The disturbing disappearance of Arvin Nelson in the Los Padres National Forest
Arvin Nelson, Disappeared August 6, 2014, Ventana Wilderness, Los Padres National Forest, California.
Revised July 2024
Arvin Walter Nelson, 51, began his solo backpacking trip to Big Sur Station in the Los Padres National Forest on August 6th, 2014, starting his hike at the China Camp Trailhead. He intended to hike for a week in the Pfeiffer Big Sur state park, focusing on the Ventana Wilderness. He was wearing brown hiking boots and carrying a blue backpack. He never made it back.
Who was Arvin Nelson?
Arvin was an African American male born on March 30th, 1963, weighed 200 pounds and stood 6 feet 3 inches tall.
He served at the Big Sur River Inn and substituted for a teacher in Los Gatos, California, during the slower parts of the year. He took classes at Monterey Peninsula College and was interested in marine biology. He regularly visited the Esalen hot springs near Big Sur for night bathing from 1 to 3 a.m.
He had a reputation for being very friendly and fun, was well-liked at work, and had a close network of friends. Arvin loved hiking and was experienced with regular Californian backcountry trips.
What is the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and Ventana Wilderness?
Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is a state park in Monterey County, California, near Big Sur on the state's Central Coast, 26 miles south of Carmel. It covers approximately 1,006 acres (4.07 km2) and is centered on the Big Sur River. It has been nicknamed the "mini Yosemite."
The park’s roots are in homesteading. Originally from France, John Pfeiffer settled on some 160 acres here (his 1884 cabin, perched initially high above the Big Sur River Gorge, has been reconstructed along the park’s Gorge Trail). In 1933, Pfeiffer’s land became the first part of the park after he spurned offers from developers (£210,000 from a Los Angeles developer) and sold it to the state of California, a decision that prompted the State Park Commission to name its newest addition after him.
The area has views of the Santa Lucia Mountains and a small network of well-marked trails. It also offers spectacular views of the Big Sur Valley, the Big Sur River Gorge, and the Pacific Ocean.
Ventana Wilderness, Los Padres
Big Sur
The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969, and the total acreage of the wilderness is now 240,026 acres (97,135 ha).
The Pine Ridge trailhead at Big Sur Station near Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is the most popular starting point for accessing Ventana. Still, as of August 2017, the trail was blocked by multiple washouts along creeks and dozens of fallen trees across the path and is now closed indefinitely. Other trailheads include Bottchers Gap, Los Padres Dam, China Camp, and Arroyo Seco.
Much of the area is very rugged, and trails within the Wilderness are frequently overgrown and challenging to follow. Off-trail travel can be arduous due to the steep, unstable terrain and dense vegetation, such as Pacific madrone, manzanita, and ceanothus. The area's signage is said to be poor, and the distances are inaccurate, meaning it is essential to have a good map and compass.
Arvin’s hike into the Ventana Wilderness
Arvin was dropped off by a friend at China Camp near Tassajara Road and planned to hike the eastern side of the Ventana Wilderness, including parts of the Pine Ridge Trail, an area he had never visited before. The location was deep in the forest.
He had enough water and food to last a week from August 6th to 14th, and the trail was only 23 miles, with an elevation of 5,500 feet, so it would be easy for Arvin.
He was expected to arrive at the Big Sur Station on August 14, 2014. Nelson told friends that if he didn’t make contact with them at the time agreed, they should report him missing
The search for Arvin
When he didn’t show up as agreed on the 14th, his friends notified the authorities and official Search and Rescue operations on August 16th in the area where he was last seen.
Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies, including Commander John Thornburg, the National Guard, the U.S. Forest Service, the California Highway Patrol, and the Coast Guard, were all involved in the search, which was conducted with the help of three helicopters and approximately 30 searchers on the ground daily.
Monterey County Sheriff's Department Commander John Thornburg
The last known sighting of Arvin was on August 6th, when he met Jack English, who lived for 13 years in an isolated cabin in the Ventana Wilderness, and his son Dennis. Dennis played the guitar inside, and Arvin approached the cabin after hearing the music. They hung out for two days. When the helicopter picked up the father and son two days later, on the 8th, Arvin stayed and saw them off. He told them he planned to wait until the 9th and hike 11 miles to Sykes Hot Springs on August 10th.
Jack English Cabin, Ventana Wilderness.
Sykes is a very popular camp, and the 10-mile trail from Big Sur Station to Sykes is described as strenuous and takes around 6 hours of hiking. Elevation gain and loss are considerable, and trees often fall across the trail, making passage difficult. To get to the area, you must cross the Big Sur River several times, and due to high and fast-flowing water, the river can become impassable during winter and spring.
