by Kyle F » Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:08 am
Date Hiked: April 10, 2021
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Made the trek out to Marble Peak over the weekend. Up to Willow Springs the trail is immaculate - often traveled from what I could tell. The toilet at Willow Springs is filling up but a wonderful spot to kick off the day. I'm so regular out there.
Continuing on, the trail was periodically overgrown with occasional downfall and the sun was intense when I was on the hill sides. You cannot comfortably camp at Camp Creek, but water was flowing. I found a tick on me here. Shovel Handel Creek has a spot for one tent, and a use trail that went off into the woods but the brush was over my head and I was not particularly excited about that so I continued on. In and out of the hills, over and over. There is a section before the intersection with Strawberry Valley/Camp that was basically "gone" - it was very short, maybe 10 feet. I was able to see the trail across the ravine so don't worry, just keep working your way to the drainage and you will find the trail.
The intersection of Higgens Creek is just an amazing spot. In the afternoon you may find yourself without shade but there are so many tent sites and I doubt that areas see much tent traffic. At this point there was a large pine tree blocking the Marble Peak trail, I took a use trail to a campsite (I think) for about 500' before realizing I was headed the wrong direction. Eventually I was snaking my way up the back of Marble Peak.
I did not see any point to leave this "wagon road" that was snaking up the backside of Marble Peak, so I just stayed on it until the ridge. It spits you out on the south side of the mountain, not the north side. There is a sign here marking the Marble Peak Trail, so it seemed right. Wonderful views up by the road, I was delighted.
Returning over the same route, I camped a little past the intersection with Strawberry Valley, after Tan Oak. Sunday I pushed it really hard to make good time to the car, I was blessed with overcast skies. Lots of hikers in the first few miles up to Willow Springs, I imagine this area sees a lot of foot traffic. At Horse Bridge some guy's dog was yakking in the river, nice.
This place is amazing, I'm new to backpacking in California but I have been to many wilderness areas, Ventana is wild and untamed which provides for a magical feeling when you are really out there. Thank you all for the effort in maintaining these trails, it was because of you I was able to have this awesome weekend. There were plenty of spots I was unsure of, but would see a semi-recent cut branch or the occasional ribbon that would give me the confidence to continue on.
[b]Date Hiked:[/b] April 10, 2021
[b]General Condition:[/b] Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Made the trek out to Marble Peak over the weekend. Up to Willow Springs the trail is immaculate - often traveled from what I could tell. The toilet at Willow Springs is filling up but a wonderful spot to kick off the day. I'm so regular out there.
Continuing on, the trail was periodically overgrown with occasional downfall and the sun was intense when I was on the hill sides. You cannot comfortably camp at Camp Creek, but water was flowing. I found a tick on me here. Shovel Handel Creek has a spot for one tent, and a use trail that went off into the woods but the brush was over my head and I was not particularly excited about that so I continued on. In and out of the hills, over and over. There is a section before the intersection with Strawberry Valley/Camp that was basically "gone" - it was very short, maybe 10 feet. I was able to see the trail across the ravine so don't worry, just keep working your way to the drainage and you will find the trail.
The intersection of Higgens Creek is just an amazing spot. In the afternoon you may find yourself without shade but there are so many tent sites and I doubt that areas see much tent traffic. At this point there was a large pine tree blocking the Marble Peak trail, I took a use trail to a campsite (I think) for about 500' before realizing I was headed the wrong direction. Eventually I was snaking my way up the back of Marble Peak.
I did not see any point to leave this "wagon road" that was snaking up the backside of Marble Peak, so I just stayed on it until the ridge. It spits you out on the south side of the mountain, not the north side. There is a sign here marking the Marble Peak Trail, so it seemed right. Wonderful views up by the road, I was delighted.
Returning over the same route, I camped a little past the intersection with Strawberry Valley, after Tan Oak. Sunday I pushed it really hard to make good time to the car, I was blessed with overcast skies. Lots of hikers in the first few miles up to Willow Springs, I imagine this area sees a lot of foot traffic. At Horse Bridge some guy's dog was yakking in the river, nice.
This place is amazing, I'm new to backpacking in California but I have been to many wilderness areas, Ventana is wild and untamed which provides for a magical feeling when you are really out there. Thank you all for the effort in maintaining these trails, it was because of you I was able to have this awesome weekend. There were plenty of spots I was unsure of, but would see a semi-recent cut branch or the occasional ribbon that would give me the confidence to continue on.