VENTANA WILDERNESS ALLIANCE
On-Line Trail Conditions Report

LITTLE SUR TRAIL

USFS Trail #1E03 Parking: Old Coast Road, Bottchers Gap $5/Day Watersheds: South Fork Little Sur River Junctions: Manuel Peak Trail Connects: Old Coast Road with Manuel Peak Trail on Launtz Ridge Camps: Pico Blanco Public Camp

Basin of the South Fork Little Sur river.

Conditions reported by: Wayne Aune
Survey date: 7-OCTOBER-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Boy Scout Camp to Pico Blanco Camp - Clear

The trail to Pico Blanco Camp is in outstanding shape. Only one walk around tree obstacle.

Section: Pico Blanco Camp to Launtz Camp - Passable

Then I went to Launtz Camp. Some of the trail is difficult to follow and near Launtz heavy overgrowth on the trail. Beyond Launtz the trail was not too bad. One place before Vado a landslide has happened. I was able to walk through the slide, but someone could easily slide down a hill. Right before Vado I lost the trail completely and at that time I just walked to the river and then just went up the river bed. Conditions reported by: Reed Thayer
Survey date: 28-JUNE-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Manuel Peak Trail to Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp - Clear/Passable

We cleared much of the poision oak and encroaching brush off of this segment. It is clear most of the way from the saddle to the fire road above Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp.

Section: Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp to Fish Camp - Clear

One big deadfall and a some short poison oaky sections, otherwise excellent condition.

Section: Fish Camp to Jackson Camp - Passable

There is much more brush and the trail is less defined. Conditions reported by: Josh and Emily
Survey date: 2-JUNE-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Did a dayhike from Old Coast Road to Pico Blanco Public Camp. The recent trailwork has improved some of the worst sections of the trail, but it is still a pretty rough trail.

The trail repair of the washout about a mile from the trailhead is in the form of some rough "stairs" carved into the hillside. They are usable, though quite steep and some may still prefer to take a detour across the river and back. The climb from the Little Sur river up to Granite Rock road is in good shape with only minor encroaching brush.

The roughest sections start a mile or two from Granite Rock road where the brush becomes very thick and there are many places where the tread is slumping or loose. As I said, some of the worst spots have been nicely repaired, but there are still plenty of places to lose your footing, which is made worse by the fact that you can't always see where you are stepping because of the brush. Poison oak was abundant along most of the trail.

I previously remember seeing a sign at the trail junction leading to camp but didn't see one this time (though I could be mistaken), but since there is really only one junction along the trail, there shouldn't be much confusion. Having taken this route to camp, as well as from Bottcher's Gap, I would have to say that you may be better off taking the longer route from Bottcher's due to the condition of the trail. Conditions reported by: Jim Preston
Survey date: 28-MAY-2007
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

A VWA trail crew spent Memorial Day Weekend 2007 clearing the tree obstacles from the Coast Road to the river crossing about 2 miles up the trail toward Pico Blanco Camp. We also made the bad slide not far from the trailhead into a passable but tricky trail. That fix is a short term solution.

The brushy section on the side of Pico Blanco is still a mess. It is heavily overgrown and the tread is in bad shape in places. Poison oak is unavoidable. Intermediate and advanced hikers and backpackers can get through but novices should avoid this trail for now.

Once you clear that brushy section and break out onto the exposed ridge below the telephone pole then you will encounter sections where we did extensive tread work and brush clearing. It is now fairly easy hiking the rest of the way into Pico Blanco Public Camp.

Further information on the Little Sur River Trail project Conditions reported by: David Baselt
Survey date: 29-APRIL-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp to Jackson Camp - Passable

The trail seems to be little-used and is completely covered with leaves. Up to Fish Camp the trail is cut into a hillside and is easy to follow. The trail is slightly eroded such that the right (uphill) side is a bit higher than the left. It's not dangerous but it does make it harder to walk. After Fish Camp the trail becomes fainter. Because of the dry weather this year the river was only about 6 inches deep and easily crossed, at least if you're willing to get your feet wet. After Jackson Camp the trail becomes fainter still and gets a bit difficult to follow.

Several large trees have fallen across the trail, and although most have steps cut into them, one or two are a little difficult to get over. At one point where the trail is cut into a hillside, a tanoak has fallen across the trail, requiring hikers to step down off the trail and push past its mass of leaves.

On the other hand, there is very little poison oak along the trail, just a few shoots here and there that can be avoided. I picked up one tick along the way. Conditions reported by: David C. Laredo
Survey date: 15-APRIL-2007
General: CLEAR
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road to Pico Blanco Camp - Difficult

A group of nine Scouts hiked from the Old Coast Road trailhead to Pico Public as a dayhike. We left the Old Coast Road at 7:30am and arrived at Pico Public by 10:45am. We began the return at 11:30am and arrived at Old Coast Road at 2:15pm.

