Sykes Camp

Sykes Campground
Big Sur River at Sykes Hot Springs
Location	Monterey County, California
Coordinates	36°14′55″N 121°41′08″W / 36.2485736°N 121.6855045°W / 36.2485736; -121.6855045[1]Coordinates: 36°14′55″N 121°41′08″W / 36.2485736°N 121.6855045°W / 36.2485736; -121.6855045[1]
Elevation	1,080 feet (330 m)
Type	Backcountry
Land	Los Padres National Forest/Ventana Wilderness
Campsites	7
Facilities	Fire rings, single box latrine
Water	Big Sur River, purification required
Fee	None
Fires	During fire season, permit required
Season	Year round (currently closed)

Sykes Camp (closed as of September 2018) is located 10 miles (16 km) from the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park trailhead along the Pine Ridge Trail. There are seven campsites along both sides of the Big Sur River, both upstream and downstream from where the trail intersects the river. There is a pit toilet downstream of this intersection.

Description

The 10 miles (16 km) hike from the coast is strenuous. When the camp site was open, there were three small man-made pools carved out of the southern hillside about .25 miles (0.40 km) downstream from where the trail intersects the river. The largest of the hot springs pools was about 8 feet (2.4 m) across and a about 2 feet (0.61 m) deep, suitable for about four adults. The temperature was 100 °F (38 °C) depending on rain.^[2] The pools were fed by a natural hot springs above the slope^[3] before they were wiped out by the heavy rains during the 2017-18 winter.^[3][4]

Overuse issues

Sykes Camp is within the Ventana Wilderness and alongside the protected Big Sur River. The challenging trail to the camp from the coast has been littered with abandoned backpacks and tents, bras, jackets, food wrappers, water bottles, and toilet paper.^[5][4] The campsite and hot springs were at times very crowded, especially on holidays and weekends. Over 200 people have been counted camping near the river, although there are only seven officially designated campsites designed to host 20 visitors and a single pit toilet. Some visitors report that improperly buried human waste is readily visible.^[4]

The man-made tubs were illegal impoundments that are inconsistent with the intention of a wilderness experience.^[3] The U.S. Forest Service has proposed asking rangers or volunteers to remove, and discouraging visitors from rebuilding, the containment structures when they wash out after winter rains.^[6]

The hot tubs have been characterized by the Ventana Wilderness Alliance as "an attractive nuisance" that required an undue amount of time and attention of the U.S.Forest Service and volunteers due to ongoing needs for visitor education, fire restriction enforcement, and the chronic need to clean-up after careless visitors and pack out hundreds of pounds of trash and abandoned gear.^[3]

Many visitors to Sykes are unaware that unlike state parks, the wilderness camp site does not provide garbage service. Unprepared for the difficult hike, they abandon trash and gear at Sykes, which encourages others to do the same. Richard Popchak of the Ventana Wilderness Alliance reported that, "The U.S. Forest Service is woefully underfunded and understaffed. In the Monterey Ranger District, they have not employed a Wilderness Ranger since the 1980s."^[4]

Closure

The Pine Ridge Trail was closed during the Soberanes Fire in June 2017 and was severely damaged by the fire and rain during the following winter. As of August 2018, the trail was blocked by multiple washouts along creeks and dozens of fallen trees across the path. Reopening the trail requires an environmental assessment and perhaps re-routing the trail entirely. The trail is closed indefinitely.^[7] Entering the closed areas can result in a penalty of $5,000 and/or six months in jail.^[8]

References