Ventana Wilderness Alliance Meetup

TRIP TITLE / DATES / IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

Brushing Santa Lucia Trail - BACKPACK - Two Nights

VWA TRAIL CREW LEADER: Tom Nicholson

OVERVIEW: Backacking TRIP

Meet Tom at the trailhead Friday morning. Hike 3.2 miles to a spike camp location. Brush the trail near Junipero Serra Peak. The entire trail burned in August, 2020, in the Dolan Fire, and we are trying to keep it clear from the rapid regrowth of brush that follows any fire in the Ventana.

Trail work is strenuous. You must be in good physical condition to participate. That said, this trip is a good introduction to trail work in the Ventana Wilderness. There is a lot of elevation gain and a lot of miles hiked on this trip. This is a challenging trip.

You may choose to participate in part of the trip. Contact Tom for details.

THE WORK:

This trip will focus on clearing deerweed, chapparal pea, yerba santa, and re-sprouting oak tree branches from the trail corridor. There is work for all abilities. Beginner to expert. Tools and instruction provided. The work location doesn't have a lot of poison oak. Long sleeves and long pants are recommended even for the hike in.

MEET: Friday: at the Santa Lucia Trailhead just before Memorial Park 8 A.M. DON'T BE LATE
Optional: if you can't join us all 3 days, let Tom N. know you will join later.

TRAVEL:

In your mapping program search for Santa Lucia Memorial Park Campground. Drive to the campground, then turn around and go back about a quarter mile. Look for a small dirt road on your left. This is the parking lot for the Santa Lucia Trail. Meet Tom N. here.

LEADER APPROVAL REQUIRED for partial attendance; contact leader for trip and meeting details.

LOCAL WEATHER:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.211186929941974&lon=-121.54655456542969#.Uso3xbRa_BY

FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE DETAILS:
Tom N. using the Meetup messaging feature.

WHAT TO BRING:

Sturdy work clothes with long sleeved shirts and long pants; sturdy footwear. A daypack to carry your water and lunches for each day. Bring enough containers to carry a minimum of 3 liters. Bring a head net for bugs! All your backpacking gear including sleeping bag, shelter, food, stove, and changes of clothing.

ALL FOOD for 3 days/2 nights.

WATER: There is limited water on this trail. You should be able to fill up after you have climbed a couple thousand feet, but will need to take water from there to last the whole day.

A DAYPACK for your lunch and water for each day.

Tecnu lotion for poison oak protection if you need it. There is SOME poison oak on this trail.

Your favorite work gloves, safety glasses, loppers, hand saw and hard hat if you have them; otherwise tools and hardhats will be provided.

TRIP TITLE / DATES / IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

Back Pack BRUSHING TRIP TWO Nights Tan Oak Camp work on the Marble Peak Trail

VWA TRAIL CREW LEADER:

Betsy MacGowan

OVERVIEW:

BACKPACKING TRIP

HIKE 4 miles from the trailhead at Arroyo Seco Campground. We will work on brush and fallen trees on the Horsepasture Trail, camping across Tasssajara Creek from the Marble Peak Trail.

WORK on the Horsepasture Trail

This will be a good introduction to backpacking and trailwork. You may join us for Saturday-Sunday if you don't mind hiking in by yourself, and you have tools.

THE WORK:

There is work for all abilities. Beginner to expert. Tools and instruction provided for brushing/tread work. The work location has PLENTY of poison oak and there is no way to avoid it. Cotton clothing with long sleeves and long pants can be helpful to avoid poison oak.

MEET: Arroyo Seco Gorge Parking Lot 7 A.M. DON'T BE LATE!

LOCAL WEATHER:

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-121.65295600547591&lat=36.224809934257394#.Y3LFsYLMKOY

FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE DETAILS:

Betsy MacGowan using the Meetup messaging feature.

WHAT TO BRING:

All of your personal gear for a backpacking trip: sleeping bag, tent, cooking system, utensil(s), food, clothing including layers and rain gear. Sturdy work clothes with long sleeved shirts and long pants; sturdy footwear. A daypack to carry your water and lunches for each day. Bring enough containers to carry a minimum of 3 liters.

ALL FOOD for 3 days/2 nights

WATER There is water at the camp.

Tecnu lotion for poison oak protection if you need it. There is A LOT of poison oak on this trail.

Your favorite work gloves, safety glasses, loppers, hand saw and hard hat if you have them; otherwise tools and hardhats will be provided.

TRIP TITLE / DATES / IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

Brushing Arroyo Seco Trail - CAR CAMP - THREE Nights

VWA TRAIL CREW LEADER: Betsy MacGowan

OVERVIEW: Car Camp TRIP

Each day we will hike 1-2 miles to remove brush and clear trees on the lower sections of the Arroyo Seco Trail. The entire trail burned in August, 2020, in the Dolan Fire, and we are trying to keep it clear from the rapid regrowth of brush that follows any fire in the Ventana. We may reach the slides that have made this trail extremely difficult for hikers. In that case we will work to make a path across the slides.

