The wind whipped around the Jeep, rattling it so hard I feared that it might tip off and roll off the cliff, down into the angry ocean far below. I’d driven this road, hwy 1 between Big Sur and Cambria, a number of times. It’s a wild, beautiful place. Never have I seen it so fierce. I pulled the blanket around me, listening to roaring wind.
Eventually I fell asleep. I was still awaiting the popup tent for my Jeep and had been sleeping in the back for the past few days. Today, with this wind, I’m grateful to be inside. In this wind, a pop-up tent would surely be torn clean off. Somewhere around 2am the wind was replaced by a ferocious hailstorm, the sound of the ice as loud as a machine gun on the fiberglass roof. Here, on the cliffs beside the Pacific Ocean, there was no protection to the fury that blew in from the west.
By the time morning arrived, the worst of the storm had abated. I packed my gear, turned on the engine, hot the stoplights and began driving. The sky above was grey, the roads slick and strewn with debris. It was only a few years ago that this entire road was closed due to a massive landslide, cutting off the small pockets of civilization that called this remote area home. It always amazes me that wild places like this still exist, all within a few hours of mega cities like San Francisco.
I weaved in and out between rocks, some as big as basketballs. Squalls came and went, casting impressionist shapes as the occasional car drove past, lights blazing. I crossed Bixby bridge barely noticing. It took all of my attention simply following the center line of the road.
The rain subsided briefly. I pulled over hoping to cook some food. I had a craving for eggs and baked beans. No sooner than I had jumped out of the car and taken a few photos, the rain returned; a blanket a grey sweeping in from the ocean, obscuring everything. I climbed back in, put on some music, and kept driving. Despite the terrible weather, this part of California remains one of the most beautiful areas I have visited. Sometimes you just have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
