Monterey County Highpoint Trip Report
Junipero Serra Peak (5,862 ft)
Date: April 17, 2011
Author: James Barlow
After dinner in King City, I made my way towards Sulphur Springs and Milpitas Roads.
I turned right onto Sulphur Springs Road from CR-G14 (Jolon Rd) and there it was -
a locked gate blocking access courtesy of the Army. Damn. Well, the atlas shows
another way around through Jolon. I made the quick drive to "Jolon"
and turned right towards the base on Mission Road.
You pass through an unguarded open Army checkpoint which states that through-traffic
is open to the public. Right as it appears that you are reaching the base,
the road swings wildly to the left and parallels the base on the west.
You quickly hit a "T"-junction where you can turn left on to Nacimiento-Ferguson Road
which leads to PCH or right towards the base. I chose right as my car GPS showed that
I was nowhere near a road as this road must be pretty new.
The road which seems like the bottom of Del Venturi Road starts to head towards
the objective and is then met by "Military Personnel Only" signs.
Now, this is kind of a grey area for me. I'm in the Navy with an ID card and all,
so technically, this means I can go here, but... I really don't have any official
business going there, so... I figured that my CO did not want a wake-up call
from the Army on my behalf, so I headed back to the main gate to the base.
I have the above-mentioned ID card and a base decal on my car, so I can access
the base without any problems. I asked the gate guards how to get to Del Venturi
or Milpitas Roads to access the National Forest to the north.
They said that technically I could go through the gate and on to the base proper
and access Milpitas Road, however, my fellow sailors were conducting training
in that area, and it was temporarily off limits. Now, for most people,
even if there were no training occurring, this is not really an option.
The guards advised me to drive back west on Nacimiento-Ferguson Road and turn right
on to Vasquez Road, which would lead to Del Venturi Road after a short bit.
They were correct, and I was on my way.
So, from Mission Road in Jolon, head north to the "T"-intersection with
Nacimiento-Ferguson Road. Turn Left away from the base gate.
After about 3-4 miles (I didn't clock it), turn right on to Vasquez Road.
After another few miles, Vasquez ends at a "T"-junction with Del Venturi.
Turn left and head up Del Venturi.
There is a higher stream crossing right before
Del Venturi merges with Milpitas Road. This stream crossing could be closed
by the Army due to high run-off for safety reasons, so you may want to
call ahead to check: (831) 386-2690 or fhl-pao@conus.army.mil or the
hunting/fishing division of the base at (831) 386-2677 or huntnfish@us.army.mil.
Between these numbers and emails, you should get good beta on the road conditions
leading to the National Forest.
Once you cross the cement stream crossing (easily navigated in my low clearance Yaris),
you are pretty much at the boundary of the National Forest.
The road to this point is near perfect pavement. Above here, the road is still paved
and perfectly fine, just a little more bumpy. The trailhead is on the right side
of the road as alluded to in many previous trip reports and the Suttle book.
Just beyond the Santa Lucia trailhead is the Nat'l Forest Campground.
At the far end of the campground, the road further up the mountain is closed.
Make a note: As of April 2011, there is NO WAY to continue north to intersect
with County Road G-16 which runs between Carmel Valley and Greenfield.
You could probably hike it if you really wanted to, but the road is gated-off
and impassable to all motorized traffic!!
So, attempting to reach the Santa Lucia trailhead from the north
(i.e. Greenfield and/or Carmel Valley) is a NO GO.
Anyway, I made camp a few miles below the campground as my camp usually consists
of a foam pad and sleeping bag on the ground.
I awoke at 5 am, hit the snooze button once or twice, ate breakfast,
and made the 5 minute drive back to the trailhead only to find that one other car
had beaten me to the trailhead. Wow, another early bird. I started out along the trail.
There is actually a junction of sorts just a few hundred yards down the trail.
At least it looked like a Y-split to me. Anyway, if you run into this a few hundred yards
into your hike, bear left.
The trail is very easy to follow and the "Lucia Lookout 4 miles" sign that appears
after 2 miles of walking is half burned and on the ground next to the post
that once held it. You can't read the "Lucia Lookout 4 miles" portion,
but I assume that is what it once said as described in the Suttle book.
Not too far past here the trail heads up an exposed slope that would suck to climb
in the sun. Luckily, the early bird gets the shade and I breezed right up it.
I would recommend the same for other spring, summer, or fall hikers.
I ran into the couple whose car was at the TH as the trail hits the ridge
and follows the ridge to the northeast for a while. They had taken a break here
and I did the same just above them. After about 10 minutes enjoying the beauty
in every direction, I was back on my feet and summit-bound. I caught up to them
in a section where the trail seems to fade away to the north side of the ridge.
It does not, so stick to the SE side of the ridge here.
After 2 minutes of teamwork, we were all back on the trail.
I did not even notice this section on the descent, so it only sent us all
off-route on the ascent.
The trail is great until it begins the final push to the summit from the north
after you crest the ridge with views back towards Soledad. There is a bunch of deadfall
which is easily passed on the uphill side, but then the trail is a bit overgrown
from here for about 1/3 of a mile to 1/2 a mile when it gets into the tall pine trees
with no undergrowth near the summit lookout tower.
