[b]Date Hiked:[/b] November 16, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

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

[b]Forest/Trail Status:[/b] [color=#FF0000]CLOSED, Los Padres Monterey Ranger District is closed per Forest Order 05-07-51-20-22[/color]
[b]Current Fire Restrictions:[/b] [color=#FF0000]No Campfires, No Stoves in backcountry. Cold Camping Only.[/color]

[b]Description:[/b]

With the Monterey Ranger District Forest still closed, VWA/USFS Volunteer Rangers continue to prepare for its reopening. Today volunteer Rangers and Ranger Trainees patrolled from Arroyo Seco Campground to Tassajara Camp. They cleaned two camps at Arroyo Seco, one at Adobe Camp and two at Tassajara Camp. They did spot brushing and minor trail work on their journey as well.
[b]
Trail conditions are as follows:[/b]

[b]Horse Bridge to Tassajara Camp -[/b] Clear with minor encroaching brush

[b]Note:[/b] Arroyo Seco Campground and the road to Horse Bridge remains closed at this time.

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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] June 10, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Difficult (brushy and/or many deadfalls, faint tread)

Hiked from arroyo seco to willow spring camp. The trail from arroyo seco to tassajara creek camp is awesome. Well defined tread, and all poison oak is avoidable. From tassajara camp to willow spring the oak gets thicker and in some parts is virtually unavoidable. This is why I rated it difficult. I wish I had brought my loppers to clear some of it, but I didn’t expect it to be so bad. If you are going to do this trail, cover your legs at least to minimize oak exposure. And the biting flies are out in full force, especially near the water. The trail just Needs a little clearing and it’d be excellent. But the tread was evident all the way to willow spring camp.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] June 7, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Started at Arroyo Seco and hike marble peak to just before Shovel Handle Camp. The first bit of the trail up to Tassara Creek Camp is pretty clear. After that, you're in for LOTS of poison oak. It starts at your ankles and knees as you get past Tassajara camp, and by the time you get to Willow Spring Camp it's up to your head in some spots... Definitely recommend long pants/long sleeve shirt, and soap to clean up with. Willow Creek is still flowing strong as of today. I cleared a couple of tricky spots along the trail up to that point. I also cleared some some dense Manzanita and Cypress bushes after Willow Creek. From 36.20469, -121.57132 to 36.20576, -121.56639 is totally clear.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] May 20, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Came over from Tassajara on the Tony Trail, hiking west to the Lost Valley trailhead. Tread apparent throughout the hike. In the Willow Creek watershed there's a heavy load of poison oak, almost unavoidable. Heading up, things clear up. A few deadfalls from Willow Creek to Strawberry Valley, but all manageable. Some encroaching oak and plenty of water at Shovel Handle and Camp Creek. Tan Oak Creek was full, too, and beautiful. Really nice trail work to Indian Valley.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 3, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)

Hiked Marble peak between north coast ridge road and Indian valley camp. Trail is in extraordinary condition, total freeway with minimal poison oak and no deadfalls. Poison oak will likely be worse in a few months as certain sections have encroaching oak with tiny buds that will bloom and be worse, but currently the trail is amazing. thanks to the volunteers for this excellent work.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 3, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Hiked from South Fork Trailhead to Tony Trailhead. Had not difficulty finding the tread throughout the hike. There were just a few minor deadfalls and some bushiness to dodge. From Willow Creek camp on, the trail was clear and free. Plenty of water this time of year, and I remember even getting some from Shovel Handle in September. Poison oak encroaching, especially around Willow Creek camp and up the riparian corridor.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] February 8, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

From Zig Zag Camp-Marble Peak. Well defined tread almost all the way. A small number of downfalls but manageable. This summit feels great. Recommend the excursion to Upper Higgins for the waterfall which this time of year is deep enough for a dip if you are hot enough from your hike.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] February 3, 2020
[b]General Condition:[/b] Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Section: Horsebridge to saddle between Willow Creek and Camp Creek

With the exception of a few step-over logs, the trail is generally clear. There is some knee-high poison oak in places that can be mostly avoided if you are careful. Due to the lack of recent rain, the stream crossings between Tassajara Creek and Willow Spring are very manageable; if you have waterproof boots, your feet should stay dry. There is a metal toilet at Willow Spring Camp but it's in easy view of the campsite and the trail.

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] December 14, 2019
[b]General Condition:[/b] Difficult (brushy and/or many deadfalls, faint tread)

Arroyo Seco through Horse Bridge to Willow and Tassajara Creek confluence was a breeze. One or two deadfalls but easy enough to climb over. Once we started up Willow Creek it was slower going as the trail makes many creek crossings and since the Thanksgiving rains there was a nice flow going. There were some very mushy spots past Willow Spring and we looked forward to getting some elevation out of the Creek.

Past Willow Spring, trail conditions deteriorated with a significant deadfall taking down a large clump of manzanita blocking the view of the trail. We crashed over it a bit and then used garden clippers to clear some of the smaller stuff so you can see through the blockage and locate the trail to make a move.

Once up and in the more dry vegetation heading towards Camp Creek the trail was being closed in on by brush and shrubs. Multiple times we had to dip our heads and plow through to continue. Tread remains but the overgrowth is rampant. There most perilous spots were steep angled slopes with the loose rock and dirt that were significantly eroded by the rains, leaving less than 6" of tread. These spots may have larger landslides and wash out if we have more rains like the past few weeks.

We descended into Strawberry Valley to make camp for the night. There was quite a bit of prickers and poison oak who still had there leaves but it was manageable.

The valley was beautiful and an amazing spot to stay for the night. Plenty of water during the entire hike. Small scat sightings, no bugs, some beautiful birds and squirrels. Great hike and the conditions were fine for us looking for an adventure!

[b]Date Hiked:[/b] October 27, 2019
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

We set out from the trail head at Arroyo Seco Campground with the intent of taking Arroyo Seco Road to Marble Peak Trail and staying at Tassajara Campground along the Tassajara Creek. Once on Marble Peak Trail and after we crossed the footbridge over Arroyo Seco, the trail got bushier with poison oak on both sides in some places. Since it's late in the season most leaves had fallen off but it's still something to watch out for. One notable deadfall but it was easy enough to scramble over. We didn't actually make it to Tassajara as it was hot and we found an awesome unmarked campsite with great creek access about a mile short of Tassajara Campground. The creek had plenty of water flowing but the water was very cold, even on a hot day. Lost of small animal scat but no evidence of larger animals in the area. All in all, the trail is in great condition and the area is lovely this time of year.