Hiking from Bottchers Gap to Double Cone, Ventana Wilderness
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The Double Cone
(1479 m)
is located in one of the most remote regions of the Ventana Wilderness.
Whichever way you go, keep in mind that this area is famous for gorges. The property of gorges is that the walls are extremely steep. Things you shouldn't forget on these hikes: insect repellent, gloves, and something to wipe out sweat. From Bottcher's Gap via Pat's SpringsTrailhead: the end of Palo Colorado Rd. Take Hwy 1 south from Carmel, and (after about 20 kms) turn left into Palo Colorado Rd (just after Rocky Point Rd). The road is paved but very narrow and winding. The campground is at the very end. There is a fee ($12 in 2008) to camp. The trailhead to the Pat Springs route (the only one that has an official trail to Double Cone) is *not* the very visible fire road (usually gated) but the trail that leads to the walk-in campsites. During the day it's very easy to spot the sign "Skinner Ridge Trail". The trail gains elevation very quickly to reach a summit with the first views of the wilderness on the northern side. The Ventana Double Cone is actually visible from Bottcher's Gap to the southwest. From this summit the trail descends a bit and starts climbing to Devil's peak. The terrain here is completely different: rocky instead of foresty. This is also one of the few spots where shade is minimal. Then the trail descends again (there is an unmarked junction about 500m after the peak, and you have to continue going down the ridge, i.e. a shart 90 degree right turn, instead of heading straight into the forest) and later rises a third time to the eastern ridge near Pat's Spring. Note: as you approach the creek there are two junctions (about 2kms from each other) that take to Big Pines and it is not obvious how to stay on the trail to Double Cone. If you know the direction where the Double Cone is, it's intuitive, otherwise it's not. (Generally speaking, you don't want to leave the ridge). Also, if you end up at Pat's Spring itself (running drinkable water), it's a dead end and you have to backtrack and find the real trail, which is approximately orthogonal (90 degree left) to the creek. Overall, by the standards of the Ventana Wilderness, the trail is mostly in good conditions (may 2009) except for the occasional overgrown vegetation and a couple of places after Pat's Spring where the trail is hard to follow. Just stay on the ridge heading towards the Double Cone. The 2008 fires cleared a lot of vegetation and made it easy to bypass obstacles on the trail. Unfortunately it also burned down the signs at most of the junctions (not that they were all that useful). Very few people venture to the end of the Double Cone trail (the summit register listed no visitors between may 2008 and may 2009) but the trail towards the end is actually in much better conditions, a wilderness highway. There is a series a false summits. You know that you are almost there when you see a solar-powered anthenna on the right. The trail physically dead ends at the lookout. Here you have a 360 degree view of the wilderness.
In theory one could return via the Tin House. South of Double Cone the trail in theory continues towards a Tin House that has long been abandoned (the trail does not actually reach the Tin House, it just heads in that direction). If you are lucky, from the Tin House you can find a faint use trail that heads west towards the trail that heads north to Bottcher's Gap. That trail improves rapidly and, after passing Pico Blanco (very visible to the south) reaches Bottcher's Gap.
From Pfeiffer Park via Mt ManuelFrom Pfeiffer Park you can take the Mt Manuel trail to Mt Manuel (3.5 hours). From Mt Manuel a ridge connects to the other side of the canyon (creeks descend both sides of the canyon, going north or south). The ridge is not easy to cross even after the 2008 fire (lots of bushwacking required). Follow the tributary that comes down from northeast (Ventana Creek). That creek leads you to Double Cone. You should start seeing the concrete cube that is the Ventana Double Cone lookout. My suggestion is to climb the northern ridge that is to the west of the Double Cone. (If you climb the ridge to the right/south, you'll have a bad surprise: there is a huge canyon between that ridge and the Double Cone). With some luck (or a good GPS) you will hit the trail coming from west that easily takes to the top. This took me almost 11 hours, so the long route via Pat Spring is faster.The route below was born as a variation on this one, and it seemed to work a lot better, except that it involves crossing the Big Sur river. Be aware that both of them are very strenuous routes: they involve two very steep climbs going up and one steep climb coming down. From Big Sur Station via Ventana CampThis one might be the fastest way to get to Double Cone from any trailhead. Alas, it involves wading the Big Sur river.Drive to Big Sur Station, 40 km south of Carmel (23 km south of Pico Colorado turnoff), 6 km south of Andrew Molera State Park and 1km south of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on hwy 1. This is the trailhead for the popular Sykes Hot Springs. Watch out for the bureucracy: the "daily" parking permit is good only until 3pm... This trail to Sykes Hot Springs basically climbs the southern side of the same gorge that the Mt Manuel trail climbs to the north. You will see the Mt Manuel trail all the time on the opposite wall of the gorge. The advantage of being on the south side is that you don't need to gain as much elevation before you descent. About 1.5 hours into that hike, you reach the turnout for the Ventana Camp. This is not marked anymore because the trail is unmaintained. I put a cairn there but chances are that the rangers will remove it. Just calculate about 1.5 hours and keep looking to your left. The turnoff is exactly where the trail starts heading south. Take that "trail" downhill. It used to go to Ventana Camp but the camp does not exist anymore. You will probably lose the trail and then find it again, because it is wildly overgrown. Eventually the landscape clears out but the slope gets very steep. You reach the creek in 30 minutes or so. Wade the creek (water up your knee even in a dry summer). Now you are in the middle of a gorge, with steep walls on both sides. In front of you is the southern side of a colossal and extremely steep ridge that separates you from the Double Cone. The choices are grim. The first one is to follow the river downstream, and then turn right into its northern tributary and then turn right again into the tiny northeastern tributary (Ventana Creek). This is the favorite route because the north side of the ridge has a lot less bushwhacking. Then just follow the drainage northeast (the Ventana Creek comes down from the Double Cone region). Alas, this route works only if the river is low, so that there are many little beaches to walk on. The second choice is to climb the ridge: be aware that it is an extremely strenuous climb, and it will involve some bushwhacking. The soil is loose and you may easily fall down. When you get to the top of the ridge, you might be lucky and hit a gentle use trail that follows the drainage. The third option is to do a mix of the two, but the slope is so steep that this option might involve some serious falls. Whichever way you bypass the ridge, once on the other side continue hiking in the northeastern direction following the creek upstream and you're de facto hiking towards the Double Cone (very visible from the top of the ridge). You are technically only 4 kms from the top but another devastating climb awaits you. I think the left side of the gulch is the easiest (the Double Cone is on the right side) because there is a relatively gentle slope taking to the top of that ridge. So cross the creek (which at this point is just a series of tiny waterfalls and rapids) to the northern side and start ascending its northern bank. (A direct ascent of Double Cone seemed way too steep to me). You are now on the ridge west of Double Cone. If you are lucky, at the top of that ridge, you'll recognize a trail that runs west to east. Follow it east (right) and you should reach the much better and unmistakable trail that comes up from Bottchers gap. In five minutes you reach the lookout of the Double Cone. 
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Other recommended hikes in the Ventana Wilderness:
Poison Oak warning: anywhere at low altitude poison oak is a major annoyance. You *will* be touching poison oak. So i recommend long-sleeve shirt, long pants, and wash yourself in cold water after the hike. Tick warning: ticks are ubiquitous. Another reason to cover your body. Water warning: there is usually no water in the Ventana Wilderness. |