The tower platform has collapsed, but the stairs go all the way up and were sturdy enough
to hold a 160 pound adult with a camera long enough for a few pics.
I then made my way over to the real summit, past the metal pipe noted in the Suttle book.
The former shelter is completely destroyed as a result of the fire from ?2008?2009?
I don't really know when. The summit register is on a nice brick platform,
courtesy of Gilbert Anderson. I signed in, perused the names, ate lunch,
aired out my feet, and took in the view.
Following all of that, I made my way back to the saddle north of the summit
past the overgrown sections and deadfall. I decided to bag the next peak to the north -
why not, it's there. I found a register on top with summit entries from
1978, 1984, 1991, 1997 (I think), 2001, and me right here in 2011.
Half of those ascents were from Gilbert Anderson alone.
Infrequently climbed sub-peak of its famous neighbor for sure...
On my hike back down, I ran into a rattlesnake sunning itself across the trail
right below the sunny section when you are about to break back into the forest
near the creek. Naturally it was in a section where I couldn't just go around
without bushwhacking. Now, I know that a stretched out snake cannot strike
(it needs to be coiled), and I was able to get within 7 or 8 feet of it,
but the idea of getting a running start and jumping over a rattler
just didn't sit right with me. I ended up diverting through the bushes
to the left and probably past a whole nest of rattlers in doing so,
but I left it to enjoy a sunny Sunday afternoon as I made my way down to the car.
Naturally I capped off the trip with getting my feet all wet in a marshy section
of the trail less than 1/2 a mile from the car, and I was down.
2 hrs 50 min to the summit, about the same heading down since I made a
side trip to Peak 5,642.
Overall, a classic hike through a number of diverse vegetation zones.
This area is recovering well from the fire.
Now, my choice was clear: Get home at a decent hour by driving through Jolon to
US-101 and on to home or.... over Nacimiento-Ferguson Road to take the scenic route
along the Pacific Crest Highway (PCH) to San Luis Obispo and then home a little later.
Well, I was already all the way up here, so PCH here I come. I saw a sign as I drove
into Hunter-Liggett stating that PCH north of Big Sur was closed. I didn't really care,
I was not going to Monterey. So, I made my way over the windy road
(spending at least 15 minutes behind some *^!% poking along in a mini-van) and to PCH.
The views are magnificent; and this section of coast highway has to be the best
I have ever encountered. I headed south, noting the near absence of other traffic.
I found out why in about 10 miles. The road to the south is closed due to landslides.
I must have mis-read the sign the night before as I drove past Hunter-Liggett.
Crap, I would have to go up to Big Sur and Monterey to get home.
That would take some time.... I was at a scenic pull-out and chatted with some guys
from the base who were there too. They had spotted my DoD decal and asked how I ended up
all the way up there from 29 Palms. I told them about the joys of CoHP peakbagging
and how it can take you to places you would have never otherwise hiked.
They didn't seem too into the idea of CoHPing, but did inform me that the road
to the north of Big Sur was closed for sure as they had driven that direction
earlier and were now just enjoying the coast between the 2 closed areas.
Great - another hour back over Nacimiento-Ferguson Road to Hunter Liggett
and right back where I had started. At least I got to enjoy this short stretch of PCH.
After another drive back over the mountains, I made it to Jolon and then on to
Paso Robles for dinner and gas. I got home pretty late, but overall it was a wonderful trip.
To summarize in 75 words or less:
From Jolon, head north on Mission Road to Nacimiento-Ferguson Road. Turn left.
Go a few miles to Vasquez. Turn right. Vasquez ends in a "T"-junction at Del Venturi.
Turn left. Follow all the way to trailhead on right once you enter the Nat'l Forest.
Careful: road past NF campground over the mountain to Soledad is closed.
Stream crossing on Ft Hunter Liggett may be closed if there is a lot of runoff.
Call ahead.
Stats:
Original Plan: 1 CoHP that is also a P2k and HPS Peak, plus 3 other HPS peaks (the Big 4)
Plan B: 3 CoHPs and a lot of driving
Actual: 2 CoHPs, some other random sub-peak, and a lot of driving
Number of times I had a wrench thrown in plans A, B, or C by road conditions or closures: 4
(well 5 if I had decided to go home via Monterey)
Vertical gain for the weekend: 5,857 feet
Miles hiked: ~25
Worst smell I have ever been exposed to: feed lot outside Bakersfield on the way home
where the air was so thick with shit that I could barely drive along the road.
Number of Army bases that are the best ever for access, boosting the local economy
by drawing hikers, fishermen, hunters, tourists, campers, and more: 1 (Ft Hunter-Liggett we love thee)
Number of phone numbers obtained from awesome hiker girls: 0
Number of not-so-subtle Suttle book references in one long-ass trip report: 9
Number of words that one jackass can cram into a trip report about a day hike up a trail: 2,886
Number of words that are actually useful to future hikers: 73
People who think I am a witty writer and/or story teller: 2 or 3 at best, maybe more after the first round of drinks...
Number of awesome cohp.org webmasters who will put this one up on the site: 1 (Thanks Adam!)