coast ridge road – Leor Pantilat's Adventures

Boronda and Coast Ridge Lupine

pantilat — Tue, 05 May 2015 00:07:57 +0000

Last year was a prolific bloom on the Big Sur coast that I called the mother of lupine blooms since it occurred around Mother’s Day. Locals told me then that the last time the hillsides were covered with such density of lupine was back 1999, fifteen years prior. Last year was truly remarkable and I was spoiled. While I wanted more lupine this spring, I was anticipating that an event like last year would not repeat itself so soon. It didn’t. This year the lupine bloom peaked a full a month earlier and was much more patchy with only a few select spots approaching the level of density from last year. However, if you picked the spots correctly it was still lovely to experience the lupine combined with stupendous coastal vistas characteristic of the Big Sur Coast. GPS route here. I’ve found that the lupine are highly susceptible to weather including rainfall amounts, when the rain falls, temperatures, etc. Last year it was virtually bone dry until late February and then there were some decent late season storms in March and April that allowed the lupine to pop prolifically. This year was the opposite with most of the rain falling in an atmospheric river event in December followed by abnormally warm and dry conditions for the remainder of winter. My theory is that the soil simply became too dry to support a major bloom and the warm late winter and early spring produced a remarkably early bloom. While last year the immense lupine fields were on the lower slopes of the ridges generally below 2,500 ft, this year the best lupine patches were higher up, generally above 2,500 ft. For this lupine tour I returned to Boronda ridge and also ran along Coastal Ridge to Marble Peak. I found some nice lupine patches on Boronda Ridges and also along Coast Ridge Road above Grimes Canyon (north of Timber Top). I also found an excellent lupine patch in the meadows below Marble Peak, aka Marble Meadows. Finally I found some more beautiful lupine patches during explorations of an aesthetic grassy ridge descending from Point 3,956 toward the headwaters of the North Fork Hot Springs Canyon Creek. This grassy ridge had lovely views down Hot Springs Canyon, Rock Slide Peak, Cone Pea and Junipero Serra. On the way back I tagged Marble Peak which is always a treat to visit with its superb 360 degree vista.

Boronda Ridge & Marble Peak

pantilat — Fri, 02 May 2014 06:08:58 +0000

Back in January I explored the Boronda-De Angulo Loop and thought it would be fitting to return to Boronda Ridge during the short spring period of green. Boronda Ridge rises steeply from the ocean with magnificent vistas of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding terrain. It’s one of the most amazing spots in all of Big Sur. The trail also provides an efficient access point to the central part of the Coast Ridge Road and Marble Peak, with its suburb views of the interior Ventana. I view Boronda Ridge as Stone Ridge’s little sister. While Stone Ridge tops out at over 4,800 ft at the summit of Twin Peak, Boronda ridge reaches just over 3,000 feet at the summit of Timber Top. Despite its lower vertical, Boronda Ridge rises more steeply immediately from the ocean with truly impressive relief on the lower part of the ridge. From a vista at 1,500 feet above sea level, the topography is so steep that it’s almost as if you could dive into the ocean! The amazing views on Boronda are virtually non-stop owing to the fact that the ridge crest is almost entirely devoid of vegetation other than grass. The ridge culminates in an elegant arm at the upper part of the ridge. This photogenic rounded arm is separated by deep canyons of oak and redwood with the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean shimmering below. It’s truly a remarkable spot and one of my favorite spots along the Big Sur Coast. The top of Boronda Ridge is a peaklet known as Timber Top, with a camping area (no water) and more phenomenal views. Boronda Ridge also provides efficient access to the middle section of the Coast Ridge Road (a gravel road closed to public vehicles). Boronda Ridge also provides efficient access to the middle section of the Coast Ridge Road (a gravel road closed to public vehicles). Heading north from Timber Top, the road passes through more grassy meadows as it gradually descends to the Ventana Inn at Big Sur. To the south, the road gradually gains elevation in a predominantly chaparral and pine forest environment with plenty of interior and coastal vistas along the way. The road skirts Michael’s Hill and then has a dip, followed by an ascent and another dip before the final climb to near the broad summit of Anderson Peak. Anderson Peak itself is property of the federal government and contains some buildings, aviation equipment and weather sensors. The summit area is surrounded by fencing and is closed, but fortunately Marble Peak (of nearly the same height) is only a half mile beyond. In fact, Marble Peak arguably has the better 360 degree view because it is more of a pinnacle. Running down the road from Anderson Peak, turn off just past a sign that says “Marble Peak” and briefly take a trail cuts through a brush tunnel. Near the crest of the ridge, leave the trail and take use paths traversing grass on the west side of Marble Peak until you’re almost beneath the summit. From here, a virtually brush free route to the summit presents itself. Marble Peak has excellent views of the interior Ventana Wilderness. Looking north is an excellent view of the rugged ridge from Kandlbinder to La Ventana to Ventana Double Cone. To the south is Cone Peak, Twin Peak, Mining Ridge, and the Lost Valley. To the east is Junipero Serra Peak, Black Cone and the upper drainage of the South Fork Big Sur River. All told, it’s about 7.5 miles each way from the Timber Top to the summit of Marble Peak for a 15 mile roundtrip. Combined with the 6 miles round trip to Timber Top up Boronda Ridge, the route becomes a 21 miles total. The extension to Marble Peak is an excellent way to tack on some miles on relatively fast runnable road, but still enjoy grand views along the way.

