Monterey/Big Sur Meet October 24-25, 2026

[Rothman]

I forget, were we the only two people who stopped in Coloma after the Marshall Monument?  I recall you having a pretty good story about wanting to see the State Historical Park.

I did not have a good story, other than getting stuck behind crowds and I think a wedding, if I recall correctly.

I thought it had something to do with James Marshall hosting veterans of the Mormon Battalion from Utah after the Mexican-American War?

Oh, I didn't know that was a good story, but yes, after the Mormon Battalion marched all the way across the Southwest for mostly nothing, they disbanded and some of them ended up at Sutter's Mill when gold was discovered.

[Scott5114]

Regarding posting etiquette of of meet announcements, they are centralized here for a number of good reasons: 1) while it wouldn't pose a problem in the Western forums as meets are relatively rare, back East they have enough meets that it would kind of clog the regional boards to have them posted there, 2) as H.B. pointed out, in the East meet itineraries sometimes straddle forum region boundaries, so posting them in all relevant regional boards means duplicate threads, which could become a burden for the organizer to keep everyone on the same page with, and 3) not everyone is interested in attending meets to begin with, so it's nice and tidy to keep the meet stuff out of their way.

As for the meet, put me down as interested (subject to finances and all that). My wife mentioned being interested in the PCH a while back, so I might be able to swing this more easily if I pitch it as a trip for both of us.

[Max Rockatansky]

I updated the initial post in this thread with the driving tour route information for Days 1 and 2.  I will plot in Google navigation points a couple weeks before the actual meet. 

[Scott5114]

A start time of 7:30 AM is awfully early—is that to accommodate a particularly long driving day on Day 2? (I'm not familiar with the area so I'm not entirely sure what the drive time is without punching it into Google.)

[Max Rockatansky]

A start time of 7:30 AM is awfully early—is that to accommodate a particularly long driving day on Day 2? (I'm not familiar with the area so I'm not entirely sure what the drive time is without punching it into Google.)

Yes, and to avoid the out of state normals pouring out onto CA 1.  If we want the Bixby Bridge and Hurricane Ridge vistas as a group we'll need to get to them early.  The crowds begin to disappear around Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.  L

On Day 2 drive south on CA 1 without stopping between Carmel and Cambria usually averages 2.5 hours.  The inland backtrack from Cambria to Monterey via Paso Robles takes around 2.5 hours also along what Google considers to be the optimal route.  It would take closer to 3.5 hours via G14 and G16 depending on how fast someone could corner along county mountain roads.

Day 1 is fairly chill and more a of a traditional road meet structure.  Directly driving from Casa de Fruta to downtown Monterey takes about 50 minutes.   

I'll be programming in via points and linking them to the original post in the near term.  That will give everyone a more clear idea on how long each segment is.  I'm flexible on the starting time for Day 2 given this is pretty far out.  I haven't really thought of a good cumulative meet up place post Day 1 quite yet but I'll likely add one soon.

I also likely will be working the week after the meet in Monterey.  If that is the case I'll be able to take several people in my car on Day 2.  I won't know that for sure until we get closer to October.

[Max Rockatansky]

Given we haven't had any activity on this meet in three months I figured June would be a good time to refresh this thread.  I did have the time to drive down the coast a bit in May and see what shape 1 was in (it was fine).

[SSOWorld]

[Max Rockatansky]

I couldn't fathom the logistical nightmare it would be in trying to organize meet in a big Mexican city.  Although, it would be pretty easy to walk from downtown El Paso over the border and back.

[SSOWorld]

I couldn't fathom the logistical nightmare it would be in trying to organize meet in a big Mexican city.  Although, it would be pretty easy to walk from downtown El Paso over the border and back.

Clearly, I had problems sorting image memes today

[Max Rockatansky]

I couldn't fathom the logistical nightmare it would be in trying to organize meet in a big Mexican city.  Although, it would be pretty easy to walk from downtown El Paso over the border and back.

Clearly, I had problems sorting image memes today

Heh, fire season is upon us in Central California and in Big Sur.  The damage from the Soberanes Fire along Palo Colorado Road is still evident even after decade.  Nacimiento-Fergusson Road just reopened a couple months ago after fire/mudslide damage repairs. 

My thought was that a late October meet date was the safest bet.  Fire season will be ending and the rainy season won't likely have begun.