They varied in size, color, smell (many smelled strongly of fish…), and the number of lucky rings around the rock (the record is three full lines — thank you, Marmie, for your passion for wish rocks; I love ya!).
The very next morning, Monday, 06 April, began with a timed trial, which challenged us to pack up camp and be on the trail in an hour and a half. This was successfully completed with less than a minute to spare — wow, we like to cut it close! Breakfast was quick amongst the separate cook groups, and oatmeal seemed to be a common theme. The beginning of our hike was that mile of hill that we came down the day prior, which was tough, but we pushed through and made good time. The views were gorgeous, of course, and there were many sightings of lizards and snakes. Flowers burst along the sides of the trail as well, with groups of Paintbrush, purple lilies, and other colorful ones. We passed time on the trail talking to one another and playing games, like 20 questions (with unlimited questions), wavelength, ‘99 bottles of Coke on the wall’, etc. All of the conversation on the trail was great, and it was nice to talk about things that matter for building connections, like each other’s experiences.
Once at camp, we unpacked our gear and hustled downstream in search of natural hot springs (word was spread on the trail). A couple of river crossings and bushwhacking later, we found three little pools of warm, murky water. These were nothing like your pay-to-enter hot springs; the temperature was not too hot, the forest encapsulated the pools, with large spiders building their homes across the plants above, and the stream of water leaked gooey colors of white, green, and pink. And the smell of sulfur was strong enough to make a grown man cry! While these factors stopped some from basking in the shallow pools, many soaked up the heat and the smell.
Before heading back to camp to begin dinner, we rinsed off in the river, and the cold water totally shocked us, especially since such warm water rested right above. Mac and cheese with various vegetables was a common meal across most groups, and we ate over discussion of the adventures of the day.
Our last full day of hiking, Tuesday, 07 April, soon came, and we traversed back the way we came, though we stopped at an earlier campsite this time, so we didn’t have to spend time on that brutal hill, like the first night. There were many river crossings, and conversation seldom arose on the trail; exhaustion seemed to be pretty significant, so as soon as we rolled into camp and set up our gear, many began to rest, either by journaling, water coloring, exploring the trails, or by taking some shut-eye time.
Dinner was very interesting across the board; 13 servings of split peas had one group in a chokehold, another group had some hearty lentil soup, and the last enjoyed rice, beans, and a packaged protein of choice.
Our packs were light for our final day, Wednesday, 08 April, back to Bennie the bus, who was waiting very patiently for us back at the parking lot. The trail varied with uphill and downhill, then hit us with a big stretch of downhill back to the trailhead. Feet were hurting back on the pavement, but as soon as Bennie was in sight, all was right. Shoes came off as we kicked back in our crazy creeks and enjoyed the last of our trail snacks under a shady tree which hosted a beautiful Stellar Jay.
Back at a new campsite, we took full advantage of the river, then spoiled ourselves with five minute showers; everyone looked (and smelled) brand new on the walk back. Our front-country meal hosted spaghetti, and as we sat in our crazy creek circle to eat, discussions of our time in the backcountry were prevalent, and excitement was shared for our student-led expedition in the future.
As we spend the next few days on the road, we’ll be enjoying the scenery as we drive out of CA and work our way towards Nevada and Arizona. I’m looking forward to the rest of our time out here, especially in the big West, which I’ve loved sharing with all my good friends from the East. Time will tell when the next blog will surface, but until then, find gratitude in each day, and be where your feet are! MTCLRM clocking out!
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