Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For the next half mile, you'll enjoy sweeping views of the coast, Cone Peak, and sheer
Hare and Limekiln Canyons. In spring, the otherwise golden hillsides are blanketed
in lupines, poppies, buttercups, blue-eyed grass, mariposa lilies, shooting stars, and
blue dicks. Watch the skies for common raptors, as well as the rare and endangered
California condor, which boasts a massive 9-foot wingspan.
Onward, the trail follows a gentle contour and climbs a prominent ridge to a
minor gap
(6.4 miles, 2260') for filtered views through live oaks. Continue past a
cluster of ponderosa pines to the headwaters of
West Fork Limekiln Creek.
Winding
0.8 mile through several shady gullies, the trail leads to a prominent
gully
(7.2 miles,
2170') of exposed, weathered marble. In all but the heaviest downpour, it's an easy
hop across.
You'll soon enter the canyon's largest eastside gully along a boulder-strewn wash
beneath a dense redwood canopy. The trail continues north across two more gullies,
the second hosting a reliable creek. After veering 100 yards west to a grassy slope,
you'll turn northwest to the
Goat Camp junction
(8.4 miles, 2500').
A short spur trail descends southwest to
Goat Camp,
nestled in the shade of oaks
and sugar pines. Offering wonderful ocean views, this remote camp can accommod-
ate up to four tents. During wet season, the nearest water source lies only a minute
farther along the Stone Ridge Trail. In dry months, you'll need to return 0.6 mile to
the large gully.
Fifty yards from the Goat Camp junction, the trail contours past Limekiln's
northern headwaters, which in wet season supports a small creek that sustains a few
staunch redwoods. Onward 0.1 mile, the trail begins a steep climb past the charred re-
mains of a pre-1999 forest, now overgrown with ceanothus, broom, and yerba santa.
Watch your footing on the loose tread, and be alert for hitchhiking ticks in spring.
Switchbacks climb 500 feet to an obvious saddle and the three-way junction with the
Gamboa
and
Ojito Camp Trails
(9.3 miles, 3450').
SIDE TRIP
From the junction, the unmarked
Ojito Camp Trail
heads north, dropping 600 feet
in the next 0.6 mile to Devils Canyon. On my last trip, encroaching brush and large
fallen snags obstructed the route, though it was flagged and remained passable.
You'll descend a gentle grade to a nearby saddle, then plunge steeply to the
south bank of
South Fork Devils Creek.
A faint overgrown trail leads 200 yards
downstream along the swift creek to
Ojito Camp,
which has room for up to two
tents. Those willing to venture cross-country will find myriad beautiful pools and
cascades.
