Ventana Wilderness Forums

Date Hiked: June 10, 2023
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

I went up Cone Peak from the Kirk Creek Trailhead on 6/10/2023.

The trail has a bit of overgrown chamise in the first few miles that is about shin to knee high that wasn't too problematic but obscured the trail tread slightly and prevented easy running on the downhill. The trail tread was washed out beyond Vicente Flat until the climb out of the canyon. There was some flagging that was somewhat helpful. On the climb out of the canyon: there were a few branches of poison oak that I had to avoid and one tree that I had to crawl under with some poison oak that was uncomfortably close. The trail is getting overgrown once it reaches the summit before meeting Cone Peak Road. There's a chainlink fence that screams 'Wilderness' there to prevent anyone from easily cutting through the brush to the road. Brush is growing over the first quarter mile of the trail once it departs from Cone Peak road on the final few miles to the summit. There was some Ceanothus overgrowth that required crawling under just a bit before the junction with Gamboa/Stone Ridge Trail.

I started at 11:30 AM and returning to my car at 7:30 PM. I spent about 45 minutes on the summit. I stopped briefly to fill my 3 liter water reservoir about .5 miles beyond Vicente Flat. That was probably more than I needed, but YMMV.

I had a great time despite some of the brush. Definitely not as pristine as the trail was before the fire. A group I met at the top had a terrible time and hated it and said they would never come back unless the trail was maintained. I met another group that tried going down Stone Ridge Trail. They met a solo hiker who was now with their group who had pushed on beyond Trail Springs to try to get to Goat Camp and said it was so overgrown that it was dangerous. I do think it's funny that trails like that are open but PRT gets closed over a single slide.

Date Hiked: May 18, 2023
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Clear to passable, trail work from March has held up! There was another treefall right at the beginning of the trail. Lotus/deerweed has encroached a lot. Lovely blooms, but a bit cumbersome. Hikers will help.

I got back to Espinoza. It gets pretty lush once you turn into Hare canyon. More poison oak out there than last year. It can be avoided, but someone should lop them. Espinoza Camp looks in good shape. The spring 1 mile in is flowing a bit below the trail. I did not make it to the creek around the corner past Espinoza, but it is presumably flowing happily with the lavish rain.

Encountered one frightened rattlesnake beside the trail on the coast side, so be aware!

Just tagging a reminder in case it got forgotten from the trail crew trip. The Ventana Wilderness wooden sign about 2/3 mile in decayed from the winter storms, and now there is simply a vertical post.

Date Hiked: May 22, 2022
General Condition: Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Starting to get pretty brushy, especially after the turn into Hare Canyon. Very manageable, and some fallen trees have been cleared, but the poison oak has definitely been growing. Still one of the most beautiful places on earth though

Date Hiked: April 30, 2022
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

*** VWA/USFS Volunteer Ranger/Trail Crew Report ***

Description:

Last weekend Volunteer USFS/VWA Rangers patrolled the Kirk Creek Trail from Highway 1 to Vicente Flat Camp and beyond. They removed 6 downed trees, took out 30 lbs. of trash, talked to over 100 visitors and put out three unattended campfires still smoldering. On Sunday morning there were 42 tents at Vicente Flat Camp.

Note: As always, do your part to help keep things nice. Have a valid Campfire/Stove Permit, pack out all your gear, trash and TP. Leave a place nicer than when you found it.

Trail Conditions are as follows:

Highway 1 to Espinosa Camp – Clear with encroaching brush.
There is one downed oak tree in camp and the water in the spring just past the camp is running well. Many flowers still out. Lots of deerweed along the trail. Check yourself for ticks regularly.

Espinosa Camp to Vincente Flat Camp – Passable.
From Espinosa Camp to Vicente Flat there are several spots in need of repair. Several large fallen trees still remain across the trail which can be difficult to negotiate. A few places where the tread is significantly eroded. The trail is passable. but keep your eyes on the trail from Espinosa Camp to Vicente Flat Camp to make sure you have stable footing.

