June 1st , Wayne , myself , and sierra ( my puppy ) hiked up to Estrella camp via the Salmon Creek trail
located in Monterey County on hwy 1 just north of the San Luis Obispo County line in California , along the  Pacific coast . The weather was cool and foggy at sea level and hot at higher elevation . Water was plentiful as the trail followed Salmon creek all the way with many large pools along the way . The camp ground at Estrella was especially nice with great shade and camp stove .The night time temperature low was 59 degrees and day time high was 85 degrees as the elevation was
1800 ft. , after resting on day one we hiked a short distance up towards Lions den which is located up at the rim another 1600 feet of vertical elevation gain , we only hiked 300 feet up this trail and I can say it is a very strenuous hike . On day two we returned down trail and at the fork of Spruce camp we climbed up to Dutra Flat . ( see the sun lit photo of dry fields ) which is approximately 1000 ft. climb with a 1400 ft elevation gain  .
All in all the hike was very adventurous  and I definitely recommend this for the strong hiker .
Also note the temperatures at higher elevation can get very hot ! The heat was a little too much for my puppy as she is only 6 months old and she is a daily hiker and very strong !
The first photo is at the Salmon Creek Trail head with the mountain behind myself , Carin and Hank . These folks were returning from a race up north . They both ran well !