As reported, the slide at 0.8 miles is quite steep and continues to erode. We took the low path each way.

Although we encountered about 20 deadfalls, most of occured before we crossed the river. The river flow was low and it was quite easy to rock hop across without getting shoes wet.

The brush continues to encroach on the trail, and poison oak was quite evident (but passable). Portions of the tread are eroded and make for difficult footing, but these areas can still be navigated easily. Long pants and long sleeve shirts helped keep both ticks and poison oak at bay.

The two benches at Pico Public continue in great shape, and the three fire rings are also in fair repair. No other party was at the site. Conditions reported by: Jerry Lee
Survey date: 8-APRIL-2007
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Overall: This trail was much more tiring than it should have been for such a short distance in cool weather.

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Section: Old Coast Road to Little Sur River - Difficult

Many, many deadfalls. The trail has become more of an obstacle course than a trail, with lots of crawling under or over downed tree. Many others can be stepped over, but the cumulative effect is very tiring. The trail washout reported earlier is still there and adds to the difficulty. It will take a huge effort to restore this trail to the wilderness freeway it was before Sudden Oak Death killed all the tan oaks in this watershed.

Section: Little Sur River to Pico Blanco Camp - Difficult

Even more encroaching brush, eroded trails, tricky rock strewn sections make the brushy part of the trail difficult. VWA trail crew work on this trail several years ago has helped but much more work is needed. Poison oak abundant as usual. No flying bug nuisances this day and few ticks. Waterfall at Pico Blanco Camp is much lower than normal for this time of year, but it's still a beautiful place and worth the effort to get to there. Magnificent views on the open stretches of the trail.

Conditions reported by: Ed Rosensteel
Survey date: 13-MARCH-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

General:

I had a beautiful hike with my fiance Sue out to Pico Blanco Public Camp from Bottchers Gap. We lucked out on the weather - dry and sunny in the high 60's. At this time there were practically no ticks or flying insects on this route. The poison oak wasn't too terrible.... that didn't stop me from getting a few good rashes though.

Section: Bottcher's Gap to BSA Camp - Groomed Road

Easy groomed fire road. Rangers warned us not to drink the tap water at the unoccupied BSA camp. Left Bottchers at 1:30pm and arrived at the BSA camp at 2:30pm.

Section: BSA Camp to Launtz Ridge - Passable

From the BSA Camp the trail is easy to follow up to the junction with the trail to Jackson Camp. There is a fire road that accompanies it this far.

From there the trail was not in great shape and could use some maintenance. In most places the tread was obscured by slippery duff and encroached on by brush. Launtz Ridge is heavily forested making it difficult to see other peaks or baselines. The north side of Launtz Ridge fell into shadow early in the afternoon. The lack of light made finding the trail more difficult, further slowing our ascent. Do yourself a favor and put this trail behind you in the morning.

There were several large messy tree falls, difficult to negotiate due to the steep grade and underbrush. The trail has no blazes, so even after I made it around or through the tree falls, it took some time to find the trail again. This is not for beginners.

The trail becomes clearer once it tops the ridge and junctions with the Little Sur Trail to Pico Blanco Public Camp.

I left the BSA Camp at 2:30 and arrived at the Little Sur Trail junction on top of Launtz Ridge at about 4:30. I had an easier time returning the following day, leaving the junction on top of Launtz Ridge at 10:45AM and arriving at the BSA camp at 12:20PM.

Section: Launtz Ridge to Pico Blanco Public Camp - Passable

From the top of Launtz Ridge the trail drops through some passable treefalls into a dark redwood hollow decorated with some old ruined shanties. Trail gets lost in the middle of the old camp but is easily found by leaving the stream to your left and climbing a little. There was an unseen hog happily grunting somewhere in the cool hollow.

In a few hundred yards from the ruined shanties the trail exits the forest and I found myself on the steep slopes of Pico Blanco. There are a few scraggly patches of brush to burst through, but eventually the trail opens up to traverse a rocky meadow. Easy to follow, but watch your step and avoid the sharp yuccas. The wild flowers were just beginning to come out, the grasses and tree were much greener compared to summer and fall. There are many small lizards here. Very pretty. There are several cairns with metal stakes in them just off trail (Forest survey markers?). They do not indicate the spur down to the camp sites, keep going!

