[trailcrew] Crew Gets Some Press

[Boon Hughey]

http://www.carmelpinecone.com/061229-5.html


Volunteers tackle impassable trails in Big Sur backcountry

By CHRIS COUNTS

Published: December 29, 2006


AFTER REOPENING a trail from the remote Santa Lucia Memorial Park 
campground (near Fort Hunter Liggett) to the Coast Ridge Trail, the 
Ventana Wilderness Alliance is now setting its sights on a network of 
trails that surrounds one of the most dramatic natural landmarks along 
the Big Sur Coast, Cone Peak.

Despite frequent criticisms that the U.S. Forest Service tries to buy up 
more land while neglecting upkeep on the parks it already has, trails in 
the Ventana Wilderness section of Los Padres National Forest are 
actually getting better. And nobody is more responsible for completing 
the sweaty, backbreaking work than the VWA.

“We think people need to get into the wilderness,” explained the group’s 
president, Tom Hopkins. “To value and respect the wilderness, people 
need to experience it. That’s why the trail system is so important.”

A meal fit for a king

A section of the trail from the Santa Lucia campground had been 
impassable since a 1999 wildfire. Rehabilitation began almost two years 
ago and wrapped up the weekend of Sept. 23 when seven volunteers graded, 
cut back brush, repaired erosion and removed 14 downed trees, including 
a sizable 28-inch specimen.

“The project is a great example of what happens when everyone works 
together,” commented Paso Robles resident Dave Knapp, VWA trail crew 
coordinator.

The work site was inaccessible to vehicles, but thanks to the support of 
the forest service’s mule team, volunteers were able to relax in 
relative luxury at the end of each day’s hard work. Wine, cheese, chili 
verde over rice, pasta, chips and guacamole, and homemade chocolate chip 
cookies were provided to the weary workers.

Ambitious project aims as high

Standing more than 5,200 feet tall, Cone Peak is considered the highest 
coastal mountain in the United States (outside Alaska and Hawaii). A 
network of hiking routes — including the Vicente Flat, Stone Ridge, 
Gamboa and Cone Peak trails, as well as portions of the North Coast 
Ridge Trail — surrounds the dramatic mountain. Unfortunately, many 
stretches of the trail network are in poor shape. But an ambitious 
project proposed by the VWA could change that.

The project — which will require paying a forest service blasting crew 
to remove several particularly stubborn trees — is still in the planning 
stages, but Hopkins is confident his group will get the OK from local 
forest service officials who are concerned about the impact any project 
might have on rare plants and archeological resources.

“We hope to be working on the project by spring,” he said, despite the 
lack of federal support for backcountry trails.

“It’s frustrating,” said Hopkins of the lack of federal funding for 
local public lands. “Congress won’t give [the local ranger district] the 
money to do their job. They have half the personnel they had 20 years 
ago, and arguably, they are dealing with more issues now.”