June 12, 2023
When the network of 21 Alta California missions were established by Spain over 200 years ago, many of the sites evolved into California’s major cities, including San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Jose, and San Francisco. Other missions became the focal points of smaller towns. And a few missions stayed isolated, with the areas around them little changed. After leaving Mission San Miguel, we began 133 trail miles and 10 stages of hiking through some of the most remote locations of the mission network.
Some mission hikers cover this section with personal car support, but we chose the challenge of hiking longer days and using public transportation to cover the distance. This also meant that we needed to carry more food with us, as we would go for days without any restaurants or grocery stores.
A Smoky Stage and Highway Patrol Encounter
When we arrived the previous afternoon in the small town of San Miguel, we had purchased food for three days before boarding a public bus to the community of Bradley and our Airbnb accommodations. The next morning we took the bus back to San Miguel to tour the mission there.
With our visit complete, we began a 11.3-mile stage walk back to our Bradley Airbnb for a second night. The weather was getting warmer, so I switched to a wide brimmed hat to better shade my face. (We also wear sunscreen since we are in the sun all day when we hike.)
As we walked a short distance on US Highway 101, we noticed smoke on the horizon.
Pulling out my phone, I quickly determined that there was an exercise going on at nearby Camp Roberts. As we hiked, ash began to rain down on us. The Air Quality Index (AQI) measured 160. Because we only had a few more miles to go, we put on our KN95 masks and continued our walk.
We left the highway and walked on a dirt path next to a railroad track. At one point Darren removed his mask for a second and could still smell smoke. We were thankful that the masks were blocking much of the pollution for us.
The path ended at a two-lane road that took us into Bradley. About two miles before our finish, a pickup truck pulled over and offered us a ride. If not for our masks, we might have taken him up on it. But we felt pretty comfortable continuing, and we were happy to arrive back in Bradley soon after.
We left our Airbnb the next morning to hike 14.5 miles toward the most remote mission in the network – San Antonio. We again needed to walk on US Highway 101 for a mile. This time, a California Highway Patrol vehicle “pulled us over” to ask about our intentions. Satisfied with our answers, he advised us to stay safe and sent us on our way. Darren regretted not sneaking a photo of the exchange.
After we left the highway, we began hiking on Jolon Road. In total, we would walk 39 miles on this road over the next three stages. The road traversed through rolling hills and along vast vineyards.
There was quite a bit of traffic. We saw several tractors, which were expected, but we were surprised by the number of empty 18-wheeler trucks coming our way. Later, we figured out that they had made deliveries to the military base. It helped that most vehicles moved to the road’s center or even to the other lane to provide a wide berth between us and them.
Vehicles moving over into the other lane to give us a wide berth
That evening, we stayed at an Airbnb on a farm. We were graciously treated to a local bottle of red wine by our host.
Visiting Mission San Antonio and Sleeping on a Military Base
With a temperature forecast of 85 F, we left early to hike to the Fort Hunter Liggett military base and our Mission San Antonio visit. As we continued down Jolon Road, we passed a couple of fire stations and took turns posing with Smokey Bear.
Posing with Smokey Bear at two different fire stations
We reached the Fort Hunter Liggett base entrance after about nine miles of walking. The military site was acquired by the US Army during World War II from the Hearst Family. It is the US Army Reserve’s largest training facility.
We temporarily turned off Jolon Road to hike on a base road for six miles to the mission.
It was hot, with no shade or any breeze, so we just wanted to get to the mission as quickly as possible. It didn’t help that the mission was visible from a couple of miles away. It ever so slowly got closer to us.
Finally, we reached the mission gate.
When we arrived at the mission at about 1:00 pm, we took a moment to sit in the shade and drink some cold water, purchased at the gift shop.
Considered the most remote of the 21 missions, San Antonio was actually the 3rd mission established in 1771. Its location adjacent to the military base and below the Santa Lucia Mountains provides a pristine backdrop, and the surrounding area looks much like it did in the late 18th century. Arriving at the front of the mission felt like going back in time.
Because no real town grew up around this mission, the structure fell into disrepair at the end of the Spanish Alta California era. Over the years a series of restoration efforts took place, funded by historic preservation groups and the Hearst Foundation.