I was pleasantly surprised to find another couple at this remote camp. Camp sites were very comfortable with beautiful views of Pico Blanco. The Little Sur River was roaring and I filtered out some very tasty water! Future campers take note: Animals had dug up some old cat holes so please bury yours with rocks or pack out!

I left the junction on Launtz Ridge at 4:30 and arrived at Pico Blanco Public Camp at 6:00. Hiking out I left camp at 9:30 and topped Launtz Ridge at 10:45. Conditions reported by: Chris
Survey date: 3-FEBRUARY-2007
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Boy Scout Camp to Mt Manuel Trail junction - Passable

Mostly clear but with a few sections of significant blowdowns. A recent one in particular less than half a mile south of the Jackson Trail junction requires 150 feet of bushwhacking to get around (no real use trail yet). Also, there is plentiful poison oak as you get toward Launtz Ridge, so be careful (I unfortunately, was not). Conditions reported by: Michael
Survey date: NOVEMBER-2006
General: CLEAR
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road to Pico Blanco Camp - Passable

Day hiked to Pico Blanco Public camp. The slide at around 0.8 miles is still dicey for someone with heavy pack, but I took the high use path in bound and the low use path out, its easier to climb the 8-10 vertical washout then to try and slide down it. My 60 pound 10 year old dog, climbed the 10 foot section without any assistance. When it starts raining hard, this section will only get worse..

The rest of the trail is as previously mentioned, the areas of downed oaks have been pruned to allow step overs and unders, I did HEAR a loud crack and crash as I climbed up towards the Granite road, another dead oak bites the dust.

Above the granite road, the switchback section is getting wors, bruch encroachment and slumping tread. I wore long pants but short shirt, a long shirt is definitely recommended. I did have the dirt slide out from underfoot a few times, which could have led to a fall if I was packing a full load.

Noone was camped at Pico Blanco and it was a pretty as ever.

Had a wild pig come straight up the trail towards us right before the junction, he ran off as soon as he spotted us. And the ticks are out already, I brushed off dozens, and im still pulling some off my dog, 5 days later. Conditions reported by: Scoobis
Survey date: 24-JULY-2006
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Very disappointed to find that the trail is impassable for those with dogs. About a half mile in, the trail after wandering most of the way along the river takes a gentle rise that for the first stretch is bordered by a large downed redwood. Shortly after the climb begins there is a section that has completely washed out. It is very steep with a decent little drop. There are some footholds cut into the drop, and it would be possible for someone to carefully lower themselves down, but for a dog it would be risking a broken leg in a very difficult place to get out of. An alternative does exist, just before the point where you start to climb out of the riverbed you can cross over the river and follow a trail around this section of trail and cross the river again and meet up with the trail when it comes back down to the river bed only 500 or so feet ahead. Conditions reported by: Lauren
Survey date: 8-JULY-2006
General: CLEAR
Specific:

Section: Pico Blanco boy Scout Camp to Jackson Camp - Clear

No specific issues. I got on the trail a little late, and solo, so I didn't go up to Pico Blanco as planned; I camped at Jackson Camp. It was nice, but I was sad to find beer cans and garbage at my site. (I packed it out, but as I left, I remembered there were a couple of pieces of foil and an orange peel left in the fire pit.) Besides mad mosquitos and biting flies, no complaints! Plenty of water in the river.

Also, I was thinking that I'd missed the showy flower season, and while I saw some penstemons and mimulus walking down the road to Boy Scout Camp, I was lucky to see leopard lilies down at Jackson Camp. Wow! Conditions reported by: Adam
Survey date: 22-APRIL-2006
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road trailhead to where the trail passes Graniterock's private dirt road. - Passable

The trail between these points has gotten much better since last year, except for a large recent landslide/ washout about .8 miles from old coast road. You can see my post explaining it on 4/24/06. The washout is about 15-20 ft wide, and is impassable/not recommended for crossing with large packs. Instead, we had to line up, on what small tread we were able to make through the washout, and pass along the packs. Also, there is a 5 foot ledge on each side of the washout.

Also, if anyone here does GPS, the coords. of the washout are 36* 19.056N 121* 51.335W (the coords. are slightly off due to the tree cover in the area).

Between the river crossing and Graniterock's dirt road, the trail is a bit brushy, but not too bad. But, I would imagine that the conditions are still the same beyond that area from previous reports. Conditions reported by: TK
Survey date: 18-MARCH-2006
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

This great trail is in need of some major help. The first part is fine. There are about 5 down trees on the river section. When you climb it starts getting overgrown and you will incounter many more down trees. The tread is slipping away in a lot of areas as it slides off the mountain. Also the ticks on this trail are out of control everytime I've done it. I pulled hundreds off my legs (mainly because its overgrown cyote brush which ticks love). Overall it is still passable but the sudden oak death has taken a huge toll on this area killing hundreds of them. There are going to be a lot more down trees soon.

