Monterey, Naturally, Part V: A Night Beneath the Stars on Buckeye Trail

Three mile hike? Solitude? Coastal views?

A pleasant overnight backpacking trip, coming right up.

For this adventure, my friend and I took some advice from a local student who has undertaken five different Big Sur backpacking treks. He suggested taking Buckeye Trail from Salmon Creek Trailhead "for amazing views of the water." We had decided that's exactly what we wanted for an intro-to-Big-Sur, so off we went.

We leave Monterey on a Saturday morning, but thankfully realize before getting on the road that we’re lacking one important piece of gear: water purification tools.

Where would you go to get a world of outdoor gear? Well, Outdoor World of course! Thanks Outdoor World for opening your doors at 9am on a Saturday morning. And for carrying iodine tablets.

The drive to Buckeye Trail is on the longer side: a good two hours, but absolutely stunning. We roll dow our windows and play Grateful Dead the whole way there, stopping often along the way, and preparing for a free spirited weekend of nature and photography. The blue ocean and dramatic cliffs sing along as we drive.

We arrive at Salmon Creek Trailhead at 1:30pm, and backtracked on foot about 1/8 mile on Highway 1 before turning into the start of Buckeye Trail.

The trail winds quickly up onto a ridge high above Highway 1, following the route of the highway, but climbing in altitude. Often, the trees and brush open up along the trail, displaying vast views of mountains cascading into ocean, and finally blending into sky. These views present themselves throughout the hike, exposing the winding cliffs and mountain ridges of Big Sur, North and South. If I’m not mistaken, hikers can even see all the way to Morro Bay, south of the mountains on Highway 1.

4 hours after we began, (yes, 4), we arrive at a stunning campsite, which juts out on a ridge right before the trail dips down into Buckeye Campsite. The hike has been mostly uphill, and strenuous with our backpacks, but we took breaks for food, water, and photography, transforming it into a relaxing and pleasant adventure. Our final destination has even been prepared for us with a flat pre-impacted camping area and a long log for sitting.

Some tips:

1. Bring two water bottles for the first part of your hike. Especially in a drought year, water will be limited, but hikers can access water about 1.5 miles into the hike. That doesn’t sound like much, but combined with steep uphill grade and an afternoon sun, water is a must.
2. There is no public transportation to Salmon Creek Trailhead, but rideshares abound on websites like carpoolworld.com. It’s worth the awkward conversation, I promise!
3. As always in Monterey County, the trail is blazed through hoards of poison oak. If you have hiking pants, wear those and skip the shorts. Long socks could also help.
4. Try camping outside of the designated campsites! After passing what we decided would be our campsite, my friend and I hiked into Buckeye Campsite (located 3 miles from the trailhead), where we filled a large sac of water with the always-running creek. We walked with the sac up the short hill back to our chosen campsite, so that we had water to cook with at night and in the morning. Of course, still be sure to follow leave no trace principles in your campsite choice.
5. Drive and hike in the morning if you can, you early riser you. More beauty, less crowds, less heat.
6. If you’re an artist, bring your notebook, your watercolors, etc. The views are sure to inspire. 

We finish our dinner and the light begins to fade, as innumerable stars come out and light up the blackness above. The stars begin to look like they stop halfway into the sky, but the blackness continues down. It’s the ocean, invisible in the nighttime except for this absence of stars. We fall asleep outside, leaving the tent in the background in case of rain.

In the morning, a great horned owl wakes the world with his hoots as he sits silhouetted in the dimness of the morning ocean view.

We lounge in our paradise all morning, reading and enjoying the view, and finally return to the trail at 1pm. My friend and I return to our lives Monday feeling happy and reenergized by the relaxed weekend. A quick internet search shows us that studies show these effects aren’t just in our imagination.

Feeling like you need a refresh button on your mood? Try Buckeye Trail, or any other hikes along the way of Monterey, Naturally.

Links: Buckeye trail map, Leave no trace

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Monterey, Naturally, is a summer blog series by editorial intern Kristen Stipanov. Blog installments will appear about once a week and focus on the natural world as a jumping-off point for thoughts on a summer spent in Monterey County. Stipanov is a self-declared heavyweight backpacking guru who spends a lot of time with her digital camera, Lucy, and her film camera, Vesper. Her photo adventures and other contributions are made possible by the Rebele Internship Program, a Stanford University Department of Communications-sponsored program designed to both encourage aspiring journalists and strengthen community journalism, by enabling undergrads to gain real world experience at exceptional media outlets across the country.