Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
After a strenuous 25 miles, reward yourself with a refreshing dip along the Arroyo Seco.
Onward, the trail dips through a small canyon that channels a headwater of the
North Fork Big Sur River
(12.6 miles, 3670'). Across the canyon, the trail ascends to
Shotgun Ridge
(12.9 miles, 3700'), which overlooks the dozens of creeks, creeklets,
springs, ravines, gullies, and broad valleys of the Big Sur drainage below. The ridge
was named for a rusty 20-gauge shotgun that was left in the brush with other debris
by the crew that forged this trail in the 1960s.
Beyond the ridge, the mostly waterless route reaches another small seep trickling
from the mountainside (13.3 miles, 3610'). Fifty yards farther you'll reach the
200-yard spur down to comfortable
Black Cone Camp.
A year-round spring issues
forth from the hillside in camp, which can accommodate up to four tents with room
to spare. Nearby, look for an ice-mold stove that the Forest Service installed when the
camp was established in the 1960s.
Beyond the spur, the trail leads 0.3 mile toward a large reliable
creek
(13.6 miles,
3600'), another headwater of the North Fork Big Sur. The creek lies along the north-
eastern flanks of Black Cone, which dominates the eastern skyline less than half a
mile from the trail. From here you'll contour past three minor ridges to the divide
(14.3 miles, 3690') between
Strawberry Creek,
the
Salinas River
headwaters, and
the North Fork Big Sur. The trail gradually descends an old bulldozed firebreak. Al-
though the trail widens, poison oak makes a comeback along the remaining 0.8 mile
to
Strawberry Camp.
As you descend into Strawberry Valley, you'll cross two small seasonal creeklets
(usually dry by midsummer), following the second creeklet 0.1 mile to
Strawberry
Camp.
The Black Cone Trail ends here at the
South Fork Trail junction
(15.1 miles,
2840'). Though perched in a small valley, the camp lies on sloping ground. The site
can accommodate up to four tents in the shade of a sprawling oak. While the creek
may run dry by late summer, a 0.3-mile jaunt downslope to the
Marble Peak Trail
junction
will lead to water.
For a description of the remaining 12.1 miles to
Arroyo Seco Campground,
refer to
TRIP 56 Willow Springs & Strawberry Camps
and follow that trail descrip-
tion in reverse.