Trail work is strenuous. You must be in good physical condition to participate. That said, this trip is a good introduction to trail work in the Ventana Wilderness, as we will be car camping, and only carrying day packs, rather than backpacking.

You may choose to participate in part of the trip. This is an ideal trip for partial participation.

THE WORK:

This trip will focus on clearing deerweed, chapparal pea, yerba santa, and re-sprouting oak tree branches from the first two miles of the trail. There is work for all abilities. Beginner to expert. Tools and instruction provided. The work location doesn't have a lot of poison oak. Long sleeves and long pants are recommended even for the hike in.

MEET: Thursday: at the old red ranger station at Santa Lucia Memorial Park Campground 8 A.M. DON'T BE LATE
Optional: if you can't join us all 3 days, let the leader know you will join later.

LEADER APPROVAL REQUIRED for partial attendance; contact leader for trip and meeting details.

LOCAL WEATHER:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.211186929941974&lon=-121.54655456542969#.Uso3xbRa_BY

FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE DETAILS:

Betsy MacGowan using the Meetup messaging feature.

WHAT TO BRING:

Sturdy work clothes with long sleeved shirts and long pants; sturdy footwear. A daypack to carry your water and lunches for each day. Bring enough containers to carry a minimum of 3 liters. Bring a head net for bugs!

ALL FOOD for 4 days/3 nights.
Optional: Bring some kind of food to share for an hors d'oeuvres potluck on the first night!

WATER: There is no potable water at the car camp site, so PLEASE BRING enough for all your drinking/cooking/washing needs. You will also need to take enough water for a full day of trail work while we are working. We will be camping near the Arroyo Seco River but you would need to filter this water. There will be access to water in the river during the work day.

A DAYPACK for your lunch and water for each day.

Tecnu lotion for poison oak protection if you need it. There is SOME poison oak on this trail.

Your favorite work gloves, safety glasses, loppers, hand saw and hard hat if you have them; otherwise tools and hardhats will be provided.

TRIP TITLE / DATES / IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS:

BRUSHING TRIP Backpack THREE Nights South Fork Camp work on the South Fork Trail.

VWA TRAIL CREW LEADER:

Betsy MacGowan

OVERVIEW:

BACKPACKING TRIP

HIKE 7 miles from the trailhead at Cold Spring to camp at South Fork Camp on the South Fork of the Big Sur River. We will clear trees and remove brush starting just past Rainbow Camp on the South Fork Trail. There are more trees and some brushing, heading up towards Strawberry Camp. This trip consists of logging, brushing,and some tread work.

WORK on the South Fork Trail.

This will be a strenuous trip but will also be a good introduction to backpacking and trailwork. You must participate in the entire trip.

THE WORK:

There is work for all abilities. Beginner to expert. Tools and instruction provided for brushing/tread work. The work location has LOTS OF poison oak. Cotton clothing with long sleeves and long pants recommended even for the hike in.

MEET: Big Sur Station 7 A.M. DON'T BE LATE!

Meet in the 10-minute parking spots in front of Big Sur Station. Not back in the main parking lot.

IMPORTANT: Meetup directions may not be the best. In your mapping program, search for:

Big Sur Station, 47555 CA-1, Big Sur, CA 93920

The Big Sur Multi Agency Facility is at Big Sur Station, on the east (inland) side of Highway One, about a half mile south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. For those coming from the north, after you pass Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, you cross the Big Sur River on an inconspicuous bridge. Then as you start the uphill, use the left turn lane to turn in to the Multi Agency Facility. If you go over a larger bridge, and get to the Post Office and the Big Sur Bakery, you have gone too far.

LOCAL WEATHER:

https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-121.65295600547591&lat=36.224809934257394#.Y3LFsYLMKOY

FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE DETAILS:

Betsy MacGowan using the Meetup messaging feature.

WHAT TO BRING:

Sturdy work clothes with long sleeved shirts and long pants; sturdy footwear. REPEAT: LONG SLEEVED SHIRTS. LONG PANTS. A daypack to carry your water and lunches for each day. We will hike to our camp, set up, and you have time to filter water before we start work for the day.

Bring all the backpacking gear you would normally need: sleeping bag, shelter, stove, food, changes of clothing for sleeping.

ALL FOOD for 4 days/3 nights

WATER There is water at our camp and also near the work. Filtering is recommended because there are signs of wild boar in the area.

Tecnu lotion for poison oak protection if you need it. There is lots of poison oak on this trail.

Your favorite work gloves, safety glasses, loppers, hand saw and hard hat if you have them; otherwise tools and hardhats will be provided. There will be 5 crossings of the South Fork but we hope the water will be low enough to cross easily without water shoes or wading.

A tent if rain is forecast. Headnet for bugs.