The restored church and courtyard were beautiful to see.
In the museum we learned that the mission was the first in the network to use a kiln to produce Spanish roof tiles, replacing the thatched roofs that had become a fire hazard. The mission also had a large vineyard. While in the courtyard, we saw some of the original vines.
At its height, San Antonio had 4,000 grapevines and 20 fruit trees. We viewed remnants of the extensive aqueduct system that brought water from the nearby San Antonio River.
After leaving the mission we hiked back on the same road for about a mile to the Fort Hunter Liggett main gate. At least we had a cool breeze blowing in our faces, so it wasn’t too bad of a walk. At the gate we stopped for a security check for our hotel stay on the base.
Once through security, we walked a short distance further to the Hearst Hacienda Lodge. The building was completed in 1930 by William Randolph Hearst and was sold with the surrounding land to the army. Today it is a public hotel on the base. We settled into our room with a nice garden view.
There was a grocery store on the base, so we stocked up on a few hiking snacks. For dinner we walked to the bowling alley and ate pizza there.
Hiking a Long Stage to the Salinas Valley and Enjoying a Rest Day
We had a long stage planned to hike from the Fort Hunter Liggett military base to King City. Rather than walk again down the same base road we had hiked on to get to the mission, we hitched a ride outside the base security gate to where the base road intersected with Jolon Road. This still made our remaining distance for the day a daunting 18.8 miles.
Back on Jolon Road, the route took us through rolling hills with pine and oak trees. We marveled at the pristine scenery as we walked. While the weather was still quite warm (85 F), a strong breeze in our faces kept us cool as we climbed to a saddle.
Beautiful trees and welcome shade as we hiked
The road took a steep descent toward the Salinas Valley. Later, as the headwind intensified, we passed farms, horses, and cows.
The next morning we left King City on a 13.8-mile stage to hike through the Salinas Valley to the city of Greenfield. We walked on our last section of US Highway 101 for the entire trek.
After leaving the highway we spent the rest of the day on a quiet road with vineyards on one side and lettuce and strawberry fields on the other.
Farm views as we hiked
Hiking along farmland made it difficult to find places to take breaks. In one case, we sat on some sand bags next to the road. Going to the bathroom was another challenge, but we found places in the trees and bushes away from the road and the fields.
The weather was much cooler, making the stage go by quickly. In Greenfield we boarded a public bus to the city of Soledad, where we took a relaxing rest day. The hotel in Soledad was our base for three nights. As there was only fast food close to our hotel, we used the nearby grocery store to source our meals.
A Stop at the Mission of Solitude and a TV Interview
After our rest day we took a bus from Soledad back to Greenfield, where we started an 11-mile stage to Mission Soledad. We continued to hike through agricultural areas with vineyards.
Walking down the road toward the mission; barn in the fields
We spied the mission from a short distance away as it was nestled between several fields in an isolated area.
We completed our stage at the mission in the early afternoon. It was both the 13th mission of our trek and the 13th one built in the 21-mission network.
Soledad means “solitude” in Spanish, and the isolated spot was chosen in 1791 as a midpoint between the San Antonio and Carmel Missions. However, the location meant that this mission had one of the smallest populations of any in the network.
The full name of the mission, “Nuestra Senora de la Soledad” was dedicated to “Our Lady of Solitude,” one of the sacred names for the Virgin Mary. A statue of Mary was prominent on the church’s altar.
The museum contained the original mission bell that was cast in Mexico in 1799. There was also a replica bell next to the church that we could ring. It was harder than I thought.
Mission Soledad was small, but had a history full of setbacks. It suffered many floods from the Salinas River. One flood destroyed the original church in 1828. An epidemic also took place, killing many of the Native people.
After the Spanish era, the mission became a ranch, a store, and a restaurant before being abandoned for almost 100 years. It was sold for $800.00 in 1946, returned to the Catholic Church, and partially restored in the 1950s. We walked around the quadrangle, where ruins of the adobe walls could be seen.
Exploring the quadrangle; ruins of the adobe walls
At each mission’s gift shop we get a stamp in a small passport booklet that we purchased before we left. While talking to the woman there about our journey, a local TV crew, who were filming a story about the mission, overheard our conversation. They asked if they could interview us about our mission trek. So we answered a few questions on camera. Unfortunately, the footage didn’t make their newscast that night, but it was still exciting to talk about our journey.
