California Series #3: Big Basin Redwoods State Park
Over the last few years, we have gotten more and more into hiking and camping. Backpacking, on the other hand, is something new to us. Being in California for a couple months seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine these two hobbies of ours and hit the trails. We were excited to finally tackle our first overnight trip and see what we would learn along the way!
Nowadays, we only get the weekends off together (just like normal people). While Matt was completing his classroom requirements, we often got three day weekends since he only had classes Monday through Thursday. We are learning to adjust here, so give us a little break! A quick trip down to the Santa Cruz Mountains ended up being a perfect location for our backpacking trip. The Redwoods were high up on our list to visit and they certainly did not disappoint! It was also nice to get some quality time together after a long week of working opposite shifts.
Our destination was Big Basin Redwoods State Park, just about 2 hours from our place. We had originally planned to visit this park a few weeks back and hike the Sunset Trail. Unfortunately, our schedules got mixed up that week and we had to postpone our trip, causing us to lose our original reservation and permits. This time around, we opted to hike down the Skyline to Seashore trail. Due to time constraints and daylight (not)savings, we planned on stopping at the last campground before the coast. The 10 miles to camp was enough to tire us out, but we think reaching the ocean at the end of the hike would have been a great reward (maybe next time). The trail was gorgeous regardless and the redwoods were well worth the wait!
Other than a broken strap on Miranda’s pack, some sore feet, and a couple forgotten items from home, our hike went well. We stopped a few times for pictures and snacks on our trek and shared lots of good conversation. After setting up camp we made a hot meal with our camp stove and a cup of coffee before snuggling in for the night. We were pretty exhausted from the day and went to sleep almost immediately after dinner.
The next morning we packed up and made the 10 mile hike back to headquarters. We completed our hike at the headquarters snack shop with a hot bowl of chili and a sandwich - a much deserved hot meal. Our final stop was at an overlook at the edge of the park to take some pictures at golden hour. The views were absolutely stunning and it was the perfect way to cap off our backpacking trip!
Our advice to you from our experiences
Go out and make your own adventures, learn from the uphill strides and difficult terrain that you can accomplish so much more than you believed you could. There are days when it is so easy to look at the tasks before you as say "there is no way". But when you complete the hike and get to the top of the mountain, the view is always a priceless reward...
We aren't professionals at anything - not hiking, traveling, life, marriage, being students or serving the Lord. But each day we are trying to put our best foot forward, to look at the day as a gift of opportunity, and a chance to live with intention and purpose. If there is anything that you are able to take away from our writings, we hope it's the inspiration to live your life daily and live it to the fullest!