Date Hiked: November 21, 2019
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Trail Spring Camp up to the North Coast Ridge Trail is easily passable. At this time, the brush, mostly ceanothus, poison oak and yerba santa are present but as minor annoyances. Fallen trees and branches across the trail remain the only real impediments. All can be scrambled over without too much effort but add effort in the constant climb to the ridge top.
I did not observe any water at the camp, but there may be some further down the channel.
Gamboa Trail
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: September 29, 2019
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
There's about a dozen logs over the trail between North Coast Ridge Trail Junction and Trail Spring. Undoubtedly some of these are new reflecting the seemingly endless supply of old snags that periodically fall onto this section of trail. The brush alongside the trail has grown tall making 90% of this section a brush "tunnel" with little to no views, but there is only a little encroachment onto the path.
Moving west from Trail Spring to Ojito Saddle the trail is mainly clear and much more used. There are a couple spots of thin/sloping tread. The poison oak is currently bright red so easy to avoid where necessary. The blowdown on this section is still there but a well used path provides easy access around it.
Trail Spring has a good flow for late September with water flowing out of the rocks in three spots.
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
There's about a dozen logs over the trail between North Coast Ridge Trail Junction and Trail Spring. Undoubtedly some of these are new reflecting the seemingly endless supply of old snags that periodically fall onto this section of trail. The brush alongside the trail has grown tall making 90% of this section a brush "tunnel" with little to no views, but there is only a little encroachment onto the path.
Moving west from Trail Spring to Ojito Saddle the trail is mainly clear and much more used. There are a couple spots of thin/sloping tread. The poison oak is currently bright red so easy to avoid where necessary. The blowdown on this section is still there but a well used path provides easy access around it.
Trail Spring has a good flow for late September with water flowing out of the rocks in three spots.
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: June 21, 2019
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
I hiked the full length of the Gamboa Trail down from its junction with the North Coast Ridge Trail to Ojito Saddle on June 20 and back up again on June 21, 2019. In general, the trail heads downhill from the NCRT to Trail Spring Camp, then more-or-less level from there to its other end at Ojito Saddle. The tread is everywhere evident and easy to follow. The first half mile or so below the NCRT descends through a previously burned area on a south-facing slope and has about 35 fallen tree trunks or sizable branches across it, but most of these are easy step-overs or walk-unders. Only a half dozen of these actually require one to break stride and climb over or duck/crawl under. These logs are all less than about 20" diameter, except for the very first one, immediately below the NCRT. That one is a 4-foot diameter trunk, but it has rotted and the top half has crumbled away, so it's really more like a two-foot-high obstacle, and you can walk around the end of it, if you prefer. There is also quite a bit of encroaching Ceanothus and other bushes (but little or no poison oak) in this section. Below that, the obstacles thin out. There is one tree crown blocking the trail and forcing people to detour downhill around the leafy crown and back up again. And there are a couple more 2O" step-over logs across the trail, but that's about it before you reach Trail Spring Camp. The creek at the camp is flowing nicely (June 2019), as is the namesake spring, which drips onto the trail turning it to mud, just before it enters camp. The section of Gamboa Trail between Trail Spring Camp and Ojito Saddle (the junction with Stone Creek Trail and Ojito Camp Trail) is relatively flat and smooth sailing. There is a little bit of encroaching poison oak, but it's avoidable. About 15 minutes beyond Trail Spring Camp, there's a tangled mess of oak, madrone, and Ceanothus blocking the trail, forcing hikers up or down and around, but that's the most significant obstacle on this half of the trail. There are also a couple more 20" diameter, easy step-over logs across the trail after that. It's otherwise clear until the last minute or so before the saddle, when you end up having to push through some encroaching Ceanothus before you pop out onto the saddle with a nice view of the Pacific Ocean (or the fog, depending). So, in summary, I'd say the section of the Gamboa Trail between NCRT and Trail Spring Camp is appropriately ranked as "passable", while the section between Trail Spring Camp and Ojito Saddle could be ranked "clear," except for a small number of minor obstacles.
