Hiking in Central California

Trip Dates: April 9-14, 2014

We went to California at the beginning of April. I was able to tag along with Scott on a work trip and he took a few days off so that we could explore the area. We flew into San Francisco and then drove to Pismo Beach from there with a few stops along the way to hike!

HIKING IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Trip Dates: April 9-14, 2014

We like to take our own food with us when traveling so that we do not waste money on buying food at the airport OR waste money by having our prepped food go bad by the time we get back home (my lucky sister gets all the food we can’t take!). We like to save our treats for real food once we get to our destination – not just eating whatever is in front of us at the airport.

Food we took on the plane:

• Boiled Eggs (We did not eat these on the plane though!)
• Boiled Chicken
• Sliced Cucumbers
• Homemade Trail Mix
• Quest Bars

Day 1 – Fly into San Francisco (hiked 2.5 miles)
Day 2 – Pinnacles National Park (hiked 11 miles)
Day 3 – SLO/Bishop Peak (hiked 4 miles)
Day 4 – Pismo
Day 5 – Monterey (hiked 8.6 miles)
Day 6 – Fly home from San Francisco

Day 1 {San Francisco}

We woke up at 4 am (after being at the Masters all day Tuesday) to get to the Atlanta airport to make our flight out by 6:55 am. We landed in San Francisco at 9:11 am. We packed our food and ate some of it on the plane but after the non-stop 5-hour flight (sitting on our butts for that long) we were hungry and very anxious to get off the plane. We tried to find somewhere new and exciting to eat but we ended up at a Whole Foods hot/salad bar in San Francisco! We also stocked up on some food for the trip while w were there (rice cakes, unsweetened almond milk, and fruit). After that, we checked in at the hotel, rested up for all of about 10 minutes, and then went exploring.

First, we went to the Golden Gate Bridge and we walked around some of the trails but it was pretty foggy and cold so we didn’t spend much time there. Next time maybe we can run or bike the bridge.

Next, we went to Lombard Street and after paying $6 each just to ride the trolly 2 blocks we decided we would walk everywhere else. I’m glad we rode it because it was something we wanted to do but didn’t realize we were that close to our destination! We also went to Fisherman’s Wharf which gave us a much better view of Alcatraz without all the fog! We aren’t really “city people” so we just quickly saw all of the main tourist attractions and made sure to leave time for a hike in Muir Woods. It was very short (only 2.5 miles) but pretty! We also made a very quick stop at Muir Beach before heading back to San Francisco.

Day 2 {Pinnacles National Park}

The next morning, we woke up early to leave the city to head for Pinnacles National Park. It took us about 3 hours (with traffic) to get to the park. Without much rest, we hiked 11 miles in Pinnacles. We did the High Peaks and Balconies Loop Trail was pretty cool and some areas even had a hand/guardrail so that you didn’t fall off the steep side of the cliff! As usual, we added in extra miles to what we had actually planned on hiking! We took the long way back which included the Bear Gulch Trail.

Day 3 & 4 {Pismo & SLO}

After hiking, we drove to our hotel in Pismo where we stayed for 3 nights. Scott had to work Friday afternoon so we got up early (again) to hike Bishop Peak which was a very difficult 4-mile hike. It was actually pretty scary getting to the last section!

We found ourselves in San Luis Obispo more often than Pismo. We even ate at the same restaurant 3 times we liked it so much!

Below is a collage of the food I had for dinner on our trip. Just because you eat healthy doesn’t mean that you have to eat boring food! I did not feel deprived at all!

Day 5 {Monterey/Carmel}

On Sunday we woke up and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway, making our way to Monterey for the night.

We stopped for a 3.5-mile hike in Julia Pfeiffer State Park on the way to our hotel.

After eating lunch in Monterey we headed to Point Lobos State Reserve and hiked 5.1 miles. Then we quickly went on the 19-mile drive with a stop at Pebble Beach, of course!

Monday we woke up and drove to the airport after stopping in Palo Alto to eat at… you guessed it…Whole Foods before getting on the plane! We had a great trip and I can’t wait to go back to CA – this time to San Diego – in June… just a few weeks away!