Limekiln to Big Sur via the Coast Ridge

pantilat — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 15:01:55 +0000

A point-to-point is the best way to maximize covering and experiencing a lot of terrain. The complete Coast Ridge route is no exception with 39+ miles of amazing and constantly changing scenery for its entire length. This aesthetic route is a masterpiece and one of the “super” classics of Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness. The route essentially parallels the coast from south to north and is mostly right on the crest of Coast Ridge. As you might expect from a ridge of this prominence, there are wide vistas in all directions for virtually the entire route. On the west side of the ridge, the Pacific Ocean and Big Sur Coast are ever present, with views into some of the most wild and rugged drainage basins along the entire coast, including the forks of Devils Canyon and Big Creek. On the east side of the ridge are vistas into the remote interior Ventana Wilderness including the Lost Valley, Junipero Serra and the South Fork Big Sur River. Most of the elevation gain is accomplished within the first 9 miles and after one last climb up to Anderson Peak, a running-friendly dirt road provides a net gradual downhill for the final 15 miles all the way to the terminus of the Coast Ridge Road at Ventana Inn. The middle section on the North Coast Ridge Trail is the most remote and has some brushy sections and a few small blowdowns, but no major bushwhack and route finding is straightforward. Strava route here.

The route beings with a steep climb out of the redwoods in Limekiln Canyon onto lower Stone Ridge. At the intersection with the Stone Ridge Trail, we took the trail into the West Fork Limekiln Canyon traverseing lovelly oak woodland and redwood-filled ravines. Eventually we climbed out of the canyon to “Ojito Pass” where the Stone Ridge Trail turns into the Gamboa Trail and curves into the South Fork Devils Canyon. The Gamboa Trail is one of the my favorite trails in all of the Ventana and passes through an amazing forest of Santa Lucia Fir, Sugar Pine and Coulter Pine with excellent views down canyon to the Pacific. The trail ends at a junction with the North Coast Ridge Trail which has sublime views of the surrounding terrain. After an open area, the North Coast Ridge Trail enters a spectacular sugar pine forest with a nice smooth trail covered in pine needles. The trail exits the forest near Tin Can Camp, which possesses one of the best views of the entire route. To the west is the remote, rugged and trail-less Middle Fork Devils Canyon and to the east is the imposing massif of Junipero Serra Peak. Beyond Tin Can Camp, the North Coast Ridge Trail descends through one last stand of Sugar Pine and Coulter Pine forest before exiting into a largely chaparral landscape that was burned in the 2008 Basin Complex fire. The trail is easily followed, but contains areas of brush and downfall to negotiate. The firebreak and the trail are mostly in unison on the ridge ridge crest, however they sometimes diverge when the firebreak sticks to he crest religiously while the trail will traversing across the terrain to avoid intermediary high points and unnecessary ups and downs. We mostly stayed to the trail except we took the firebreak over Mining Ridge. As the highest point between Ventana Double Cone and the Cone Peak area, Mining Ridge has a fantastic 360 panorama. We enjoyed lunch here and then continued down the east side of the firebreak to rejoin the North Coast Ridge Trail near the junction with the Redondo Trail (which leads down into Memorial Park).

The next section was one of the best ridge sections with excellent views to Ventana Double Cone, which appears noticeably closer at this point. Along this ridge we were happy to find water at the Coast Ridge Spring (aka Redondo Spring). This indicates the spring is fairly reliable even in dry years, but with as dry as it’s been this year, I wouldn’t count on it much longer. The final portion of the North Coast Ridge Trail is becoming more overgrown. It was nice to see some pine trees survived the fire in this section as well as many new pine saplings emerging from the chaparral. After about 20 miles, the trail emerges onto the Coast Ridge Road, which is a dirt road that would take us all the way to Ventana Inn. While closed to the public vehicular traffic, pedestrians have a right of way on this dirt road that is in reasonably good shape to allow access to a few homes and private properties along the way. I made a side trip to climb Marble Peak which has another A+ view of the surrounding region. I also found a nice use path on my way down that emerges from a vegetation tunnel onto the Coast Ridge road directly across from a sign that says “Marble Peak.” I also ascended to the top of Anderson Peak by skirting fences (but not surmounting any) and ascending steep grass. The summit of Anderson Peak is federal government property with some old flight radio equipment and a few buildings. The top of the peak is paved with a signal at its center. It’s an odd sight after hardly seeing any infrastructure all day, but the summit “platform” has great views of the coast and the rugged ridge between Kandlbinder and Ventana Double Cone. After Anderson Peak, it’s mostly all downhill along the dirt road with amazing views throughout. At Timber Top we briefly left the road and ascended over Timber Top instead of taking the circuitous road. The views of the Big Sur coast from Timber Top are truly spectacular. The final section of Coast Ridge Road was marvelous with the grassy hills and Mount Manuel illuminated by the soft evening light. We arrived at the finish just as the sun had set to wrap up a special day in the Ventana.

Click on the image below for a 360 degree panorama from Marble Peak:

Note: Save for the very last image, the remaining photos are basically in chronological order.