Ventana Wilderness Trailwork March 21-24, 2003 This was a 4-day backpack / trailwork trip organized by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (www.ventanawild.org). The main goal of the trip was to make it possible for stock (horses & mules) to access Strawberry camp, so that a professional trail crew could re-grade the Black Cone Trail, a north-south corridor between the Pine Ridge and Marble Peak / South Fork trails. The Black Cone Trail has been the subject of recent reclamation work. The VWA has several more trailwork trips planned for April and May, in addition to a Sierra Club National service trip. I'd hiked the length of the BCT in October 2001, and was looking forward to seeing the area again. Day 1 : 7 miles, 900' elevation gain -- Four of us started out at a liesurely pace amid sunny pleasant weather from Arroyo Seco campground (1170') on Indians Rd. We were treated to numerous species of wildflowers along the way, and the many crossings of Willow Creek were just deep enough to give us pause, but all eventually were rock-hops. Willow Spring camp (1880') was empty and inviting when we arrived. After dropping the heavy gear, we reviewed the trail crew guidelines and headed up the Marble Peak trail to the Zigzag Creek divide (2780') - lopping, trimming, and sawing all the while. By late afternoon it was time to radio the USFS dispatch office and sign off for the day, and we headed back into camp. By early evening we were joined by 3 more crew members, who seemed to have had a good hike in. It was a fairly warm night under the oaks and sycamores. Day 2 : 9 miles, 1500' elevation gain -- I started out early for Strawberry camp (2820'), about 5 miles from Willow Spring, sawing and/or moving a few small deadfalls using the saw I'd been issued. After arriving in camp and lolling around, I set up my tarp and set aside the heavy gear, then made my way 2 miles back to Shovel Handle Creek (2710'), where folks were busily sawing, lopping, yanking, etc. I grabbed a set of loppers and did my best to chew up as much encroaching brush (mostly ceanothus, yerba santa, and scrub oak) as possible, all the way back to Strawberry. By late afternoon we had all straggled into camp, and enjoyed a subdued dinner. Everyone slept well. Day 3 : 13.5 miles, 2800' elevation gain -- Awoke just as the light came into the sky, and watched the sun rise. A heavy dew had fallen overnight, and everyone else rose fairly early. The day's official plan was to take a short hike up the Black Cone Trail and see some views, then pack up and return to Willow Spring for the night, perhaps doing some trailwork along the way. However, I was determined to hike up to the top of White Cone (4721'), about 4-5 miles from camp. So I signed out and marched up the BCT. Views were grand, but clouds were moving in (there had been a 20% chance of rain). After about 4 miles I encountered White Cone Spring (4100'), a perennial water source choked with vegetation, then backtracked a bit and found a small ridge that I used as my approach. Grabbing at stalks and branches against the steep grade and loose soil, I scraped through dense chaparral, working around the thicker, impenetrable stuff, and slowly ascended to the granite that presumably gave White Cone its name. From here I scrambled by foot/handholds, and the slope eased as I neared the top. By now a cloud had enveloped the ridge and socked in the views, but briefly let up enough to see some of the dramatic formations along Church Creek to the east. The VWA wanted pics of the remote rain gauge that had been installed by the USFS and I obliged, then headed southeast to bag the second summit (4719'). I returned to camp around noon after doing a bit of sawing, and the drizzle had begun to fall in earnest. The shelter of the big old oak was welcome, and I made myself some tea. After the weather let up, I explored the Marble Peak trail past Tan Oak camp, up to the ridgetop towards Indian Valley, around 3400' before being turned back by more drizzle. On returning to Strawberry, a couple had arrived and occupied the far side of the camp. I dined quietly, meditated a bit, and got to sleep early. Day 4 : 12 miles, 600' elevation gain, mostly downhill -- My alarm went off before dawn, and I packed hastily. The half moon hung in an almost clear sky, while the condensation that had formed on my tarp iced up as I threw it into its stuff sack. The day warmed slowly, not quite enough to dry out the wet brush between Strawberry and Willow Spring, but enough to highlight the delicate handiwork of funnel-web spiders. The others had departed by the time I'd reached Willow, but I soon caught up and passed. My boots had been pretty much saturated by 5 miles of wet brush, so I indulged in a little splashing at the creek crossings. The Arroyo Seco gorge was beautiful in the sunny weather, and there was a slight breeze. It was as perfect a morning as one might imagine, and we returned to the trailhead before noon.