Big Sur gets a big, big tick
By KEVIN JONES
 Big
Sur has long been one of coastal California's stand-outs.
A magical, mystical meeting place of mountains, mist and
ocean, Big Sur was a local tourist mecca long before bohemians,
beatniks and hippies claimed it and gave it worldwide fame.
The
Beat Generation had a fascination with Big Sur. The poet
Lawrence Ferlinghetti owned a rustic cabin in Big Sur's Bixby
Canyon, under one of several large white bridges on Highway
One.
Levi Asher, of the online literary magazine Literary
Kicks, relates the following story: "In the summer
of 1961, he persuaded the increasingly troubled and alcoholic
Jack
Kerouac to go on a solitary retreat there to get his head
back together.
"Ferlinghetti is a good poet but a crummy therapist,
because the trip turned out to be about the worst thing for
Kerouac in his then-fragile state of mind. He was frightened
by the dark, elemental surroundings, and several nightmarish
episodes that took place in Ferlinghetti's cabin, including
a ghastly attempt at relating to a woman, are described in
Kerouac's most depressing (but fascinating) novel Big Sur."
Before the Beats discovered Big Sur (Ferlinghetti had bought
the cabin not long before Kerouac's famous visit), Henry
Miller was there, and wrote a book called Big Sur and
the Oranges of Heironymous Bosch.
 The
Latter-Day Beat writer, Richard
Brautigan, wrote a book called A Confederate General
From Big Sur (and alerted a worldwide audience of hippies
to the area).
Big Sur played a big role in the Sixties. The Esalen institute
is there with its hot tubs, and a 1969 musical gathering featuring
Joan Baez
and Crosby,
Stills, Nash and Young was immortalised in the film A
Celebration at Big Sur.
The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language
"El Sur Grande", which translates as "the Big South".
And so it seemed to early settlers in Monterey. The coastal
area to their south was huge and unexplored, and its coastline
was especially treacherous to ships.
The Big Sur region, about 90 miles (145 km) in length along
California's coastal Highway 1, lies between the San Francisco
Bay area and the Los Angeles area.
Big Sur region's northern end is at Carmel, approximately
130 road miles (210 km) south of San Francisco and adjacent
to Monterey. Its southern end is at San Simeon, approximately
240 road miles (385 km) north of Los Angeles and near Cambria,
Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo.
First-time visitors to Big Sur often fail to realise when
they have arrived at the heart of the park. They look around
for a township, a village, anything that gives them
a hint.
The best you're going to find is a sprinkle
of lodges - some with bars and restaurants - some cabins and
campgrounds. It is all very pretty but nothing out of
the ordinary.
Big Sur's stunning hidden beauty is the reward for expending
a bit of energy. You have to hike inland to enjoy the verdant
loveliness of Big Sur's peaks and valleys. Hike a couple of
hundred metres towards the ocean and you will see craggy,
spectacular vistas as the Californian coastline snakes off
into the misty distance.
You'll quickly discover why this stunning area has long been
a haven for bohemians and keep-fit addicts alike. Quite apart
from the "great outdoors" aspect of Big Sur, there
is a metaphysical atmosphere about the misty, moody, meandering
and mountainous coastline that will bring out the poet in
you.
Links
Big
Sur Jazz Festival
Big
Sur Arts
Big
Sur Online
A
Guide to Big Sur
Big
Sur Lodge
Los Angeles
Santa Barbara and Highway One
Big Sur
Monterey and Carmel
San Francisco
Yosemite
Death Valley
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