Conditions reported by: Matt Fiori
Survey date: 24-SEPTEMBER-2005
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road to Manuel Peak Trail junction - Passable

The trail was blocked right near the trailhead at the Old Coast Road by a rather large deadfall, which was surmounted fairly easily. There were several more minor deadfalls in the leading down the river, which was easily crossed. The trail was more or less in good shape, with just a few patches of loose tread and a little bit of brush crowding the trail. As we approached Pico Blanco Camp, the loose rock and dirt made for difficult footing. I actually slipped and scraped up my hand pretty good. The waterfall at the camp was beautiful, but the flies were out in full force. Nice easy hike to junction of Mt. Manuel Trail, which we took. Boy were we surprised.

Conditions reported by: Carl A. Mounteer
Survey date: 28-JULY-2005
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp and Jackson Camp - Passable

The trail was generally clear except for four large and very old deadfalls of gigantic trees. Two of these were much easier to negotiate than the others.

There were a lot of leaves covering the ground. [Ed: and presumably covering the tread]

Both the Schaeffer and Elliot guides name the camp where this trail first crosses the Little Sur River after the Boy Scout Camp as Jackson Camp. Actually, this camp is Fish Camp. Jackson Camp is about 1/3 of a mile past Fish Camp. Two river crossings are necessary to get to Jackson Camp. Both were crossable with some caution. For the first crossing go upstream from Fish Camp on the same bank where the camp is until you reach an enormous pile of deadwood. At this point there is a very conveniently located downed tree that takes you obliquely across the river. I tried to cross without using this and submerged my waterproof boots to the great adversity of my feet the next day on the hike back to Bottcher's Gap.

The mosquitos were ferocious and aggressive. They are black and much smaller than what I was used to, about the size of my little fingernail. Their bites were much more itchy than any other mosquito bite I can remember. My L. L. Bean Buzz Off shirt may have helped a little because they avoided my neck but attacked my hands, forehead, and behind my ears. But how can you really tell unless you take it off and put another shirt on? I remember a trip to Ojito Camp without a Buzz Off shirt that left my shoulders covered with mosquito bites despite two layers of clothing. I would recommend a DEET-based insect repellent anywhere in the Los Padres National Forest at this time of year.

About 20 minutes after I arrived at Fish Camp to camp, about 20 Boy Scouts showed up to camp there that night. I think lots of Boy Scouts are part of the bargain if you are going to camp in this area during the summer. At least the Boy Scouts were very polite and considerate, offering to go up to Jackson Camp and leave me alone. I declined this very kind offer and went there myself. They also left Fish Camp spotless.

Conditions reported by: Carl A. Mounteer
Survey date: 20-APRIL-2005
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

This trail is a shambles. I counted 134 downed trees, including one yucca plant, that completely crossed the trail. Of these, 101 were in the 1.8 mile interval between the trailhead and the crossing at the South Fork of the Little Sur River. Most of these downed trees were easily negotiable but at least nine required crawling under or climbing over. The latter included three within 10 yards of the trailhead and at least three others to the Little Sur River Crossing.

The Little Sur River is crossable although I got both feet drenched inbound. But use the downed, burnt redwood where the trail ends and the oak next to it to get 3/4 of the way across. Then, if you are really careful, where the tree bridges end, there are some rocks that will get you across the last 1/4 of the fork with dry feet. But you need waterproof boots to do it because you have to get your boots wet to cross.

Jim P's excellent July 10, 2004 report is an accurate description of the trail conditions with the following qualifications. From reading his report, and several others, I expected the encroaching brush to be much more intrusive and dense than I encountered. I have certainly seen it a lot worse. (See my Jan. 18, 2004 report on the Gamboa Trail) This would be a fairly long but moderate hike if it wasn't for the brush and trees down. The yucca plants with their nasty spines encroach the trail constantly on the latter half of the trail. Poison oak is lavishly distributed on both sides of the trail but luckily it is rarely above calf level. Pico Blanco Public Camp has only 3 sites, one unofficial, not 4 as Jim P. described.

Also the tread is very badly deteriorated for about a mile after about 1/2 mile coming out of Pico Blanco Public Camp westbound. This is because of new grass growth on the grassy slopes. It was easy to follow inbound. But for some reason, outbound, it was much more difficult and took a lot more concentration. I actually lost the trail at one point (panic time!) but found it within a couple of minutes. So generous markings with trail tape over the grassy slopes are highly recommended.

