Double Cone - Ventana Wilderness

On May 3rd, as soon as the trails were opened up to hikers after last year's fires, we were ready to hit the trail.

We camped at Botcher's Gap and started the hike at 6:30am. To me, the Ventana wilderness is synonymous with bushwhacking. Last year we bush whacked for a good 10 hours through some of the thickest vegetation mixed in with poison oak and I am sure plenty of ticks. I had a pretty bad case of poison oak and had fond memories of it for the whole year.

Needless to say, I had mixed feelings about this hike. On one hand, Ventana is one of the few remaining places where you rarely see large groups of people and you're always guaranteed an adventure. On another hand, poison oak was not something I was looking forward to.

Our plan was a day hike, we started out at 6:30 am, the first portion up to Devil's peak was a wilderness highway as they say. From Devil's Peak to Pat's spring the trail was overgrown with grass and given that it was a foggy, misty day, our shoes were soaked in no time.

In our group of 8 we had 2 guys with the GPS and I must say THANK GOD. After Pat's springs the trail was not obvious at all and our GPS boys kept us on track. The entire time, I kept wondering when am I going to see the thick bush that I encountered last year in abundance (on the other side of Ventana towards Cone Peak). It seemed like the fires took care of the business, the passage was effortless, well, almost. Towards the last part of the trip (I think this portion is called Puerto Suello Trail - it's hard to say, since there were no signs, I am guessing they got burned out). From Puerto Suello to almost the end bushwhacking was in no shortage, but nothing to write home about. It was tolerable.

The very last portion of the trail towards the Double Cone was clear and the only major disappointment was the fog surrounding us. We didn't get to see the beautiful view of the valley, it was just more fog when we got to the top.

Of course, we signed the registry, we were the first group to hike Double Cone in 2009! We had a quick lunch at the top and started our journey back.

We were down at the trail head at 11:30 pm, all in all the distance of about 29 miles in 17.5 hrs.

This will probably be one of my favorite hikes in 2009, the abundance of flowers and the lush grass with beautiful rolling, deep green hills was a real treat.

If you'd like a more detailed description of the hike, please visit: http://www.scaruffi.com/monument/hikes09/doubleco.html

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DAY HIKE PACKING LIST

For those who need a little more structure, here is a pdf check list for packing:

Packing List for Day Hikes

My day hikes usually span 6-18 hrs, and tomorrow I kick off the season with my first longer hike of 12hrs. Hopefully this list covers it all.

Let me know if you have other items that you found essential to have in your backpack.

Happy Trails!

Hiking in Mendocino

About 3 hours north of San Francisco, Mendocino offers spectacular coastline views, lush, green, redwood forests and abundance of flowers.

If you enjoy serpentine roads, you'll have a kick driving fast on highway 128. Looking for a short getaway from the city? Here is a quick and dirty to finding your way to Mendocino and a few pretty, and gentle hikes.


1st Night: Camp at Hendy Woods (about 3 hours from Golden Gate Bridge). Camp site fee $20 +$6.00 for each additional vehicle: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=438.

2nd Day: Wake up time: 6:30 AM and head for your 1st hike - roughly a 20 min drive to Van Damme State Park:http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=433

Van Damme State Park: Head for the Fern Canyon Scenic Trail. The trail is paved for the first 1.7 Miles (this doesn't take away from the beautiful redwood trees and soothing sound of the creek, to the right).

The trail is gentle and flat for the most part(with a very short and gentle 15 min? uphill). The highlight is Pygmy Forest. Take the Old Logging Road Trail to the Pygmy Forest and Fern Canyon Trail back. Total Distance about 6 Miles.

Have a quick lunch in Mendocino and head for the 2nd hike to the Southside Trail in the Big River Park. This trail is not maintained (the trailhead is not marked), which makes it that more exciting and fun. It's a short 2 hr (about 3Miles)hike that is covered in flowers (wild irises were particularly beautiful) and variety of vegetation, otherwise not present on well maintained trails.


3rd hike and probably my favorite was at the Russian Gulch State Park, the attraction of this hike was the waterfall. All in all the hike is about 6 Miles long, not difficult at all and mostly flat: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=432



End your day by catching the Sunset at the Mendocino Headlands State Park (http://www.mcn.org/1/mendoparks/mndhdld.htm).




Grab a bite at Mendocino and head back home!

China Hole Loop@Henry Coe

This is one of the local bay area hikes (Morgan Hill) that is wonderful to visit during spring time. The trail is covered with a variety of colorful flowers that will keep you and your camera busy.
There are lots of trails to explore, if you're considering China Loop Trail, here are some data points:

China Loop Trail 10M (official park web-site: http://www.coepark.org/hikes-hq-desc.html)
Start out at Coe Headquarters (this is where you can pick up the maps) -Parking Fee $5.00

1. Take Coral Trail to


2. Springs Trail to


3. Manzanita Rd (Fire Rd - you don't have any other choice here


4. Take China Hole Trail - which will take you all the way down.

This entire portion of the hike is either flat or down hill, - it should take you no longer than 2 hrs to decent.There is a nice camp at the bottom for a picnic (beware of poison oak -it's everywhere).

Once you're ready to head back, you can go back via China Hole Trail (not much shade here) or take Coyote Creek Trail to Madrone Soda Springs.
Both will be an uphill hike, since shade and creek tend to be more pleasant, I would recommend the latter.

1. Coyote Creek Trail to


2. Take the Manzanita Fire Rd back to (depending on the shape you're in - it will take 1/1.5hrs to get to Manzanita point)


3. Forest trail (1.7M) back for change of scenery

All in all, it's a leisurely, pleasant hike. It's not long enough or steep enough to train for the Sierras or peaks over 4000 Meters, but it will definitely wow you with the display wild of flowers.
Enjoy the pics, and hurry! Summer will burn the grass back to yellow and before you know it, you'll miss a great flower season.