Vicente Flat Camp - Clear
Vicente Flat Camp is mainly clear. However, the trail beyond has been washed out. People have put cairns along the route to make it easier to follow. There is a redwood jumble to navigate just past the camp.
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Date Hiked: February 18, 2022
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Pleasant trail. About a mile in the spring below the trail is still running (its a scramble to get to it, and its off trail but wanted to note it.) About 4 miles in is the only other source of water on the trail. Its a beautiful and generoud water flow. It isn't until the last mile that you come across most of the deadfalls and washedout parts of trail.
Vicente Flat has water running through it. Enough for "a little bit above the ankle" pools to form and a good steady flow (nothing stagnate). I was at VF back in 2019 and the water flow was more heavy, cali definitely could use one last Spring down pour to keep this river running longer.
No mosquitoes at all at camp. And we camped one night close to the river.
Very chilly early since camp is under a shaded canopy, fire was very much enjoyed. Oddly the morning (I was up at 5:30) was quite warm.
Left camp at about 8:30am and there must have been at least 25-30 backpackers hiking in to camp VF. Very popular for a Saturday. We planned to stay two nights but only stayed one.
Lots of wildflowers and ferns are still lush and green. The fairy ferns are starting to wilt.
Beautiful views, at about 10am the thin haze started fizzling out.

Thank you so much for this update. My husband and I hope to backpack to VF for a couple nights this coming weekend, when you went was there water in the creek to filter? Or should we pack in enough water for the trip?
Thanks so much for any reply

tbliss wrote:Date Hiked: February 4, 2022
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Trail was in very good shape to Espinosa Camp. From Espinosa Camp to Vicente Flat there were half a dozen spots badly in need of repair. Several large fallen trees were a challenge to negotiate, a few places where the tread was all but washed out. The trail is passable but you really need to keep your eyes on the trail from Espinosa on. Other than that, it's a spectacular hike.

Date Hiked: February 4, 2022
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

Trail was in very good shape to Espinosa Camp. From Espinosa Camp to Vicente Flat there were half a dozen spots badly in need of repair. Several large fallen trees were a challenge to negotiate, a few places where the tread was all but washed out. The trail is passable but you really need to keep your eyes on the trail from Espinosa on. Other than that, it's a spectacular hike.

Date Hiked: December 10, 2021
General Condition: Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)

Hiked in and out on Kirk Creek Trail from Highway 1 to Vicente Flat Camp. Absolutely spectacular ocean and canyon views. I found the tread very well defined. A slight bit of encroaching brush/ poison oak but not a major hindrance (Hiking poles helped keep the brush away from me). Water is flowing well part way in as previously noted. Not sure on current trail conditions after heavy rains on December 13.

Date Hiked: November 11, 2021
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)

11/11/2021 Trail Conditions - trip report

We started at 6:30 AM right at the ocean at where Kirk Creek enters the sea. Accessed by Kirk Creek Campground. This gave us a true sea to sky route.

Kirk Creek Trail (Highway One to Vicente Flat Camp) - Vicente Flat Camp 5 miles. Overall this trail is in great condition. The first water is at mile 4. Where a small stream crosses the trail. I was surprised by the lack of surface water in all the other creeks in the first four miles as this area has received ~5 in of rain in the last 30 days. The soil must be very dry and is soaking this water up.

There is a bit of deadfall that needs to be cut out of the trail. Maybe three trees or so.

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Link to the film of my talk through of the route: https://youtu.be/rZGdPfKtZhw

Link to photos of the trail from the trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xRJ9bpGmFdaZwZmd8

Link to map from GPS tracking of hike: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/?loc=15.3/- ... opo,natgeo

Date Hiked: October 17, 2021
General Condition: Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)

Trail looking pretty good post Dolan Fire. Smooth and easy to pass all the way through Espinosa (some brushy grass but not bad at all). From Espinosa to Vicente Flat there is some eroded tread in the gullies and a couple of small blowdowns and some slightly brushy sections, but again all very manageable. No big deals here thanks to some amazing trail work by the trail crews!