Pico Blanco Public Camp is a beautiful site and might even be worth all this effort to get there but I am still deciding on that. At one point, emerging from the stand of oaks over the last grassy knoll before the camp the beauty of the blue lupins against the green grass was a total surprise and just took your breath away. The wildflowers were in their full glory, with purple Irises in the shady areas and poppies as well as a cream colored flower with a dark red center that just dominated the grassy slopes. The views of the ridge across the canyon where the East Molera Trail ends were really stunning.

After rising about 6:30 I went to the side stream crossing Little Sur Trail and bordering the west side of the camp to get water. Despite the 40 degree air temperature, and the near freezing temperatures of the South Fork, this stream was tepid. This suggested to me that there might be hot springs further up the stream although I did not bother to check.

I am a 57 year-old male in moderately good physical condition. I was approximately 4 hours inbound with two 10 minute rests and approximately 4 hours outbound with a 5, 10 and 20 minute rests. This was over a 6 mile one-way trail, according to Shaeffer.

This is a gorgeous hike. I just wonder how much longer it is going to be available without a lot more major work being done to maintain the trail. So take advantage of it now. I am not sure if it will always be able to be used. The Sierra Club Guide states that Granite Rock did some work on the trail for the mile after the river crossing. But that must have been some time ago because this portion is just as much of a mess as the rest of it. Conditions reported by: Lori
Survey date: 6-APRIL-2005
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road trailhead to ???

This was a great hike, we started at 12:40pm, bushwacked our way in, slowing down for a few tick attacks. We made it in just over 2hrs. We saw nobody on the trail except when we got to the 1st camp above the waterfall/pool, there was a guy camping said he'd been there two days. Aside from the overgrown brush including poison oak, and healthy tick population the trail is looking good, only a few trail washes and some down trees. The river was thigh high on my 5'4'' frame. Conditions reported by: Carl A. Mounteer
Survey date: 7-MARCH-2005
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Pico Blanco Boy Scout Camp trailhead to Jackson Camp

The trailhead is confusing because the sign points towards both a fairly narrow dirt road on the right that can be confused for a trail and a trail on the left that looks like a typical Ventana Wilderness Trail (although this trail is not in the Ventana Wilderness). The trail is covered with leaves the entire distance.

There are two spots where it is easy to lose the tread. One, at about a quarter of a mile in from the trailhead in a grove of redwoods where the ambient color of the ground is pine-needle red, you are tempted to go straight ahead but you find the trail disappears. Instead you have to make a hard right up a hill to cross two very small streams that have been bridged by small logs.

The other is very near the end of the trail. You find yourself facing an oak with a bright yellow plastic "Caution" tape wrapped around the trunk. Thank you to whoever did this because at that point you should go left through a field of small boulders to pick up the trail again which ends about 50 yards later at Jackson Camp. This is a really lovely place on the Little Sur River.

I counted 41 downed trees on this 1.2 mile trail. All but three, and those were recent ones, were easily negotiable. These three were just difficult to get past because the foliage was blocking the trail. Even these were not formidable obstacles.

From Bottcher's Gap I was 2.5 hours inbound and outbound even with taking lots of pictures outbound. I only had an 11 lb. daypack and average 2 m.p.h.

I am still debating if this is really worth the effort for a backpacking trip. Little Sur Camp is half the distance and a beautiful spot. But it is not as spacious and a little darker than Jackson Camp. Conditions reported by: James Hamilton
Survey date: 16-OCT-2004
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Rd. trailhead to Pico Blanco Public Camp

We are the couple mentioned in Mike's posting below.

We hiked in on Saturday the 16th morning. Only minimal amounts of deadfall while walking along the riverbed, easily passible. Hiking up the brushy switchback up to Pico Blanco we encountered abundant poison oak as well as overgrown brush. On sunny days such as this the south westerly hike up gets quite warm so pack a good deal of water. It took us about 4 hours to reach Pico Blanco from the gate. Fresh water is abundant and clear blue at the site.

The night of the 16th we had about 14 hrs of straight rainfall and awoke to continuing rain and fog. The return hike was mystical with the rain and fog and there were several washout areas on the switchback and footing was slippery and caution was exercised the whole walk home. Little Sur was only slightly flooded and still easily passable.

Trail was great, however to this Rocky Mountain backpacker Poison Oak won out and I had a severe case. Be sure to clean clothes fully for the oils when you return.

I would highly recommend the trail. Conditions reported by: Mike H.
Survey date: 15-OCT-2004
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Rd. trailhead to Pico Blanco Public Camp

Trailhead is not marked on Old Coast Road. Trailhead is 3.9 miles from the south entrance to Old Coast Road (just inside Andrew Molera State Park). If you hit the two one-lane bridges (heading north), you've gone too far. Turn around and drive back 0.6 miles. The road widens just past a switchback. Park here. No Trespassing signs are all around, but I had no problems parking here.