Wildfires, including the Soberanes Fire in June 2017 and heavy winter storm damage in 2016-2017, completely wiped out the trail to Sykes Camp and the hot tubs. Since Sykes is in a federally designated Wilderness and within a protected Wild & Scenic River corridor, the tubs were illegal impoundments and a developed structure inconsistent with Wilderness’s character. When access to Sykes Hot Spring is re-established, man-made tubs will be excluded.
Nelson had taken a lot of gear and food with him because of the time he had planned for this solo hike. For this reason, the authorities continued their search for longer than they usually would, as his chances of survival were higher. But nothing at all was found, no backpack, clothing or body.
What happened to Arvin Nelson?
Injury - The area where Arvin went missing is backcountry, but well-hiked, and you would expect to pass many people. Arvin's hike ended up near Carmel, which has a monastery nearby. Apart from a few areas, it is not difficult to hike. With the dense vegetation, did he move off-trail and slip and get injured in an area that was subsequently burnt by wildfires? There have been many fires in the area, and the re-growth might obscure a body, hinder search and rescue or hide a drop-off.
Did he cross over near the coast near Highway 1 and slip and fall over a cliff?
On his way to Sykes, did Arvin fall into the Big Sur river with his backpack weighing him down?
Suicide - His friends have confirmed no depression or suicidal tendencies, and Arvin was described as a larger-than-life figure.
Animal attack - A grizzly or wild boar attack is possible, but no sign of an animal attack was found. There are many snakes in the area, but there is little big cat activity.
Foul play - According to Arvin’s friends Jay O'Rear & Jason Challas, there were many unscrupulous people in the Ventana Wilderness in 2014 - illegal pot growers, survivalists (war games go on in the area), and so on. Could Arvin have stumbled across something and was killed? It is described as a rough, rowdy backcountry with rough people. Perhaps the attack could have been racially motivated as he was African American.
Did something happen at the Jack English cabin? Were they involved in Arvin’s disappearance? Did thieves target the cabin as Jack made violin bows costing $2000 each?
Did Arvin run into a serial killer operating in the area?
Other
Did Arvin intend to disappear and wanted to start a new life?
Bigfoot attack
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Further listening
Thanks to Mike and Joe at the Locations Unknown Podcast for extra information on Arvin’s case, including an interview with two of his best friends, Jay O'Rear & Jason Challas which they’ve just released on December 27th. Listen to the Podcasts here:
EP. #5: Arvin Nelson - Big Sur State Park
EP. #15: The Arvin Nelson Interview
Read more Strange Stories from California
The puzzling disappearance and death of Paul Miller in Joshua Tree National Park
The strange disappearance of George Penca in Yosemite National Park
The weird disappearance of Deputy Jonathan Aujay at the Devil's Punchbowl
The strange disappearance of Harold Drake from Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
The disturbing disappearance of Arvin Nelson in the Los Padres National Forest
The disturbing death of Katherine Wong at the Bear Valley Ski Resort
The disturbing death of Evelyn Consuela Rosemann in Yosemite National Park
The haunting case of the Mathias Group (Yuba County Five)
The puzzling disappearance of Jared Negrete from Mount San Gorgonio
The strange death of Timothy Nolan in Yosemite National Park
The strange disappearance and death of Stephen Michael Morris in Shasta-Trinity
The disturbing death of Thomas Heng in Sequoia National Park
The strange death of Larry Conn in Kings Canyon National Park (Member Only)
The puzzling disappearance of Matthew Greene from the Ansel Adams Wilderness (Member Only)
The perplexing disappearance and death of Mike Herdman in the Los Padres National Forest
The strange disappearance of Michael Madden from the Stanislaus Forest
The bizarre disappearance of Stacey Arras from Yosemite National Park
Sources
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/08/20/search-continues-for-missing-hiking-in-los-padres-national-forest-arvin-nelson-big-sur/
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/middle-aged-hiker-and-popular-big-sur-server-goes-missing/article_23d80216-26ee-11e4-b3e1-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=image&photo=0
http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/officials-wrapping-up-the-search-for-missing-hiker-arvin-nelson/article_d974a4c6-2982-11e4-b790-001a4bcf6878.html
https://bigsurkate.blog/2014/08/17/arvin-missing/
http://www.pappyspost.com/missing-hiker-arvin-nelson-big-sur-ca/
https://www.ventanawild.org/plan-a-trip/sykes-camp-sykes-hot-springs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_California_wildfires
https://medium.com/cabin-porn/how-to-make-a-homestead-in-the-wilderness-6bdb6d5ec98f
https://www.esalen.org/page/public-night-bathing