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
I hiked the full length of the Gamboa Trail down from its junction with the North Coast Ridge Trail to Ojito Saddle on June 20 and back up again on June 21, 2019. In general, the trail heads downhill from the NCRT to Trail Spring Camp, then more-or-less level from there to its other end at Ojito Saddle. The tread is everywhere evident and easy to follow. The first half mile or so below the NCRT descends through a previously burned area on a south-facing slope and has about 35 fallen tree trunks or sizable branches across it, but most of these are easy step-overs or walk-unders. Only a half dozen of these actually require one to break stride and climb over or duck/crawl under. These logs are all less than about 20" diameter, except for the very first one, immediately below the NCRT. That one is a 4-foot diameter trunk, but it has rotted and the top half has crumbled away, so it's really more like a two-foot-high obstacle, and you can walk around the end of it, if you prefer. There is also quite a bit of encroaching Ceanothus and other bushes (but little or no poison oak) in this section. Below that, the obstacles thin out. There is one tree crown blocking the trail and forcing people to detour downhill around the leafy crown and back up again. And there are a couple more 2O" step-over logs across the trail, but that's about it before you reach Trail Spring Camp. The creek at the camp is flowing nicely (June 2019), as is the namesake spring, which drips onto the trail turning it to mud, just before it enters camp. The section of Gamboa Trail between Trail Spring Camp and Ojito Saddle (the junction with Stone Creek Trail and Ojito Camp Trail) is relatively flat and smooth sailing. There is a little bit of encroaching poison oak, but it's avoidable. About 15 minutes beyond Trail Spring Camp, there's a tangled mess of oak, madrone, and Ceanothus blocking the trail, forcing hikers up or down and around, but that's the most significant obstacle on this half of the trail. There are also a couple more 20" diameter, easy step-over logs across the trail after that. It's otherwise clear until the last minute or so before the saddle, when you end up having to push through some encroaching Ceanothus before you pop out onto the saddle with a nice view of the Pacific Ocean (or the fog, depending). So, in summary, I'd say the section of the Gamboa Trail between NCRT and Trail Spring Camp is appropriately ranked as "passable", while the section between Trail Spring Camp and Ojito Saddle could be ranked "clear," except for a small number of minor obstacles.
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: December 31, 2018
General Condition: Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)
Easy to follow the trail. This was a nice section and is clearly being well-used. Some slight brush in places but nothing bad. PLENTY of water at trail spring. Had a scary wind storm overnight at Trail spring with branches falling everywhere and small stuff falling on our tent.
[ED: this report is for western half of trail]
General Condition: Clear (no obstacles and tread well defined)
Easy to follow the trail. This was a nice section and is clearly being well-used. Some slight brush in places but nothing bad. PLENTY of water at trail spring. Had a scary wind storm overnight at Trail spring with branches falling everywhere and small stuff falling on our tent.
[ED: this report is for western half of trail]
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: October 28, 2018
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
From Ojito Saddle to Trail Spring the trail is "clear" and in good shape. Big leaf maples in peak fall color are sprinkled throughout the gullies and in Devils Canyon.
At Trail Spring there is surprisingly decent flow for this late in the season when it has been so dry (~20 seconds for a 20 oz bottle), aided by tin foil slide to focus the flow and create a lip for easy filling.
From Trail Spring up to the North Coast Ridge Trail, it becomes a bit brushy as per prior posts, hence "passable." The removal of the many logs over the trail was much appreciated. One new large V-shape log has already fallen over the trail so the old snags are clearly not done falling over onto the trail yet. Near the junction with the North Coast Ridge Trail at the top a burgeoning forest of Coulter Pine is starting to take shape with many of these young trees emerging from the brush canopy. They have certainly grown a lot in the last few years and reflective of the Coulter Pine's ability to grow in a hotter and drier climate regime. Hopefully one day they will grow sufficiently large to replace the brush!
