Winter overnight backpacking trip to Goat Camp

I headed out on my first post-PCT backpacking trip last weekend, exactly two months after tagging the Mexico border. Our overnight destination was Goat Camp in the Ventana Wilderness section of Big Sur, California. Emma, her dog Peach, and I left Oakland after work on Friday and spent the night at Pfieffer Big Sur Campground so we could get an early(ish) start the next day. I had been under the impression that it’s damn near impossible to get a last minute reservation there, but we lucked out. Pfeiffer Big Sur is about a 1.5 hour drive from the Vicente Flat trailhead via Highway 1, Nacimiento-Ferguson Road and Cone Peak Road. Pro-tip: if you get carsick, take preventive measures to avoid vomiting all over your car. The drive is VERY windy and slow going.

We arrived at the Nacimiento-Ferguson and Cone Peak junction to find a road closed sign, which meant we were in for a longer hike than we’d anticipated. And since all I ever want to do lately is move, adding a few miles of dirt road road walking was no sweat off my back. Shortly after starting the road walk, we saw the reason for the road closure. Snow! I had no idea that it snows in Big Sur! What an excellent surprise.

We made it to the trailhead and started our uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill, then uphill again hike. The climbs weren’t more than 600 – 700 feet maximum, but the occasional steep grade got my heart rate up. I may have been one of the only people out there with trekking poles, but I made peace with my hiker nerd look long ago. After a late lunch stop at Vicente Flat, we made it to Goat Camp just after sunset. The camp had three established fire rings that I saw, and water was flowing nicely just before and after camp. There were six tents and one hammock set up, with room for a few more.

The next day, we headed up and up towards Cone Peak. I was so glad to be going uphill on the snowy trail instead of downhill. Downhill already sucks, and slippery downhill would have sucked a lot more.

Once we reached the side trail to Cone Peak, we decided not to summit since the wind was picking up. I don’t think we missed much, though. The view from our highest point of the day was gorgeous.

The hike down from Cone Peak to the dirt road was all downhill and not too steep. By the time we got back to the road, all of the snow had melted, which made for an non-slippery walk back to the car. All together, we hiked about 24 miles over two days. I felt the pain when I got home on Sunday night, but luckily my body bounced back to normal by Monday night. High five, body! Thanks for remembering how to walk normally so shortly after I push you harder than normal.

This hike to Goat Camp would be a good introduction to backpacking for someone who wants a little bit of a challenge. The ocean views from the trail are hard to beat, even on an overcast day. And it’s great to be able to enjoy those views without the crowds that you find elsewhere in Big Sur.