Moments in Dirt and Ink

Los Padres National Forest Click for map. This is another bit of volunteer trail work hosted and organized by the Los Padres Forest Association . It is a little longer with groups coming in Friday morning or Saturday morning, all leaving on the holiday Monday except one hiking out earlier. Food and BEvERages are provided with a dedicated cook for the preparation. Since we can drive in, it can be quite elaborate. I opted to come in on Friday. Friday We gather at the Lower Manzana Trailhead at 8AM. From here, there is the option of hiking in while others carry any gear and a few people take that opportunity. At least one is even going to try out Hurricane Deck for their route in. The rest of us collect into a reduced number of high clearance 4x4 vehicles to travel the private road that accesses the ranches near the Manzana Schoolhouse. This is something quite new to us since in general the public has no access, not on foot and especially not on bike, to this road. It is rou...

Los Padres National Forest Click for map. This volunteer trail work trip was actually advertised as in Blue Canyon, around who's edges the Thomas Fire lapped its greedy tongues but ultimately left. That may come, but for now we are actually along (north) Cold Spring and Forbush. Workers could go in Friday night or Saturday morning and I chose the morning. We work Saturday, mostly, and come out Sunday. The roads along the edges of the burn are closed, so we gathered at the road block at the top of Gibraltar Road to drive in along Camino Cielo to Cold Spring Saddle, then gather up tools and take off into the green side of things. Saturday But first a look at the burn scar to the south. It was astonishing in its completeness over some areas as we drove in. Other areas were mysteriously left. The high part of Cold Spring Trail as it reaches the saddle from the south. Montecito Peak has been scoured by the flame. Loaded down with a few tools and our overnight gear,...

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2 The night on the ridge line was wonderful and calm and warm with stars from ear to ear... or that is how smiles go. Anyway, there were a lot of stars to see with only one tiny bit of civilization glowing with its own stars. Well, not as many as there could be with the big moon. It is nice as the light brightens in the morning too. The warmth makes it easy to get up with that light. Looking back up the ridge and trail. Those sycamores I was looking for on Saturday are visible in the canyons on either side of me and even some in the tributaries. There should be water down there. Accessibility is another question. It is a gentle downhill the rest of the way along the ridge until a post marked with a message of "1.8" (miles, presumably) and "1300 feet down" with the "down" written vertically to help the reader understand the word. There was another, less perfect, site before the post,...

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2 Everything just looks a little hotter, so I think this 3 day, 30 mile plan will require more water than the one I just pulled off in Agua Tibia Wilderness. Although it looks more likely there could be water here, the map indicates all streams are seasonal. Since I could get no information on either water or the state of the Bluewater Trail, marked as unmaintained on the wilderness map, I have to plan as though there is no water and Bluewater could be difficult travel or navigation. The result of sitting down with the map and some mileage information that is helpfully supplied on the trailhead sign is to cut off 5 miles and the unmaintained part so that travel will be more certain and it is doable in 2 days. This leaves me confident enough to leave one bag of camping water, but none of the hiking water. Starting water weight is still 20 pounds and am considering this a rather minimal amount. Water plannin...

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. I arrived at Morgan Trailhead and started stomping up and down the first few hundred feet of trail and glaring at the gentle rolling hills covered in short chaparral. I was pacing, really, wondering if I really want to do this again. Do I want to load up my pack with three days of water, again, to hike another dry wilderness? One that looks a fair bit hotter than the last as I will be losing elevation along the way rather than climbing and the elevations here are lower overall. Maybe I should just drop it and go home. Still, I had the whole afternoon. When planning, I had noticed I could hike a nearby peak and thought I might if I had time after. It is only about 2 miles, so I have time today. I could at least get something out of being at the trailhead and gain a little more perspective on what is here. Surely there is a bit more than gentle rolling hills covered in low chaparral. A hidden sign found shortly after finding the unmar...

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Morning is lovely. At least it is as I wander over to the first spot of a northerly view while getting breakfast ready. There is not much long view from the camp site. There is a mist playing in the valleys, especially around the tall mountains. Thomas Mountain is no longer producing a streak on the sky because they have put out the controlled burn for the weekend. I pack up and head out for some more expansive views as the mist slowly rises. A little piece of that view from Dripping Springs Trail. The trail is still a little brushy, but not so imposing that it forces a stooped walk or anything like that. Everything from the southerly viewpoint, up past the junction sign, on down is clearly hiked a lot more than the trail above that. The few bits of brushy open up further as I go down, especially as things dry out. Thin early morning mists everywhere.

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 It was a mild night and with the sunrise, I can have breakfast in bed. Or actually, make breakfast in bed, but then pack up my gear while the pistachio pudding full of coconut and chia seeds "refrigerates" in the morning chill. My water looks so low. I used 4 of 2.5 liters for the hike up. There is still enough to go up Eagle Crag, and then I will be right back here and can evaluate it again. Perhaps if I can hike it with just the water left over from the second bag of water, then it will be fine, so I set that line and eat my breakfast. The new view I hiked to last night. The only city lights were in that blue distance. Eagle Crag, the goal for the day, stands in shadow against the brightening sky. I toss in another bag of water and what I need for day hiking. With my gear and extra water tucked away, I am ready to hike nearby Eagle Crag. I still see none of the poodledog tha...

Cleveland National Forest Click for map. DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3 Researching the Agua Tibia Wilderness, I found it may be a rather tough backpack. Its namesake looks to be very difficult to obtain from anywhere. It looks like my most likely chance is a stream that I will come to while technically outside of the wilderness. There are a couple springs on the map, but they seem rather close to some black squares of buildings. Looking on satellite, there do seem to be a couple of homes next to these possible sources. As if to drive the point home, my permit specifically calls out for the respect of private property in the "special notes" section. That eliminates the best bet. I will have to carry all my water for three days. I have found and filled a total of five Platypus bags to take. One to hike, one to camp, one to hike, one to camp, and one to hike. Camping actually takes less than one and hiking down will not need so much either, but the other two hi...