Ventana Wilderness Alliance website - Ventana Wilderness Alliance Trailcrew webpage

Pine Ridge Trail Worktrip

February 10-12, 2006

Introduction and Summary

The Pine Ridge Trail is the most popular trail crossing the Santa Lucia Range, connecting Big Sur Station at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park with the Tassajara Road near China Camp. Granted, most of the use occurs between Big Sur and Sykes Hot Springs, there is still significant through hiker use.

This trip was designed to open up the Pine Ridge Trail for stock use as far as the Black Cone Trail, as there is a possibility of a professional trailcrew being hired this summer to work on the BCT. We came in from China Camp and camped at Divide Camp.

Trip Leader: Mike Heard. Crewmembers: Robert P, Mark M. Simone O, John S, John R, Don B, Xxx X, Dave N, Esperanza H, Hector B.

Trailwork Plan

Our plan was to clear as many log/deadfall obstacles as possible from the trail, with ancillary brushing and treadwork. We knew about a generous number of logs/deadfall, as well as a small landslide and brush issues.

Accomplishments

We cleared most of the significant obstacles from the trail, including all logs that couldn't be easily crossed with a pack. The slide area was mitigated with a nicely recut trail. Some of the brush was trimmed back, especially near Divide Camp.

Commentary

As we had a large crew, we were able to work with two crews on Saturday, and were thus very productive. Obstacles remaining include a projecting rock (stock hazard) and a number of logs which can all be removed with a small crosscut saw.