Dayhike from the Bottchers Gap trailhead to the Little Sur River camp and the Pico Blanco Summit


Pico Blanco limestone/marble (for the geologically inclined)
(originally posed on the VWA forum by riverprowler@aol.com)

Limestone is a general, inclusive term for all sedimentary rocks that have formed through the organic precipitation of calcium carbonate by aquatic organisms. This includes chalk, coquina, lithographic limestone, argillaceous limestone, dolomite, etc. (dolomite is just regular limestone in which some of the calcium has been replaced by magnesium). Marble is metamorphosed, crystalline limestone. For building purposes, the commercial term "marble" is used for any lime carbonate rock that is capable of taking a polish (thus including some regular limestones).

The Pico Blanco deposit consists of two bodies of crystalline limestone (marble) known as the Pico Blanco body and the Hayfield body. The Pico Blanco body forms the bulk of the mountain, including the peak itself, while the Hayfield body blankets the lower south slope of the mountain. Both bodies consist of white or nearly-white coarsely crystalline limestone composed almost entirely of calcite, with minor amounts of quartz and graphite. The marble is low-grade, so it wouldn't be useful as a building material, but because of its purity, it could have been mined for cement or other metallurgical uses. Similar deposits are scattered throughout the Santa Lucias, but on a much smaller scale.

As others have pointed out, Granite Rock was denied permission in the past to quarry the mountain since it is visible from Highway 1 and thus under the purview of the Coastal Commission. But as we all know, political priorities can change. Granite Rock's continued ownership of the mountain is an indication of their perpetual interest in the potential value of this limestone "reserve". We should all support any effort to add this remarkable peak to the Ventana Wilderness.