Hitched and Rolling

December 5 and 6

By Grant Raffel

 I was honored to be a part of the one and only Hitched and Rolling Tour, and even more so to contribute a guest post to the blog. So here it goes.

The van got a predictably late start after a big night out in San Francisco but eventually made it down the peninsula for a quick stop where I grew up. My mom and I greeted the travelers with lunch in the backyard. Duke especially enjoyed this stop, where he could roam freely. He explored parts of the small backyard off limits to humans due to space constraints. He also sniffed lots of plants. I can only imagine the excitement Duke feels as he explores the country and its many different smells.

 We got going before long to head south to Carmel, our home for the next two nights. I had taken the lead on organizing the next few days, which seemed to suit Brad and Bre just fine. I could sense a growing weariness in the last few days during our frequent phone calls as they delt with a bit of decision fatigue. Having no plan and few constraints can be a bit overwhelming. But the planner that I am, and my interest in having somewhere to sleep given I was riding in a van already at capacity meant I had reserved us a hotel in Carmel. I hopped in the van and we took off down 101 South.

We arrived in Carmel just in time to catch the tail end of the sunset on Carmel Beach. Duke got in some glow-in-the-dark fetch and everyone was happy. We had a great dinner in town and went to bed to get some rest for a big day tomorrow.

The next day was to be spent driving down Highway 1 to Big Sur and exploring what I think is one of the most beautiful areas of the country. Growing up in the Bay Area, I’ve spent a good amount of time in these parts and was excited for Brad and Bre to experience them too.

As we drove out of Carmel, we went along Scenic Drive for some nice ocean views. Duke could not resist a quick stop at River Beach for some fetch. We continued on to our first stop, Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur. I had never been but have wanted to go for a while. Nepenthe is famous for its outstanding views and capturing the coastal hippie spirit of Big Sur. If the story on the menu is to be believed, the owners of what used to be a home decided the views were too spectacular not to be shared with others, so they opened a restaurant. We were happy to benefit from this, especially on another gorgeous day. 

 

 

Following an outstanding meal, we headed a bit further south to McWay Falls. This brought us almost as far as we could go on Highway 1 before it is closed due to a landslide. If not for the landslide, we could have continued south on 1 to our next destination. Instead, Big Sur was a day trip, and we would circle back up to Carmel and head down 101 to our next stop. The drive along Highway 1 is rightfully considered one of the best in the country.

We had been trying to find a hike that hit a few objectives: a bit of a workout, nice coastal views, and dog friendly. Hitting all three of these marks proved to be a challenge. I had suggested a hike starting at Garrapata State Park just south of Carmel that seemed like our best bet, but the short daylight hours and its 5-mile length meant we would probably finish in the dark. As we turned back north, Brad did some research on his computer and found a shorter hike nearby. The challenge was that, instead of a state park, this hike was on a private ranch that required reservations and liability waivers. Same day reservations were not allowed, according to the website. Being the innovative problem solver that he is, Brad made us a reservation for the next day and we figured we would go up and see if we could do it today. This proved to be a great decision.

We turned off of Highway 1 and drove through a canyon shaded by redwoods. There were a smattering of houses in this grove, which we immediately were drawn to. Bre expertly navigated the van up the tight and winding road to the ranch, where the gate code they had provided granted us access. We pulled in and didn’t see anyone else.

As we were figuring out where to park, a gray-haired man rolled up in a golf cart. The first few seconds of our interaction made me think we may be asked to turn around, but the man quickly warmed up to us thanks to Brad and Bre’s typical charm. (I was of course no help in this category). It was about 3:15 pm and he said we had to be out by 5 pm. No problem, as this was a relatively flat 2-mile hike. He guided us to a parking spot and the trailhead and pointed out a bathroom we could use. We were now high up in the hills, having driven uphill away from the ocean.

This was the Glen Deven Ranch, somewhere I had driven by many times without knowing of its existence. But we were in for a treat today. We went out on the appropriately named Ridge Trail and were greeted by some spectacular golden hour views. It also served as perhaps the most scenic fetch spot Duke has come across to date.

We reached the end of the trail and your cameraman got some shots of the honeymooners, the pup, and the stunning coastline with the famous Bixby Creek Bridge in the distance.

 

We enjoyed the view and made our way back towards the van, where we ran into Jim, the gray-haired caretaker of the ranch who had greeted us earlier. He was very friendly and told us about the history of the ranch and the interesting programs it currently runs, including some for underprivileged kids in the area. He also told us about taking in horses from the SPCA. It seems this ranch tries to do a lot of good. We continued chatting and he took us to meet Jack the horse.

 The views and welcome at Glen Deven Ranch were second to none. Brad had explained the Hitched and Rolling Tour to Jim and as we said our goodbyes, asked Jim if he would like one of the limited-edition t-shirts.

 “Doggone right!” Jim said.

A memorable and successful day on Hitched and Rolling. Thanks for reading, and thanks to Bre and Brad for letting me crash their honeymoon.