It was about four miles from the mission to the city of Soledad and our final night in the hotel. To hike to Soledad would require a short walk on US Highway 101. There was a narrow shoulder and it was regarded as a dangerous section.
Since we planned to start the next stage back at the mission to maintain continuous steps, we only needed transportation to Soledad and back. There was no bus in this isolated area, so I spent 45 minutes trying to request a ride on the Uber and Lyft apps. It became obvious that no one was going to drive out of town to pick us up. Meanwhile, Darren got talking to a man also visiting the mission who offered to drive us into town since he was going that way.
The next morning we had no trouble getting an Uber to take us from Soledad back to the mission.
Heading down River Road and to Monterey
From Mission Soledad we had three days and 41.5 miles of trekking to reach the city of Monterey. Soon after beginning our hike from the mission, we joined River Road, where we would walk for the next 23 miles. The road ran near the Salinas River and was home to several wineries in Monterey County.
Our 13.7-mile stage included a stop for wine tasting. We bought a bottle of red wine to carry with us and enjoy over the next couple of nights.
Taking a break from walking to enjoy some wine tasting
We continued a few miles further to an Airbnb located on a farm.
Donkey and horses at our farm Airbnb
After spending the night at the Airbnb, we rejoined River Road for a 11.4-mile stage. It was a delightful walk next to fields in varying conditions of the growing season.
The road got a little busy at the end of the day, and we were glad to reach our boutique hotel for the evening.
With just 16.4 miles to go to Monterey the next morning, we left River Road to transition to a set of dirt trails in Fort Ord National Monument. We hiked up into the hills and enjoyed the beauty and the change of pace from road walking.
It was a steady climb to the top of the hills, but the weather was overcast and cool.
This custom stage kept us off a busy highway, but put us in the position of rerouting on the fly a couple of times to work around some closed gates at the Laguna Seca Race Track. There was no racing going on, but a crew was there doing some track repairs.
It then rained steadily for about 20 minutes – the first rain we had since Stage 8 in Irvine. We continued walking, catching a glimpse of the ocean, before finally arriving in Monterey.
Back in civilization and done with the food carries, we settled into a hotel for the next three nights. That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner and beers at a downtown pub.
A Route through the 17-Mile Drive to Mission Carmel
From Monterey we had a short 6.7-mile hike (without backpacks) to Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, or Mission Carmel. We walked along a bike path to the 17-Mile Drive, where we hiked on the road for two miles, from the US Highway 1 Gate to the Carmel Gate. It was not the most scenic (Pebble Beach) portion of the drive, but we enjoyed the forest and large trees nonetheless.
Walking on the 17-Mile Drive; trees along the road
After our exit from the road we came to beautiful Carmel Beach. We took some time to linger there and enjoy the white sand and amazing bay views.
It was now just a short distance to the mission entrance.
The mission was the 2nd in the entire chain, established in 1770. It was the original headquarters of the network, and Father Serra’s personal favorite mission. As there was an event going on in the courtyard, we started our time in the impressive church with its colorful altar. The window at the entrance of the church represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Father Serra died at Mission Carmel on August 28, 1784 and is buried in the floor of the church.
The museum had many relics related to Father Serra. Also of interest to us was an exhibit about California’s first library, which started at the mission (with 30 books) in 1778.
Father Serra’s sandals; books from the first library
When the event was over, we moved into the courtyard to view the fountain and garden. The church was also beautiful to photograph from this location.
After leaving the mission, we took a bus to eat a late lunch at a Carmel-by-the-Sea restaurant. Another bus took us back to our hotel in Monterey.
Our time in this remote and isolated section of the California Missions Trail challenged us with long stage distances, limited food, and hot weather. But we were able to travel through a part of California that few see and visit some places that look much like they did over 200 years ago. It was a hard section, but so worth it.
After a rest day (and aquarium visit) in Monterey, we will continue with our final Salinas Valley hiking as we make our way toward Santa Cruz.
We filmed a video with our thoughts about these last 10 stages. Take a look (and see some footage from our aquarium visit):