[b]Date Hiked:[/b] October 10, 2021
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

[b]*** VWA/USFS Volunteer Ranger/Trail Crew Report ***[/b]

[b]Description:[/b]

VWA/USFS Volunteer Rangers were out on patrol to Ventana Camp checking on trail conditions, doing spot brushing and checking camps.

[b]Trail conditions are as follows:[/b]

[b]PRT to Ventana Camp -[/b] Passable with encroaching brush and many sections of off camber tread.
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[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 10, 2021
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

[b]*** VWA/USFS Volunteer Ranger/Trail Crew Report ***[/b]

[b]Description:[/b]
The Monterey Ranger District Forest has partially reopened, VWA/USFS Volunteer Rangers continue to prepare opening other parts of the closed forest and are continuing their regular patrols. Today volunteer Rangers patrolled the Ventana Trail from PRT to Ventana Camp. They brushed portions of the trail, removed deadfall and lots of pea vines. Water is flowing well at Ventana Camp.
[b]
Trail conditions are as follows:[/b]

[b]PRT to Ventana Camp -[/b] Clear with no obstacles, minor encroaching brush and uneven tread.

[b]Note:[/b] Ventana Camp Trail opened to the public 4-13-2021.

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[size=85] [b]DISCLAIMER:[/b] This report is for informational purposes only. Trail conditions may change at any time. The Ventana Wilderness Alliance assumes no liability for the use of this information.
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[b]Date Hiked:[/b] February 25, 2021
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

[b]*** VWA/USFS Volunteer Ranger/Trail Crew Report ***[/b]

[b]Forest/Trail Status:[/b] [color=#FF0000]PARTIALLY OPEN, Los Padres Monterey Ranger District is partially open per Forest Order 05-07-51-21-02[/color]
[b]Current Fire Restrictions:[/b] [color=#FF0000]Campfires and Stoves are permitted in the backcountry with a valid Campfire/Stove Permit.[/color]

[b]Description:[/b]

The Monterey Ranger District Forest has partially reopened, VWA/USFS Volunteer Rangers continue to prepare opening other parts of the closed forest and are continuing their regular patrols. Volunteer Rangers and trail crew members continue to work on the Ventana Camp Trail in preparation for its opening. They removed downed trees, shrubs and limbs along the trail from recent storms.
[b]
Trail conditions are as follows:[/b]

[b][color=#FF0000]The Ventana Camp Trail remains closed to the general public at this time. Only authorized personnel with the approval of the USFS are allowed to access this trail corridor.[/color]
[/b]
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[size=85] [b]DISCLAIMER:[/b] This report is for informational purposes only. Trail conditions may change at any time. The Ventana Wilderness Alliance assumes no liability for the use of this information.
The Los Padres National Forest Website can be found here: [url]https://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf/[/url]
To learn more about the Volunteer VWA/USFS Ranger and Trail Crew Programs visit [url]https://www.ventanawild.org/stewardship[/url].
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[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 7, 2016
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Myself and 4 other memebers of the Big Sur Rec Crew wemt oit and spent a monday and tuesday pulling more PO and clearing the trail to pack stamdard...

Trail wide open , in most places 2 ft clear on each side of trail from top down.

Still require 2 crosscuts,althought the bottom walk around could be walked around by pack animals. So that one rotton oak is th only real issue rom this trail being wilderness superhighway

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] March 30, 2016
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Locked out of big sur trail work for most of marxh by high water and work in big sur,I focused my attenrion to this trail after seeing Franco and Lynn out with students from down south.
They started 700 ft from the bottom and worked up the hill. I worked from top down.
The yrail os now WIDE open from the top(also I have cleared .2 before turn off on pine ridge,and .3 after.)
When I say wide open,I mean it. Also I got most,soon all of the poison oak on the sections that I did mot clear(the student trip did not pull,trim PO)
I have one more day of cleaning up, and need 2 crosscuts to declare this trail wilderness superhwy.
The crosscuts are
1 the rotten oak that has to be starddled,been there for years.
2 10yrds before bottom of trail,right before camp, oak rootball crossing trail,I made a walk around...
Get out and hoke!

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] October 17, 2015
[b]General Condition:[/b] Difficult (brushy and/or many deadfalls, faint tread)

Easy to follow, hard to navigate. Encroaching bush, a few areas where the tread was missing due to dead falls.

LOTS OF POISON OAK.

This isn't really a trail issue, but lots of elevation gain/loss on this trail.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] July 17, 2015
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

This trail was relatively passable, but the overgrown arms of small trees for almost the entire way down meant you had to give the person in front of you a good 10 feet of space to avoid getting wacked. The path was clear, but mostly because getting off-trial was nearly impossible until the end. There was one point where the trail had eroded to the point where walking on it was tenuous, but a fallen tree actually helped by providing a bridge over the eroded section. Poison oak was present everywhere and at all heights, however everyone in our party wore shorts and came away with plenty of scratches but no itching/rashes.

As long as you take it slow (it's a steep drop anyway, so you should) the overgrowth and poison oak are manageable.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] August 6, 2013
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Posted by Gier:

-Very strenuous, steep and in some areas have very loose sand that makes it very slippery.
-The first half of the descend has a lot of encroaching vegetation on the trail. Trail is small but still easy and simple to follow. The second half of the trail has thinner vegetation.
-The POISON OAK in this area is really bad, it was as high as my chest. It mixes with the thick encroaching vegetation so be wary and careful.
-Ventana Camp has a lot of water and is fairly clean

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] May 20, 2013
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Contrary to the April report by Justin, I found the VC trail about the same as last summer: no sign, first third of one mile trail overgrown, narrow, with occasionally unavoidable poison oak and tread washouts in patches. Rest of the descent is fine. New feature at swimming spot near camp: huge fallen redwood spanning the river right at the old diving place. Sandbar has encroached upon deep area, but it's possible to climb on the tree, walk halfway across, and jump into 6-8 foot deep spot that's still there.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 4, 2013
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

I went down this trail last spring and it was overgrown at the top. If you didn't already know about ventana camp, you wouldn't even see the trail.
The trail has been completely restored and the camp is now being well used. All of the brush has been cut back and all of the fallen trees have been removed.