Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Trip Description
See
TRIP 49 Pine Valley
for the first 3.6 miles along the
Pine Ridge Trail
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.
If you plan to spend a night in Pine Valley, expect an easy 1.7-mile
detour.
If you're not bound for Pine Valley, the route from Church Creek Divide con-
tinues straight, west along the Pine Ridge Trail. Immediately past the saddle the trail
climbs past heavily overgrown madrones, manzanitas, and ceanothus, fire-adapted
species that thrive on this fire-scarred hillside. You'll cross two small gullies laden
with blackberries, horsetails, and fragrant hedge nettles. These seasonal creeks run
dry by summer.
SIDE TRIP
If you do stay in Pine Valley and are westbound, consider taking the
Pine Val-
ley-Pine Ridge Trail
onward to the Pine Ridge Trail instead of hiking back through
Church Creek Divide. The 1.5-mile Pine Valley-Pine Ridge Trail leads onward to the
Pine Ridge Trail, saving you 2.4 miles overall, though requiring an additional 500
feet of climbing through heavy overgrowth. You'll find the trailhead at the official
Pine Valley entrance
(5.3 miles, 3140'), at a junction with the Carmel River Trail
and the cross-country trail to
Pine Falls.
From this junction, the trail (marked
BEAR BASIN
) crosses the
Carmel River
past a campsite that can accommodate up to four tents. Passing the site, you'll climb
steeply above Pine Valley. A passage through live oaks, tanoaks, and ceanothus
gives way to views northwest toward flat-topped 4766-foot
Uncle Sam Mountain,
Puerto Suelo
(the deep saddle left of Uncle Sam's base), and the rocky twin peaks
of 4853-foot
Ventana Double Cone.
You'll climb 800 feet in the first mile to a shallow saddle (6.3 miles, 3950'), at
a junction with an abandoned spur to
Bear Basin.
This spur leads right 1.1 miles to
spacious
Bear Basin Camp,
alongside reliable, spring-fed
Bear Basin Creek.
Dir-
ectly upslope from camp another spur ascends southwest half a mile through dense
overgrowth to the Pine Ridge Trail, though poor trail conditions make for extremely
slow going.
If you intend to head west along the Pine Ridge Trail, continue from the shallow
saddle (6.3 miles, 3950') on the Pine Valley-Pine Ridge Trail another half mile to the
Pine Ridge Trail, although this section is also overgrown.
