southern big sur camping
trip details
Wahoo! We're so pumped you're registered for this camping adventure to the crown jewel of the California coastline: Big Sur.
You'll find most of the info you need to prepare for your trip on this page. We'll email you the week before the trip with final details about our meeting spot, carpools, and bios from the other rad ladies who'll be joining you.
our campsite
We'll be car camping at Limekiln State Park, featuring the best of Big Sur: the mountains around you, and the big blue Pacific just down the road. We'll pull our cars directly into our campsite, meaning you'll only have to carry your belongings around thirty feet (from your car to your tent).
Our campsite features potable water spigots for us to drink from and cook with, and pit toilets.
Meals
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday will be provided. We’ll eat tasty hot meals for breakfast and dinner, and this will also be your opportunity to get hands-on practice using a variety of camping stoves. The group will share in cooking and cleanup responsibilities, and you'll be on meal duty and dish duty at least once.
For lunch, we'll have picnic-style food that's easy to take on the trail (think PB&Js, apples, bars, nuts, dried fruit, and jerky for meat eaters) but if you’ve got any favorite trail treats, feel free to bring them.
Packing List
Each Trail Maven should plan on bringing:
- Towel for after a swim
- Health insurance card & ID
- Tampons/pads as needed
- Toothbrush/toothpaste/toiletries
- Personal medications
- Glasses/contacts with solution
- A pen
- (Trail Mavens alumnae only): previous Field Notes
- Optional: hiking poles (esp. if you have knee issues), small pillow, hand towel, earplugs, camera, bandana or Buff to keep sun off your neck, small bottle hand sanitizer
- Sleeping bag rated at 40° or colder
- Sleeping pad
- Headlamp with fresh batteries/spares
- Sleeping bag liner (if borrowing Trail Mavens sleeping bag)
- Personal clothing (see below)
- Day pack to carry while hiking
- Sturdy, broken-in walking shoes
- Sandals you can use to walk in water
- Lightweight shoes/sandals for hanging out at our campsite that can be worn with socks (like Crocs/Tevas/Chacos rather than flip-flops)
- Water bottles and/or hydration bladder with a minimum 2L capacity
- Sunscreen/sun hat/sunglasses
Items in bold will be provided for those women who indicated they needed them during registration.
SHARED ITEMS, PROVIDED BY TRAIL MAVENS: Tents, lanterns, food and wine, stoves, fuel, cookware, camp chairs, utensils, firewood and basic First Aid.
Clothing
This trip is a great opportunity to practice your minimalist packing skills! We recommend the following:
- One pair lightweight long pants for hiking during the day (it's tick/poison oak season, and we want to be protected)
- One pair warm long pants for hanging around camp at night
- Two tanks/short-sleeved shirts (one to hike in, one for sleeping)
- One lightweight long-sleeved shirt
- Fleece or down jacket for warmth
- Waterproof jacket for warmth / in case of rain
- Two pairs socks (one pair on your feet, one pair in your bag)
- Two pairs underwear
- Warm hat/lightweight gloves
- Swimsuit
Please use your own judgement when packing: if you’re always cold, pack heavier extra layers (i.e. leggings to go under pants). Keep an eye on the weather forecast linked below!
Weather
Click here for the Big Sur weather forecast as we approach our trip! For those not from Northern California, note that coastal weather is notoriously fickle, and might transition from warm and breezy to cold and foggy in a matter of minutes.
Leave No Trace
Trail Mavens is committed to following and teaching Leave No Trace principles. To get you started, watch this video on LNT Outdoor Ethics from the National Parks Service. We'll cover this material again on our trip!
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking
Trail Mavens often enjoy wine or whiskey together around the campfire in the evenings. Participation in drinking is welcome but of course not mandatory. We ask that Trail Mavens leave recreational drugs at home. If you’re a smoker, please be respectful and partake in a manner that doesn’t bother other group members, and adheres to Leave No Trace principles.
Electronics
This is an internet-free weekend (plus, we won’t have cell service)! If you’d like to share your pics on social media, go for it, but only after we get back home. Then, feel free to go crazy tagging @trailmavens on Instagram or Twitter.
Gear Care
Trail Mavens provides its adventurers with about $1000 of fantastic camping gear. Read on for tips on how to keep gear in top-notch condition for future Mavens:
TENTS
Your tent is your home for the weekend, so you want to keep it clean and tidy!
- Unless you’re actively getting in or out of your tent, keep doors zipped shut to avoid six-legged visitors
- Consume only water inside your tent to keep it scent-free, and store anything smelly, including toiletries, in the car you rode in
- Keep shoes and anything else dirty or sharp outside, as high-end tent fabric is quite delicate
SLEEPING BAGS
Set up your sleeping bag inside your tent to keep both your bag and your tent clean.
SLEEPING PADS
Our pads are inflatable, meaning they’re a) quite comfortable and b) can pop if they meet a sharp rock. Be sure to unpack, inflate, deflate, and pack your pad inside your tent, away from anything sharp. This will ensure a comfortable night of sleep for you, and a clean tent.