UNDER CONTROL

PCT_Week -1: Stinson Beach to San Diego

April 6, 2016- April 12, 2016 – One Week to Start of PCT

The sound of crashing surf through the night reminded me that we were back where we started from last Wednesday, at Stinson Beach.  We had an absolutely stunning day driving from Fort Bragg south along Route 1. Temperature was an unseasonaly warm 32°C degrees, perfect for coastal touring.

On Thursday,  it was time to leave Stinson Beach for a day in San Francisco. After a wonderful warm summery day yesterday it was back to cool weather and grey skies. I am feeling waves of anxiety about the upcoming hike. Feeling so underprepared. The car touring so far has been a distraction from thinking too much about it. 

A light drizzle followed us out of San Francisco traveling south on Highway 1 on Friday. I was really looking forward to this classic section of Route 1 especially along Big Sur. And it did not disappoint. It’s hard to put into words how truly diverse and stunning is this part of the Californian coastline.  A heavy mist shrouded much of the coastline making for a spectacular winding coastal drive. We finished the day at San Simeon, visiting Hearst Castle the following morning.  The rest of Saturday we drove south towards Ventura Beach where we stayed the night.

From Ventura Beach the next day, we zoomed along freeways around Los Angeles on our way east towards Palm  Springs. We were on our way to visit friends. Lucky it was Sunday and traffic on the road was relatively light. Rain, complicated highway architecture and majestic form of wind farms dominated the landscape. It was great to revisit friends from long ago, reminescing of Hammers time in the US when he was oh so young and foolish.

Finally we arrived in San Diego and our  pre-PCT car tour of California is coming to an end.  We have a  day to get an overview of this huge sprawling city and then it’s business time.