In October 2001 I hiked the Black Cone Trail in the Ventana Wilderness, which runs about 9 miles roughly north to south from the Pine Ridge trail to Strawberry Camp. The Black Cone trail was closed for a number of years, but was cleared by a recent fire, and has been the subject of ongoing reclamation work.
Originally I'd planned to do this as a shuttle trip, starting from Pine Ridge trailhead at China Camp and ending at the Marble Peak trailhead on Indians Road, but ended up doing a loop from the Church Creek trailhead.
Started on Church Creek trailhead from Tassajara Road to Church Creek Divide. Water was plentiful, about every mile or two. Saw some great sandstone formations, but didn't take any pics, due to cloudy weather. This part was pretty much uphill.
At the 4-way junction of Church Creek Divide I headed west to Pine Ridge. Between Church Creek Divide and the Bear Basin Connector there were probably 4 places where water ran across the trail. It got noticeably drier further up Pine Ridge trail, and at last I saw the sign for the BCT, near the crest of the ridge.
The charred trunks were surrounded by green ferns. Interesting juxtaposition ...
I made my way down the ridge a bit to Pine Ridge camp, which had a few good tent sites and a spring that was flowing *very* well for that late in the season. Pine Ridge is a scenic spot with a good view of several ridges to the west and south, and even a bit of the sea.
I watched the fantastic display as the sun set.
Total for day 1: about 10.5 miles and 2700' (cumulative gain/loss).
Awoke to some great sights, such as an aerial view of the marine layer.
Got an early start, and headed back up the ridge to the Black Cone Trail. Most of this trail is along the crest of a ridge, and has a pretty gentle grade. Here's a topo. Ducking off on the Mosquito Spring side trail, I snapped a shot or two of the eastern ridges.
The views were pretty much spectacular.
There are a few interesting artifacts hung from the remains of burned trees. For example, Venturi Camp has some axe handles and a rake. Here's the namesake of Shotgun Ridge.
The trail apparently had been cleared back in May or so, but by now the brush was working its way back. The worst were whitish plants that left a sticky residue. Most of the springs were choked with thick green plants that obscured the trail and made me wish I'd brought a machete. However, the main spring at White Cone was still trickling down some exposed rock.
South of White Cone, the trail started to get seriously off-camber and loose. I'd been warned about this and stopped to apply a pre-emptive blister pad to my right big toe (good move). Since I'd elected to hike in shorts (bad move), my socks and legs were getting heavily coated with sticky plant residue and blackened by contact with so much burned brush, not to mention an assortment of scratches. Nevertheless, I continued to marvel at the incredible views.
At some point the trail started to descend sharply, towards Strawberry. By now it was mid-afternoon, and the heat was pressing. Near the creek the vegetation got heavy and again I found myself pushing through thick greenery. Suddenly the trail materialized, and I walked into the middle of Strawberry camp.
I stopped for water, and continued on. The short stretch before the South Fork junction had thick *thorny* underbrush, and I received yet another round of exfoliation. I climbed up the Marble Peak trail, and headed east. Terrain was hot dry chaparral, but mercifully an easy grade. Shortly before Willow Spring camp the trail began a steep descent, into oak woodland. The sweet music of rushing water gave way to the wonderful sight of a big camp completely deserted on a Saturday night. I'd been on the trail for 8 hours. Ah, this is the life ...
Total for day 2: about 13.5 miles, 3500' (cumulative gain/loss).
I headed out early and took the Tony trail to get back to Tassajara Road. A word about this trail : technically one should only take this during the summer months, when the monks at Tassajara monastery aren't cloistered.
That said, Tony is a narrow, steep trail that climbs a ridge from Willow Creek, 1150' over 1.5 miles (19 switchbacks), and then descends even further to Tassajara creek. Some places are washed out, making footing tricky. Others are so narrow I thought I was on a deer trail. The best time of day for this trail is the morning, definitely. I can't imagine what it would be like during the heat of the afternoon.
Finally I arrived at Tassajara creek, crossed, and walked quickly through the monastery, trying to be unobtrusive. I did feel pretty guilty about it, believe me. Anyhow, from there it was about a mile up Tassajara Road back to the car.
Next time I'll bypass Tony and continue on to Horse Pasture trail, which would only be 4 miles more, not nearly as severe, and prevent accumulation of bad karma !
Total for day 3: about 4.5 miles, 2200' (cumulative gain/loss).
OK, so the scenery's great. Why do I go out and spend days at a time in the wilderness braving bugs, heat, cold, blisters, poison oak, ticks, thorny brush, etc. ? How to explain ?
Must be a zen thing...
The Ventana Wilderness Alliance is a nonprofit organization that helps protect the Ventana Wilderness. If you enjoy this wilderness, you might consider joining and helping them out.