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
From Ojito Saddle to Trail Spring the trail is "clear" and in good shape. Big leaf maples in peak fall color are sprinkled throughout the gullies and in Devils Canyon.
At Trail Spring there is surprisingly decent flow for this late in the season when it has been so dry (~20 seconds for a 20 oz bottle), aided by tin foil slide to focus the flow and create a lip for easy filling.
From Trail Spring up to the North Coast Ridge Trail, it becomes a bit brushy as per prior posts, hence "passable." The removal of the many logs over the trail was much appreciated. One new large V-shape log has already fallen over the trail so the old snags are clearly not done falling over onto the trail yet. Near the junction with the North Coast Ridge Trail at the top a burgeoning forest of Coulter Pine is starting to take shape with many of these young trees emerging from the brush canopy. They have certainly grown a lot in the last few years and reflective of the Coulter Pine's ability to grow in a hotter and drier climate regime. Hopefully one day they will grow sufficiently large to replace the brush!
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dlmajor
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: August 11, 2018
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Came down from the COOK SPRINGS side to TRAIL SPRINGS and down. With Hwy 1 open south passed three large groups of Young Adults. Some asking where to get water. Always amazing that people don't check before hand. Trail looked good from Trail Springs up to Cone Peak...good water still at Trail Spring and did some digging and you can hear the flow in many areas. Up to the North Coast trail from Trial springs is passable but need some work clearing the plants waist height on some switch back sections of the trail. Hiked to check out the Santa Lucia Fir groves...amazing trees...worth the whole trek. Great weather and perfect temps.
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Came down from the COOK SPRINGS side to TRAIL SPRINGS and down. With Hwy 1 open south passed three large groups of Young Adults. Some asking where to get water. Always amazing that people don't check before hand. Trail looked good from Trail Springs up to Cone Peak...good water still at Trail Spring and did some digging and you can hear the flow in many areas. Up to the North Coast trail from Trial springs is passable but need some work clearing the plants waist height on some switch back sections of the trail. Hiked to check out the Santa Lucia Fir groves...amazing trees...worth the whole trek. Great weather and perfect temps.
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: May 19, 2018
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Section hiked: North Coast Ridge Trail to Ojito saddle
We had a VWA trail crew outing and cleared all the fallen trees from the North Coast Ridge Trail to the Ojito saddle. Plus cleared out a bunch of the brush that is intruding into the trail. The upper section from Trail Spring to the NCRT has more brush (as a result of wildfire killing all the mature trees) than the section from Trail Spring to Ojito saddle. Once you get into the unburned forested sections, the trail is fairly clear and open. It seems like we've cleared some of these fallen trees several times over the past ten years. But at some point all the rotten trees will have fallen and maybe we can stop coming back here to clear them. Would be nice to work on the brush on that upper section.
Many hikers were using the lower section, making loops to Cone Peak. The foot traffic has kept the trail clear of grass and has made the tread easy to follow. The upper section has areas of Yerba Santa growing right in the trail, and the tread isn't quite as clear, though there is no danger of losing the tread.
Trail Spring had a good flow of water in the creek. There was water coming out from the rocks on the side of the trail, too, but it didn't look like it would be easy to get it into a water bottle. Thanks to the dedicated volunteers for their work to clear this section.
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Section hiked: North Coast Ridge Trail to Ojito saddle
We had a VWA trail crew outing and cleared all the fallen trees from the North Coast Ridge Trail to the Ojito saddle. Plus cleared out a bunch of the brush that is intruding into the trail. The upper section from Trail Spring to the NCRT has more brush (as a result of wildfire killing all the mature trees) than the section from Trail Spring to Ojito saddle. Once you get into the unburned forested sections, the trail is fairly clear and open. It seems like we've cleared some of these fallen trees several times over the past ten years. But at some point all the rotten trees will have fallen and maybe we can stop coming back here to clear them. Would be nice to work on the brush on that upper section.
