I was up by 3:30 AM to get my early morning walk-in before heading out of town. My backpack is ready and sitting by the backdoor, and I am excited about the prospect of being on the trail again. It would be nearly 80 degrees when we left a few hours later, with the promise of another 30 degrees before the day was over. Who hikes in this kind of weather? We do. Only we would be along the California Central Coast, where the temperature would only rise to 64 degrees. I was excited about this trip.
As avid walkers, we have been known to walk around our neighborhood with walking sticks and fully loaded packs. Our neighbors have grown accustomed to seeing us like this and always ask us what we are training for and where we are going. Of course, we always reply we are in a constant training program wanting to be ready for anything that comes our way. Today is the day we begin a segment of the California Mission Trail.
The Mission Trail is an 800-mile pilgrimage that roughly traces the El Camino Real (The Royal Road) on or near Highway 101 from San Diego to Sonoma. Spain established these missions in mid-1700, and Father Junipero Serra is credited with establishing nine of the twenty-one California missions. We wanted to walk from the Mission in San Juan Bautista to the Mission in Carmel.
Our plan? We would drive to Monterey and park our car at the Naval Post Graduate School (NPGS). Then, we would catch a bus to Watsonville and find a way to get to San Juan Bautista. Unfortunately, there were no buses to this area, so we thought we might UBER over. Much to our surprise and contrary to what our research said, there wasn’t an UBER to be found in this area. Instead, we met Manuel, a taxi driver who offered us a ride for $100. I said I would walk before I paid that much.
In the spirit of the Camino, an interesting thing on our first day out. Friends of ours whom we haven’t seen in years reached out and said they had a home along the trail and invited us to stay with them. They even offered to pick us up from the bus station. We had a room reserved near our first mission, and after a few moments, Manuel cut his price by half and offered to take us in along the back roads and show us the area. It was reassuring to know we had friends should a need arise. We knew we were ready for whatever came our way.
We stayed at the Posada Inn in San Juan Bautista and were excited to see we could walk the entire town in ten minutes. It is quaint and quirky, and we knew we would fit right in! Unfortunately, the mission was closed on the day we arrived, so after we had explored all that we could, we decided to return on our way home for our passport stamps. We ate dinner, mapped out our route for the next day, sat by the fire, and relaxed. Yes, I said fire. We were off to an adventurous start!
We began on the De Anza trail, also known as the Old Stagecoach Road. We would walk over Gabilan Range and stay in Salinas for our first night. There was a low fog over the mountains, which made for an incredible start. We were excited and confident we could walk the sixteen miles to Salinas.
Once over the mountain range and into the Salinas Valley, we were enthralled by the agricultural fields. We could smell strawberries long before we could see them. These areas were stunning, and we would not grow tired of our walk along these fields. The last part of our walk took us along Hebert Road, where our friends, the Krafts, lived. We accepted their invitation to stay and felt the familiar Camino kindness. We shared an Italian dinner in town and were fast asleep before 9:00 pm. In the morning, they gave us a tour of the area and set us on our way to Marina.
The walk into Marina was familiar; we had walked this a few times as a training walk. Once we were out of town, the path was alongside the ocean. The weather was stunning, and the breeze was refreshing. We felt unstoppable! At least until we stopped for a late lunch. Sitting down and having a hamburger made it a little hard to get back up. We decided we would catch the bus to Monterey and stay at the NPGS instead of overnight in Marina. It was a twelve-minute ride, and we could be there in time for happy hour at the Trident room! Because of our motto, when alive-live, this was an easy choice.
The next day we would walk the final leg into Carmel to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo del rio Carmelo. This was a beautiful walk on Seventeen-Mile Drive, with only a few moments where we had to keep our attention on the road. As we entered Carmel-by-the- Sea, we saw many deer alongside us and the beautiful homes overlooking the ocean. We may have been slightly underdressed.
The Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo was the second mission founded and considered Father Serra’s favorite. He is buried here along with Father Lausen, who followed Father Serra as Presidente of the Missions. It is a beautiful basilica with beautiful grounds and had many visitors when we arrived.
While in this area, we heard from friends we met in Portugal while walking the Portuguese route in 2015. Our dear friends Terrence and Barbara Zito invited us over after our walk, and we enjoyed a lovely evening with them, reminiscing and planning all that could be. It was as if no time had passed since we last saw each other, and the bonds we shared reconnected us immediately. It felt like home to be with them once again.
And for us, the beauty of walking all day rekindled our love for this kind of adventure. Our hearts were full as we rose to the challenges and embraced the beauty along our way. We shall see where our next adventure takes us. There are still nineteen missions left!
Tom and Nancy’s Journeys 