Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pine Falls cascades 50 feet into an emerald swimming hole below Pine Valley.
Trip Description
The route begins at a marked trailhead on a major saddle above
China Camp
(4350'),
6 miles from
Pine Valley
and 24 from
Big Sur.
Like most trails in the
Ventana Wil-
derness,
this one is not regularly maintained. In 1999 fire scorched the area, allowing
fire-adapted species to thrive. As a result, trail sections over the first 1.2 miles are
heavily overgrown. You'll gradually climb 400 feet, then descend the same elevation
through shoulder-high brush dominated by ceanothus and tanoak.
In 0.6 mile you'll emerge from the worst of the overgrown sections at the route's
high point (4750'). Views stretch south to the
Black Cone Trail
ridgelines and the
Church Creek
and
Tassajara Creek
drainages, west along the
Coast Ridge,
and
southeast toward
Cone and Junipero Serra Peaks.
Rising nearly a mile above the
Pacific, Cone Peak is perched atop the farthest visible ridge, 17 miles south. Dominat-
ing the horizon, 5862-foot Junipero Serra rises high above the unseen
Salinas Valley.
The trail gradually descends a scenic ridge across golden grasslands and past
thickets of new growth sprouting from the remains of a charred forest. The ridge sep-
arates the
Miller Creek
drainage and the Church Creek drainage. You'll continue
through oak woodlands and grasslands speckled with stalks of Our Lord's candle, top
a minor saddle, and climb the ridge to a prominent saddle. Views vanish briefly as the
trail switchbacks southwest and then climbs north to the second highest point along
the route (2.1 miles, 4740'). From here the route is all downhill to Pine Valley.
Pause for glimpses through the bare branches of burned snags. Look west to spot
the sandstone formation that parallels Church Creek Fault. The trail turns southwest
on a steep grade, dropping 850 feet through open oak woodlands carpeted with vibrant
wildflowers in spring. After 1.5 miles the trail switchbacks down to
Church Creek
Divide
(3.6 miles, 3650'). This divide marks the four-way junction of the westbound
Pine Ridge Trail,
the southeast-bound
Church Creek Trail,
and the northwest-
bound
Carmel River Trail
to Pine Valley.
Forming a deep saddle between two west-trending ridges, the divide sits atop the
29-mile east-west
Church Creek Fault.
For millions of years the North American
and Pacific plates have ground past one another, here creating Church Creek canyon.
From the divide, the fault continues northwest, following the Carmel River Trail to
Hiding Canyon Camp,
ascending the
Puerto Suelo Trail
to the prominent
Puerto
Suelo
saddle, and emerging at the Pacific near
Kaslar Point.
To the northwest lie the
headwaters of the
Carmel River,
while to the southeast lie the headwaters of the
Sali-
nas River
along Church Creek. Oddly enough, the latter winds some 80 miles north
of the Carmel River before finding its way to sea.
