Silver Peak and the Silver Peak Wilderness.

Took the short way up to the top of Silver Peak, namesake of the Silver Peak Wilderness. It isn't the highest point around, and it doesn't have the best views around, but it is the anchor of an amazing wilderness.



Morning coffee.



Mr. Hill's goon squad has been here apparently.



Trails get overgrown fast in the coastal ranges. Wildfires have their purpose...



Audrey II.







Five minutes after getting back to the truck the rains came. So very nice.



Then back down to the coast.

New Years Day 2009.

First day of 2009. Camped on a high ridge overlooking much of the Big Sur coast, the Ventana and Silver Peak Wildernesses, the massive Fort Hunter Liggett Military Reserve, and the San Antonio River Valley. See the truck?



Alder Peak with the Pacific Ocean on the left and the Salinas valley on the right.



The drive along South Coast Ridge Road is right up there on my list of best drives in the world.



The coast of Big Sur was fairly crowded, being the New Years holiday weekend. Just a half hour from Highway 1 and there are no tourists to be found anywhere. Just us. We found a good spot.



The view.





Sunset over the Pacific from Alder Peak.

Last Day of 2008.

Secret spot above Point Sur. Watch out for the goon squad.

First Days of 2009. Big Sur.

Big Sur Weather. New Years 2009. from sven erikson on Vimeo.

Another Big Sur Bike Tour Movie, this time by me.

Bike Tur to Big Sur from sven erikson on Vimeo.

JP's Pics from our Bike tour to Big Sur

Click here

Santa Cruz to Big Sur Bike Tour - Video

by jpjespersen.com


Santa Cruz to Big Sur from John-Paul Jespersen on Vimeo.

The Bench.

This is The Bench. I love this bench and have been stopping here for years. I hope it never goes away.

The Bench.



The Bench and the view.

What We Lost in the Fire.

A few basic pics showing some of the results of this summer's Basin Complex Fire in and around Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness.









Mount Manuel is scorched from top to bottom. You can see the trail going up. This is what it looked like last year: Click

Big Sur Video.

It took my computer three hours to process this video. It sucks, but after three hours of waiting, I am posting it anyway.


Big Sur Afternoon. from sven erikson on Vimeo.

California Condors.

It just looks like a crappy picture of the ocean. But actually it is a crappy picture of two California Condors perched on a cliff above a beach crowded with hundreds of sea lions.

The Purple Flowers of Pico Blanco.

All the wildflowers seemed to be purple ones.

Pico Blanco Day Two.

Morning in the Ventana Wilderness.



The route. The destination.



The views back down to Highway 1 and the Pacific coast were neato.



Hiking in the morning, in the fog and mist, on a sunny day in April. It felt like this:



Not until right below the summit do you encounter much of the famous white marble and limestone that gives Pico Blanco its name.



On the summit. You get the idea.



Looking north into the void.



Summit cheese.



Pondering life's mysteries.



We really had to get going.



Luckily this peak comes with facilities.



Back down at the Little Sur we took a little nap.



Plenty of soft places to lay down.



Good views.



Back at the truck looking up. Pico Blanco from Old Coast Road.