The first part of the trail is clear and well-defined. The first time the trail dips to the river, do not cross. Continue to follow the trail along the river until it dips again to a very distinct crossing site. There are some deadfalls along the way. The river is wide here, but was shallow and easily crossed.

On the other side of the river the trail ascends in a series of switchbacks. The trail comes out onto a dirt road. Directly across is a rock with the word 'TRAIL' painted on it. You will see the trail right next to it. For a short period the trail is almost overgrown with ground cover. Pretty soon it opens up and is more defined. Leaves covered the trail at times, but it was always visible.

The guidebook I have says that you will come to an old homestead with an orchard, but I did not see it. I did see a white PVC water pipe snaking along a spring for a while, but I didn't investigate.

After a while, the trail leaves the forest and rises through brush in another series of switchbacks. When the sun is out, this can be a little hot. Recommend doing this hike before morning fog has lifted (though views won't be as good). I came across a tarantula on the path during this leg...no problems, though.

After following the contour of the ridge for awhile, you will come to a path heading down and to the right. There is a sign here pointing back the way you came that reads 'LITTLE SUR RIVER 4, OLD COAST ROAD 5.' This is the turnoff to Pico Blanca Camp.

The camp itself is spacious, with a sunny meadow and three well-defined camp sites. There are stoves at all three and tables at two of them. The trail to the swimming hole is easy to follow, and the pool itself is spectacular. The water is very cold, but refreshing after the hike.

I ran into one man early in the hike walking his dogs, but did not see anyone else on the way in. I left my car around noon on Friday and arrived at camp somewhere around 2-3pm (no watch). One other hiker arrived at the camp a couple hours after I got there. On the way out the next morning (around 11am), I ran into one couple heading toward the camp. Other than that, I didn't see anyone. Conditions reported by: Jim P.
Survey date: 10-JULY-2004
General: PASSABLE TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Road trailhead to Pico Blanco Public Camp

The trail from Coast Road up to the Little Sur River crossing is a nice hike along the stream in the redwoods and clover. Deadfall is minimal and only a couple require some acrobatics to get through. (The trail is on private property for almost half the roughly five-plus miles to Pico Blanco Camp.) Then it starts climbing a bit and the trail gets a little brushy for a short distance, crosses a well-graded private road, and meanders back into the forest well above the river. Much of the trail to this point is on abandoned logging roads with good tread.

Not long after entering the national forest, roughly mile 2.5, the trail climbs with a long series of switchbacks on a brushy side hill for roughly a mile and a half. Here the trail is often overgrown with brush and poison oak is mostly unavoidable. The tread is frequently poor and in a few places has slumped down the hill into the heavy brush. The gradient is not bad and would be a simple climb without the brush and tread issues. The trail is carved into a few nice rock outcrops/cliffs and the tread is narrow but passable. There are a some nice breaks from the sun and heat in narrow draws with laurels and sometimes water, and from breezes from the offshore fog. Views are very good and the limestone rocks and flowering yuccas are interesting features. Since the hike in this section is a thrash through brush you should secure all loose things external on the pack and body, including boot lace loops. Good hiking footwear is important and long sleeves and pants recommended. Anything wide on the pack, such as tents and sleeping pads, should be turned vertical or protected. Hiking poles are helpful in some places and a hindrance in others. I would still recommend them for the hike.

The remaining mile or so above the brush is a decent trail over broken rocks and through oaks and grass fields with little elevation change. The trail has two unmarked divides in this area and stay right each time for Pico Blanco Public Camp. The campground is in a field on the edge of a redwood forest and above the south fork of the Little Sur River. There are four sites under trees and two have bench tables. Campfires are not allowed but the fire rings are frequently used. A narrow trail traverses the steep slope down to an idyllic swimming hole in the dark forest but the water is shockingly cold, even to those who love a cold swim.

We are of moderate strength but highly experienced backpackers with packs of 40 and 32 pounds inbound. We were never out of breath and took only two breaks of ten minutes each both in and out at delightful "water features", along with a few short stops to enjoy panoramic views. Time inbound was four hours and out was three and a half, including a little cleaning up at the Little Sur river crossing. As a guide for your time, we usually backpack at an average 1.6 miles per hour (five miles = three hours), so the brush slowed us considerably.

