{"id":357,"date":"2009-06-19T02:00:36","date_gmt":"2009-06-19T09:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/?p=357"},"modified":"2024-11-22T13:07:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T20:07:06","slug":"day-17-big-sur-ca-kirk-creek-national-forest-campground-monterey-ca-veterans-memorial-city-park-questionable-campground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/?p=357","title":{"rendered":"Day 17 \u2013 Big Sur, CA (Kirk Creek National Forest Campground) \u2013 Monterey, CA (Veterans Memorial City Park) \u2013 Questionable Campground"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>62 miles in 6.83 hours<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I roll out before the other group again, ready to tackle the  last two peaks in Big Sur. I quickly get to the town of Lucia and nab a couple of cookies, and then continue on my merry way. <\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_363\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000513_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-363\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000513_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Getting tired of these shots yet?\" title=\"P1000513_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000513_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000513_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-363\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getting tired of these shots yet?<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_364\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000514_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-364\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000514_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Too bad.\" title=\"P1000514_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000514_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000514_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-364\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too bad.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_366\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000516_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-366\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000516_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Oooh, kilometers.\" title=\"P1000516_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000516_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000516_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-366\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oooh, kilometers.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_367\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000517_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-367\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000517_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"More\" title=\"P1000517_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000517_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000517_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-367\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_368\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000518_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-368\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000518_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"of the\" title=\"P1000518_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000518_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000518_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-368\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">of the<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_369\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000519_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-369\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000519_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"same.\" title=\"P1000519_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000519_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000519_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-369\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">same.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5l40I-aFNyI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>I huff and puff through the mountains, but finally, at noon, I have gotten through the last thirty miles, and to the town of Big Sur, which is at the summit of the last peak. I stop for a sandwich, and then fly down the mountain, and into some pretty rolling countryside.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_370\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000524_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-370\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000524_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"No more mountains?! Yay! Buildings on a hill.\" title=\"P1000524_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000524_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000524_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-370\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">No more mountains?! Yay! Buildings on a hill.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_371\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000526_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-371\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000526_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"There are still cliffs though. And ocean.\" title=\"P1000526_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000526_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000526_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-371\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">There are still cliffs though. And ocean.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_372\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000528_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-372\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000528_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"More flora.\" title=\"P1000528_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000528_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000528_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-372\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More flora.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_373\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000529_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-373\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000529_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"More flowers?!?!\" title=\"P1000529_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-373\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000529_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000529_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-373\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More flowers?!?!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The wind isn&#8217;t as atrocious as it has been the last few days so I am making pretty good time, but there are these damn gulches, which are a huge pain in the ass. Basically they are breaks in the land right against the ocean, and instead of building a bridge over the gap, the road just follows them all the way down and around and then back up a big ass hill. Unfortunately I don&#8217;t have a good picture of one, but trust me, they are annoying.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_374\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000531_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-374\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000531_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Whence I came.\" title=\"P1000531_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000531_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000531_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-374\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Whence I came.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I finally get to the town of Carmel and get some cell reception for the first time in a few days. <\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_375\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000532_3264x1840.JPG\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-375\" src=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000532_3264x1840-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"...\" title=\"P1000532_3264x1840\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000532_3264x1840-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/P1000532_3264x1840-1024x577.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-375\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">...<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I then need to climb up a mammoth hill, at rush hour, on a four lane highway with absolutely no shoulder. This is pretty terrifying and exhausting, but eventually I get up the hill, and then glide down the other side into Monterey. I then check my cell phone to see where my campground for the night is. Turns out it is at the top of the hill. Nice.<\/p>\n<p>I cry a little and then get back on the bike and go back up the hill the other way, and eventually get to Veteran&#8217;s Memorial Park. I check in and set up my tent. I quickly notice that they other people at the hiker\/biker spot seem to be long term residents there, and a little crazy. I then notice that there appears to be some sort of drug deal going down between two of the residents. You can imagine that this makes me a little uneasy. I get into my tent, but am then overwhelmed by the smell of marijuana, which actually made me feel much better. Homeless people on pot are a lot less frightening than homeless people on meth or crack or whatever else it could have been. Suffice it to say that I stay in my tent and get to sleep pretty early.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TaFlt-3wr5g?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"embed-google-maps\" style=\"border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d994932.6812664025!2d-121.95930995272307!3d36.19460594057562!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e0!4m5!1s0x80929badc6463c97%3A0x754a4f7385e3e64c!2sKirk%20Creek%20Campground%2C%20California%201%2C%20Big%20Sur%2C%20CA!3m2!1d35.989993!2d-121.49572099999999!4m5!1s0x808de6a283d6b549%3A0xa11442b135df7504!2sMonterey%20Veterans%20Memorial%20Park%2C%20Veterans%20Drive%2C%20Monterey%2C%20CA!3m2!1d36.599289999999996!2d-121.91175609999999!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1732305911978!5m2!1sen!2sus\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>(Editor&#8217;s note 11\/22\/2024: Right now CA-1 is closed so the map is showing a hilarious routing on the 101. I did not do that on the bike in 2009! Hopefully this fixes itself once CA-1 reopens in 2026).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>62 miles in 6.83 hours I roll out before the other group again, ready to tackle the last two peaks in Big Sur. I quickly get to the town of Lucia and nab a couple of cookies, and then continue on my merry way. I huff and puff through the mountains, but finally, at noon, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-america","category-everything"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pokaz-5L","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1167,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions\/1167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liveforthepath.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}