After an awesome adventure run down the Carmel River last week, I returned to the Ventana Wilderness to see the famous Sykes Hot Springs with a variation on the return trip to see the lush redwood grove at Terrace Creek and expansive views from the Coast Ridge Road (22 miles total). The Pine Ridge Trail to Sykes Hot Springs is one of the most popular destinations in the Ventana and without the cumbersome brush and routefinding issues characteristic of most trails in the region, this trail is like a highway. Since the hike to the hot springs is nearly ten miles one way, most people do it as a backpacking trip and everybody we saw on this day was spending the night in the wilderness.
Map, photos, and more trail descriptions after the jump!
I joined Gary Gellin and Jim Moyles for a point-to-point adventure run along the wild Carmel River in the Ventana Wilderness (3 hours south of the Bay Area). The route starts at China Camp along Tassajara Road (rough dirt road) and finishes below Los Padres Reservoir. The first 3.5 miles is along the Pine Ridge Trail with great views into the Tassajara Creek drainage and the rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, including Junipero Serra Peak (the highest point in the range at 5,862 ft) and Ventana Double Cone. Evidence of the huge fires two seasons ago was evident, but the vegetation is coming back and I even spotted small pine saplings.
According to the national park service, the Rae Lakes Loop is one of the most popular hikes in Sequoia and Kings Canyon, if not the entire Sierra. I completed the famous loop in 12 hours, 31 minutes, starting at 5:30 am and finishing just after 6 pm. The loop is 46 miles long and climbs from 5,035 ft at the trailhead to 11,978 ft at Glen Pass. The portion between Vidette Meadows (Mile 14) and Woods Creek Crossing (Mile 29) is along the John Muir Trail. The highlight of the loop is the Rae Lakes area, a chain of large alpine lakes over 10,500 feet with views of rugged Sierra peaks. The trailhead is at Road’s End in magnificent Kings Canyon and travels along Bubbs Creek and Woods Creek, including Vidette Meadows, Castle Domes, and Paradise Valley. Most backpackers do the loop clockwise, which makes sense as you gradually gain elevation through the Rae Lakes basin. However, for running it makes more sense to go counterclockwise reaching the highpoint at Glen Pass in 18.5 miles, followed by 27.5 miles of downhill, in theory (there are lots of blips).
A strong storm on October 13th dropped several feet of snow above 9,000 feet, and a substantial amount of snow remains which made for slow going between Charlotte Lake junction and Dollar Lake (~8 miles). The snow was particularly deep on the north side of Glen Pass with an icy crust layer on top of powdery snow. The result was a lot of postholing and I often could not find where the trail was buried until near the Rae Lakes, but the views of the Sierra with a fresh coat of snow more than compensated. The trails along the loop are generally rocky and rugged precluding a consistent fast pace. I found the section before and after Mist Falls (miles 41 to 43) to be particularly rocky and rough on tired legs at the end of the day.
Gary Gellin and I enjoyed a spectacular 13.5 mile loop in Pinnacles National Monument. This challenging loop entailed nearly 4,000 feet of elevation gain and covered most of the highlights in the park, including Bear Gulch Cave, High Peaks, Balconies Cave, and Condor Gulch. The Pinnacles are located in the Gabilan Range to the east of the Salinas Valley. The rock formations and arid habitat make it seem like a slice of the desert southwest, but yet the Pinnacles have unique and intriguing features that can only be found there. Chapparal dominates the landscape along with blue oak in the riparian areas and stately gray pines growing amidst the rock pinnacles.
The Northeast Face of Middle Palisade is a classic scramble of a California Fourteener within the rugged Palisades subgroup of peaks in the High sierra. The route takes you past stunning Finger Lake, with its turquoise glacial water and towering granite slabs. The route then ascends slabs and lots of loose talus on the glacier moraine. The climb itself is a fun third class scramble with superb views of the surrounding area. The whole thing entails about 7,000 feet of vertical gain and 16 miles roundtrip. I completed the route in 7:46 roundtrip, starting at 5:45 am and finishing just after 1:30 pm. There is no FKT information for this mountain, although Hans Florine did it in 8:36 roundtrip as part of his climb of all the fourteeners in 1998. I imagine somebody has done it faster and without the fatigue from the Stanford Loop the day before and knowledge of the route, I think a time somewhere near 6 hours flat would be possible.
DONE! 38 hrs 32 mins. Respect Kilian 6 hrs 20 mins less than the previous record hold by T2 (Tim Twietmeyer), which already was an outstanding performance!
UPDATE – 9/29 – (from Salomon) -
Dicks pass 11.30am PDT – Kilian is 30 hrs and 30 mins after he left Tahoe. He still has 60 km to go, with 208km (129 mi) behind him. He definitely has step up the pace, since he’s 30 mins behind his 40 hour timing – including one hour lost during the night and two hours of sleep.
My comments – Record is in the bag (sub 45 hrs); sub 40 schedule is on the edge. I find it interesting that he slept for 2 hours – its a different style – running harder with more rest. What I really find surprising is taking a wrong turn and losing 8 km and one hour … I would think that what his pacer is supposed to be taking care of.
Euro style sponsored adventure running comes to the States!
Kilian Jornet started the Tahoe Rim Trail this morning. He will be paced the entire distance, with full support including media. You can follow it live on the Salomon site. Adam Chase is writing the updates now that the team is Stateside, so we can tell what is actually taking place, rather than the breathless but contentless hyperbole that was coming out of France.
The goal is sub 40 hours; should be no problem if he adjusts to the dry air and stays hydrated.
A little different style than Brett’s recent JMT record. All good.
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