Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park - Hiking and Backpacking Big Sur - page 159

population. There are three release sites in California, including one in Big Sur, man-
aged by the Ventana Wilderness Society, a nonprofit research, education, and restor-
ation organization.
In 2012 the total California condor population reached 186 birds, 126 of those
in the wild. Visitors and researchers regularly spot condors along the ridgeline atop
the Ewoldsen Trail.
For more information about restoration efforts and how you can help, contact
the Ventana Wilderness Society in Salinas: [phone], [e-mail].
A quarter mile up the trail, you'll reach the Canyon Trail junction (0.25 mile,
390'). This worthwhile spur leads 0.1 mile farther upstream along the south fork of
McWay Creek. A few feet past a confluence with the main creek, you'll reach a bench
that overlooks a waterfall.
From the Canyon Trail junction, the Ewoldsen Trail branches right and ascends
the canyon. Switchbacks thread deep into the redwoods high above McWay Creek,
often at eye level with the forest canopy. Watch for birds that rarely visit the canyon
floor, such as the golden-crowned kinglet, which hovers to glean insects from the tips
of branches. This tiny insectivore has a boldly striped face and bright yellow crown.
Woodpeckers' raucous chatter permeates the silence, as they busily carve insects out
of trees. Acorn woodpeckers store acorns in their bore holes, providing food for in-
sects, which in turn provide the woodpecker a scrumptious meal of fattened grubs.
You'll exit the south fork canyon along four switchbacks, cross the creek on a
stable bridge, and emerge from the shady groves amid dry, exposed chaparral. The
vegetation switches back just as quickly once you hike 0.1 mile into the main fork
watershed. As you approach the gurgling creek in the shade of redwoods, you'll reach
the loop junction (1.5 miles, 800').
The loop is 2.1 miles. The left fork climbs a mile along an exposed trail to the
viewpoint spur, while the right fork climbs 1.1 miles in the shade of oaks, bays, red-
woods, and madrones to the same junction. Ascend the right fork along redwood-lined
McWay Canyon. You'll soon turn west on a steep grade through dense oak wood-
land, then curl south to a minor ridge that offers stunning coastal views.
Continue across an oak-clad ridge to the spur in a shallow saddle (2.6 miles,
1700'). Follow the VIEWPOINT sign northwest up this 0.3-mile spur, which ends atop a
marble-crested ridge with dramatic views north and south along the coast. Keep watch
for red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, and, if luck is on your side, endangered Cali-
fornia condors in search of tasty rotting flesh. When ready, head back to the spur junc-
tion.
The loop continues southwest on a gentle grade along a ridge crest of exposed
marble, easily identified by its white to gray coloring and sugary texture. You'll soon
emerge on bare golden hillsides that in spring display decadent carpets of wildflowers.