I would say that this trail experience would be enjoyable for upper intermediate to advanced hikers who can tolerate moderate hardships. It should be avoided by novices to the mountains. Maintenance and repair of the trail in the brush section is probably beyond the scope of volunteers. Major sections require root removal, not just pruning, major tread restoration, and some realignment. Leaving the trail as-is keeps the crowds out, at least from the Coast Road approach. Conditions reported by: EW
Survey date: 24-APRIL-2004
General: CLEAR
Specific:

Section: Pico Blanco BSA Camp to Jackson/Fox Camps

Pico Blanco Scout Camp to Jackson Camp- wide open and easily followed, several deadfalls, but they've been improved with sawed ledges to provide easy passage.

Jackson Camp to Fox Camp- Passable- bring river shoes or be prepared to stop and remove boots for nearly a dozen crossings of the Little Sur. Several more dead-falls not so easily surpassed,but nothing major; decent tread, beautiful trail. Conditions reported by: Betsy MacGowan
Survey date: 20-SEPT-2003
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Rd. trailhead to Pico Blanco Public Camp

The VWA Trail Crew worked on sections of the Little Sur Trail between the Granite Rock road and Pico Blanco Public Camp, as part of our contribution to National Trails day. As other reports indicate, the first mile and a half of the Trail from the Old Coast Road follow the South Fork of the Little Sur River, where the second-growth redwood forest provides shade, and where the gentle gradient helps keep the trail in good condition. However Sudden Oak Death has killed most of the tanbark oaks throughout this valley and these trees, which have now been dead for several years, are starting to fall. Progress in the river section is slowed by the many dead trees now lying across the trail. Volunteers have already been working at cutting these downed trees, and our group made a contribution, but these trees will continue to fall.

Many sections of trail between the river and Pico Blanco Public Camp have become eroded due to chaparral growth. We were able to work on some of these areas but many remain. Especially in the brushy sections the trail can be a little tricky to follow. In a couple of places hikers should be careful not to continue straight ahead when the trail switches back. Some hikers might prefer to enjoy this trail in the cooler part of the year, although the heat certainly makes the pool at Pico Blanco Public Camp very enjoyable. Conditions reported by: Kerry ?
Survey date: 16-AUG-2003
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Rd. trailhead to ?

There are 2 distinct parts of the trail. The 1st from Coast Road is along the Little Sur creek and is shady redwood forest. Besides a tree or 2 mentioned below, this trail is in excellent shape. Once you cross the creek and hike up to the first section of chaparral, the end of the easy trail is where you cross the private road. While it's not difficult to see the tread of the trail, from here there are plenty of washed out sections and the brush is awful. Well, at least don't do what I did, wear pants. I wore shorts, and still barely managed on my water supply. It's very hot in summer and you really have to watch your balance on some of washed out sections. So, leave really early, wear light pants, bring lots of water and possibly a machete; you should be just fine. Conditions reported by: Jerry Mouton
Survey date: 13-JUNE-2003
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Section: Old Coast Trailhead towards Pico Blanco Public Camp

The riverside part of the trail was clear, but once you got up into the chaparral, the trace was very overgrown. Hiking was like running a gauntlet of fists in places. And there were places where the trail had slipped off down the mountainside, and these were sometimes hidden in the chaparral to boot. One of us fell, and we barely managed to catch him before he went vertical. Be careful!

Some downed trees, but not much of an issue. Poison oak interspersed with the chaparral, but not more than usual on a coast Range trail. Ticks in places. Nobody got poison oak or tick bites, as far as I know. Conditions reported by: Paul Foster
Survey date: 8-FEB-2003
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

The trail is passable, but there are several trees down and across the trail. These are located along the first part of the trail, between the roadhead at the west end, and before the trail crosses the South Fork of the Little Sur River at N 36 18 48, W 121 50 23. They are small trees and easily passable for walkers and backpackers but not for stock. A small saw should be enough to clear them off. Conditions reported by: Matthew Fiori
Survey date: 14-NOV-2002
General: PASSABLE
Specific:

The hike in from Coast Rd. is perfectly smooth and pleasant, plenty of water. Once you cross the South Fork the climb begins, but the trail is still in good shape. After crossing the Granite Rock Rd. get ready for some typical south facing Santa Lucia terrain: rocky, brushy and at some points narrow, slippery tread. It's hard work but overall in pretty good shape. I'd think someone should take some cutters out come summertime to help with making it more passable. Conditions reported by: Meade Fischer
Survey date: 10-NOV-2002
General: PASSABLE TO DIFFICULT
Specific:

As Galen noted below, "The first 3 miles of the trail are in pretty good shape, with only one or two fallen saplings obstructing the trail. The 1.5 miles between Granite Rock road and Pico Blanco Public Camp are in pretty bad shape, extremely brushy."

