Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ber), you may not find water until Big Pines Camp (upper Danish Creek) or Pat
Spring. In drought years there's even a chance these two water sources could run dry.
In such conditions, consider one of the alternative routes.
Views west toward Pico Blanco at the summit of Ventana Double Cone
Trip Description
From the unmarked
Mt. Carmel-Devils Peak Trail junction
(3.8 miles, 4130'),
you'll continue southeast along the
Big Pines Trail
on a gentle descent across mead-
ows dotted with sprawling oaks and madrones. This stretch promises fantastic views
of the
Little Sur River
drainage, including its headwaters below
Ventana Double
Cone
(4853'). Notice the different colors and textures that distinguish each ecological
community. Velvety light and dark green chaparral line the dry south-facing slopes,
golden grasslands dotted with oaks and pines cap the knolls and ridges, dark green
hardwood forests flourish on cool north-facing slopes, and emerald redwood canopies
shelter the deepest valleys and narrow stream courses.
The trail descends a yucca-flecked slope, followed by a 500-foot drop to a clear-
ing atop a minor saddle. Pause here to picnic beneath impressive black oaks and mad-
rones, the latter identified by peeling paper-thin bark. The trail rises to round a small
