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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Big Sur's Ventana Wilderness


Within the Los Padres National Forest, in the Santa Lucia Mountains, presides the Ventana Wilderness. In the midst of great population masses, it is 161,000 wild acres with nearly no humans. This place of profound beauty and wondrous geology is a great treasure.

Santa Lucia Mountains in the west rise sensually, sharply out of the Pacific. On the eastern side, out of the great Salinas Valley they climb mystically to form a dramatic, brooding backdrop. In-between these two stirring displays, the Santa Lucias are a wooded, magical highlands. Oak valleys, Redwood fog forests, spring fed wetlands, marble peaks, steep canyons, bubbling streams, naturally sculpted rock shows.

Redwoods grow on the foggy canyon slopes facing north. Forests of Tanbark Oaks and venerable Madrones and Manzanitas give way to towering pines. Ponderosas and cedars in the higher elevations. Santa Lucia Firs, found only here, grow in remote and rocky places in a range only 12 miles wide and 55 miles long.
Found in Big Sur, the Ventana Wilderness is a mixture of mountains, lowlands and California trees This canyon oasis has gained a national reputation among birdwatchers as "a usual spot to see the unusual." At least 235 species of birds have been observed here, including the rare yellow-billed cuckoo, listed by California as a threatened species, and the endangered least Bell's vireo. The stream is a lifeline to migrating and breeding birds such as indigo buntings and yellow-breasted chats.

Major fires in recent years and cutbacks in funding for trail maintenance have conspired to reduce access to this Big Sur back country. Hikers can enjoy 400 miles of the planet's most scenic trails. Most of the Wilderness was burned in a series of wild fires in September and October, 1999, and most trails suffered degradation.

As home to a vast variety of evergreen and hardwood trees, the Santa Lucia Range in the Ventana Wilderness is a botanical wonder. Nearly half of all the flora in California grows in the Santa Lucias. Some grow only here, and many of the northern and southern California flora mix only here. Only in a Big Sur ravine will redwoods and yuccas thrive together.
Scottish botanist David Douglas, in 1831 was the first to botanize the Santa Lucia fir. It is rare and endemic. To avoid fire it grows on the steep rocky slopes of the Lucia mountains. He was the first, also, to list the Sugar Pine found here. It is a huge tree, growing to 150 feet, and is distinct from its cousin in the Sierras. The mighty Ponderosa and Coulter pines prosper here.

This range is the southernmost home for at least 225 plants from the north, and the northernmost home for at least 90 species from the south. There are at least 57 plants that live in the Santa Lucias, and no where else.

This precocious mountain range is but a mere two and a half million years old. So young, one can hear it whimpering and gurgling, and feel it breathing. Steep canyons, rolling meadows, ragged peaks and galleries of picturesque rock crops seem to move about as if in a theatrical production.
The Ventana Wilderness is part of the Santa Lucia range Not so long ago the Santa Lucia range was an island. With the movement of the Pacific plate and the San Andreas Fault, a unique topography has emerged. As a result of this clash, and the ongoing friction of faults directly beneath Big Sur, the geography has been in a protracted state of change. The mountain peaks, now reaching 6,000 feet, are still rising, and may double their elevation eventually.

From rolling, sun baked grasslands to fog-shrouded redwood gulches to wave-beaten Pacific headlands, the northern Santa Lucia Mountains could be considered a “Best of” compilation of California. The wide-variety of soil types, combined with elevations ranging from sea level to 5857’ atop Santa Lucia (Junipero Serra) Peak sustain a diverse mix of plant communities which support and equally diverse bestiary of everything from the regal California condor to diminutive Santa Lucia Mountains slender salamander.
The Carrizo Trail is one of the most historically  important trails in the Ventana Wilderness. Prior to  the completion of Highway 1 in 1937, many of the south coast Big Sur homestead families used the  Carrizo Trail as their main connection with civilization at Jolon and King City in the Salinas Valley.
Get back into Big Sur's remote Ventana Wilderness. Starting from Los Padres Dam and ending at China Camp, you can hike through lush river canyons, climb high ridges to panoramic vistas, and spend the Big Surnight at secluded riverside camps.

Bring river shoes, a walking stick, and a swimsuit for the dozens of river crossings and swimming holes on this three-day, two-night backpacking adventure.

Two special highlights: End your first day in Carmel River Camp, at the confluence of Miller Creek and the Carmel River; this shaded campsite is ideal for kicking back, cooling off your feet in the river, and savoring solitude under the stars. On your last day, the 0.7-mile side trail to Pine Falls pays off with a spectacular 50-foot waterfall that plunges into a deep emerald-green swimming hole. Jump in for an invigorating backcountry rush.
 
 
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