Just after the first rain of the season, the trail beyond Granite Rock road was in terrible shape. It was washed out in one place, requiring careful passing, and it was necessary to push through the brush for much of the way. After the rainy season, trail work will be necessary for continued use of the trail. Conditions reported by: Galen Pewtherer
Survey date: 11-MAy-2002
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

The first 3 miles of the trail are in pretty good shape, with only one or two fallen saplings obstructing the trail. The 1.5 miles between Granite Rock road and pico blanco public camp are in pretty bad shape, extremely brushy with fairly abundant poison oak. the tread is easily visible, but very worn, eroded and/or narrow. ticks were also fairly plentiful, although we saw only dog ticks. once out of the chaparral the trail gets much better, and the final 1/2 mile to the camp is quite pleasant. there were no other people there the night of 05.11, but we did see quite a few folks camped by the river on the lower part of the trail when we returned the morning of 05.12.

NOTE: there were fairly fresh looking survey markers on the trail past the river crossing, perhaps this means that some maintenance is scheduled? (Ed. note: As Granite Rock possibly owns the land where the flagging was seen, it could well be signaling development activity .) Conditions reported by: Lindsay Jeffers
Survey date: 1-JULY-01
General: CLEAR TO PASSABLE
Specific:

The trail is passable, and much of the first half is very good. Coming off the Old Coast road, after opening and closing the tricky fence gate, one encounters a serious slide after about 15 minutes of walking. It is possible to carefully clamber over this without leaving the trail; apparently it has been improved since last year. It would be much easier if the tree across the trail at the site of the slide could be removed. The trail continues to the crossing of the South Fork with a clear tread and only a few fallen trees to step or climb over.

Crossing the river, the trail up to the Granite Rock road is clear and the trail continues clear through the lower, forested section. However, brush is frequent and the footing is rocky for much of the rest of the way up the hill side, and the tread frequently is soft. Nevertheless, there is little chance of losing the trail. Just note that about a half mile before the trail junction to the camp, there is an unsigned spur leading upwards towards one of the roads along the side of Pico Blanco. One needs to take the right-hand branch downhill to reach the camp, which was well used but clean when I visited it. At the end of June, there were two running water sources crossing the trail between the river and the camp site.

Flies were tolerable, mosquitoes few, and ticks only around the seeps along the trail.

Lindsay Jeffers
Stevenson School
ljeffers@rlstevenson.org Conditions reported by: Dave Dunn
Survey date: 8-APRIL-00
General: PASSABLE to DIFFICULT
Specific:

This trail is primarily passable with a few exceptions giving this trail it's "difficult" rating. A large slip-out exists near the start of the trail and as was the case in last years report, this slip-out requires one to spend a few minutes scrambling down one side and climbing up the other. There are a few downed trees on the way to the river but these are easily negotiated by climbing over (or under). During the first week in April, the river was about one foot deep at the crossing. Boulder hopping was not an option so a wet (and extremely cold, by the way) crossing was required.

The trail on the hillside was passable with only a few areas on encroaching brush. Poison oak does exist on this trail and is unavoidable in a few places. Ticks were another problem with our group finding about 35 on the way out. On the hillside, one of the switchbacks is completely eroded by a rockslide and care should definitely be taken while climbing up to the continuing trail above. A few other minor washouts also exist along the way.

Pico Blanco camp turned out to be quite popular this weekend with all 3 campsites occupied. Conditions reported by: Boon Hughey
Survey date: 4-JUN-99
General: DIFFICULT
Specific:

Hikers starting at the Old Coast Road trailhead will run into several fallen trees across the trail as well as a pretty serious slip-out within the first half-mile. The trees are no real problem to get past, but the slip requires a few minutes of scrambling down the steep hillside and climbing back up again to the trail on the far side. Onward to the river crossing (which is about 2 miles from the trailhead) one will encounter 6 or 8 more downed trees and the occasional patch of encroaching thimbleberry, but nothing very serious.

Past the crossing where the trail takes to the sunny sidehills expect plenty of heavily encroaching brush to totally obscure the trail-tread in places. Luckily most of it is of the softer varieties like chamise, sage and yerba santa and isn't interlaced across the trail so it can be pushed through without too much effort. But push through it you will, most of the way. Poison oak also rears its ugly head on numerous occasions, in some places being unavoidable. There are also a few smaller slip-outs and wash-outs along this stretch that require a little care and agility to navigate.

A couple more downed trees block the path as one nears Pico Blanco Camp, but they are no big deal to climb over or under. If one plans on taking stock over this trail they better be carrying a chainsaw (it's *not* within Wilderness) and riding a mule, and have a lot of time to spend.