Many hikers were using the lower section, making loops to Cone Peak. The foot traffic has kept the trail clear of grass and has made the tread easy to follow. The upper section has areas of Yerba Santa growing right in the trail, and the tread isn't quite as clear, though there is no danger of losing the tread.
Trail Spring had a good flow of water in the creek. There was water coming out from the rocks on the side of the trail, too, but it didn't look like it would be easy to get it into a water bottle. Thanks to the dedicated volunteers for their work to clear this section.
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: April 22, 2018
General Condition: Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)
Section hiked: Stone Ridge trail junction at Ojito Gap to Trail Spring
We hiked this trail following the climb out of Goat Camp the same morning. Compared to the Stone Ridge Trail, the minimal brush on this one makes for much easier going. The shift to sugar pine and Santa Lucia fir forest leaves behind the shrubs and ticks of the Stone Ridge, and the tread is very clear. I don't recall any large down woody debris over the trail. Poison oak is light and reduced to small, reddish leaves. This trail has a real subalpine character, a world apart from the more coastal Limekiln watershed. Trail spring was going strong, with water cascading past the campsite.
General Condition: Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)
Section hiked: Stone Ridge trail junction at Ojito Gap to Trail Spring
We hiked this trail following the climb out of Goat Camp the same morning. Compared to the Stone Ridge Trail, the minimal brush on this one makes for much easier going. The shift to sugar pine and Santa Lucia fir forest leaves behind the shrubs and ticks of the Stone Ridge, and the tread is very clear. I don't recall any large down woody debris over the trail. Poison oak is light and reduced to small, reddish leaves. This trail has a real subalpine character, a world apart from the more coastal Limekiln watershed. Trail spring was going strong, with water cascading past the campsite.
Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: December 23, 2017
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Having worked this trail many times when it was being reopened, and hiked it many times since then, I was very saddened to see how bad it's gotten.
Section: NCRT to Trail Spring Camp: Passable to difficult; there are dozens of trees down now, all negotiable but at varying heights (stepovers, climbovers and squat/crawl unders) and the brush is really starting to encroach in many places.
NOTE-NO WATER WAS FLOWING AT TRAIL SPRING CAMP, THAT'S A FIRST FOR ME
Section: Trail Spring Camp to Ojito Saddle: Passable to Clear. There is only nominal brush encroachment until you almost reach Ojito Saddle and the last hundred feet or so have more brush encroachment; there are a few trees down which are all negotiable, but one ~4' sugar pine is now down about midway along the trail and it is kind of a bitch to get over.
General Condition: Passable (some brush and/or deadfalls, tread evident)
Having worked this trail many times when it was being reopened, and hiked it many times since then, I was very saddened to see how bad it's gotten.
Section: NCRT to Trail Spring Camp: Passable to difficult; there are dozens of trees down now, all negotiable but at varying heights (stepovers, climbovers and squat/crawl unders) and the brush is really starting to encroach in many places.
NOTE-NO WATER WAS FLOWING AT TRAIL SPRING CAMP, THAT'S A FIRST FOR ME
Section: Trail Spring Camp to Ojito Saddle: Passable to Clear. There is only nominal brush encroachment until you almost reach Ojito Saddle and the last hundred feet or so have more brush encroachment; there are a few trees down which are all negotiable, but one ~4' sugar pine is now down about midway along the trail and it is kind of a bitch to get over.
Re: Gamboa Trail
Date Hiked: November 11, 2017
General Condition: Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)
Reported by: Eric Hightower
Section- Cone Peak Trail Junction to Ojito Saddle
Trail is in great shape. Drank unfiltered water from Trail Springs without any issues so far. Trail Springs is nearly dry.
General Condition: Wilderness Freeway (Heavily used and well maintained)
Reported by: Eric Hightower
Section- Cone Peak Trail Junction to Ojito Saddle
Trail is in great shape. Drank unfiltered water from Trail Springs without any issues so far. Trail Springs is nearly dry.