Moments in Dirt and Ink

Los Padres National Forest Link to map. The trail just wanders through some beautiful country and an approximate plan was hatched quite some time ago to see it. Putting the finishing touches on it, I dropped off my bike at the crest of the road by La Cumbre Peak and parked the car at the top of Arroyo Burro. The bike will take care of most of the paved road walking very well and extraordinarily easily. The Glass Factory is already booming with a large variety of explosions from five or six groups of target shooters. Slow and measured or fast and finishing off a clip, there are all kinds of shooters. About two people notice me as I walk past behind them with my fingers in my ears against the sometimes painful level of noise. Happily, no one is set up on the road or up the hill next to it. There is relative calm past the gate and around the hill as the view quickly opens up. Being up high sure is good for views. A view dominated by Little Pine Mountain with some taller...

Angeles National Forest It was starting to get hot as we finished climbing back up from Atmore Meadows, so it is nice to grab another thousand feet or so and start up Burnt Peak. Again, we are on bicycles. This one starts off downhill and has some steep uphills before more downhill. The objective: Burnt Peak. Getting low and looking back at Sawmill Mountain. Looking west, I can just make out the road down to Atmore Meadows. The final climb starts off steep, but then levels off to a typical road slope. We slowly twist our way to the top.

Angeles National Forest The line on the map has intrigued me, so now is an opportunity to check it out. The road from the saddle is easy enough for high clearance, but the road down to the meadow is marked as closed and unsafe to travel. Without a gate to close, there are plenty of tracks past the sign anyway. The end of truck travel. Take the left fork for the meadows and the right for a closed gate in a few feet. It is clearer today. Looking to the Tehachapi Mountains to the north before heading south. We take the bikes although the road looks fine from here. Although mostly downhill, we have to ride generally uphill to get over a shoulder before getting to the business of dropping to the meadows below.

Angeles National Forest The Powerhouse Fire closure may be expired, but there are still a few closed roads in the area. We decided to take advantage of one for a ride. It will be interesting to see what the fire has done, but most of this one did not actually burn. Finding the bottom to set up a shuttle is difficult as it looks like it is just some driveway in the middle of the town at the north end of Lake Hughes Road. There is some truth to this impression. The road does go to a home, then becomes a washed out mess on the way to the locked gate. There is plenty of room to leave a car there for a shuttle before heading up to the saddle by Burnt Peak to start. The air is a bit hazy today, reducing the views just a bit. We start off with a bit of climbing. A break to the northeast allows a view in that direction. The solar panels look like lakes out in the desert today. The road is getting some travel by those with keys. Even more ridges to the south. Somewhere...

Los Padres National Forest For a second day of geocaching by bicycle, we decided on a bit of dirt that climbs up to an area of many mines, then drops back down again. This is easy to set up a shuttle for because it is nicely paved between the ends. The road is quite another matter. It does say it is easy for motorcycles, ATVs, or Jeeps. For bicycles, it is steep. The start rolls steeply and then it just starts climbing. All through, it is full of big, loose rocks. Trying to climb is frustrating as they slip out from under tires and generally push me about. If it is not rocks, it is sand. All the while, there are plenty of ruts to get caught in. Looking out over Lockwood Valley to Cuddy Valley. There are some advantages to climbing. Some very deep orange and often very short Mariposa lilies seem to live up here.

Los Padres National Forest I stuck around to play on my bicycle in Grade Valley. Bruce wants to try to grab all the geocaches along the way and this is one of the places I can see going ahead and doing that. There are plenty out on Lockwood Road, too, and I cannot see going after those. Luckily, he already has. We got to the top of the Piano Box loop when riding in the afternoon behind the locked gate, so we start there and leave a car at the bottom of the big hill so we do not have to ride back up it. Starting off to bicycle the Piano Box loop. Low and elaborate flowers. There are other things left by man to find in this valley. There are quite a lot of Public Land Survey System markers shown on the map. Noticing a location poster, I just have to see if I can find it. How big was a chain again? 66 feet? The poster is rather sloppy about the location. It is just 1.5 chains "paced" to the NE. It should not be hard to find something roughly 100 feet...

Los Padres National Forest We left a car at the bottom of Quatal the day before and camped out at Toad Springs overnight, so the only thing needed to start the day is to get on our bicycles and ride. Toad Springs has no toilets and no trash service, but there seems to be someone determined to just leave all their trash in the metal fire rings as though those are cans. Someone else left a big garbage bag loosely tied. No toilets means there are a couple areas around the camp that are full of old, used toilet paper. The few sites are surprisingly tight for a forest service campground. It will not be winning any awards for campground quality, but we have it all to ourselves. Overnight, there have been waves of hail. They were short and the actual dropping was not very heavy, but there is certainly some weather to pay attention to. The morning sky looks like it is clearing as the sun gets higher and the light strengthens. It must be right around freezing as there are some ...

Los Padres National Forest I am back at Santa Barbara Canyon, but this time without any keys, to see about reaching Cuyama Peak from the north. I do not really have any expectation of doing so as it is 13-14 miles to get there. The bicycle does not seem to be extending my range much for the day, but maybe it is the stopping for geocaches that is keeping my range down. Bruce is along again, and his goal is the geocaches. We are starting a little later than planned because his navigation thought it would be a good idea to go on the direct route on 9N11 from the highway, a route requiring high clearance, 4 wheel drive, and The Knowledge, rather than the longer route along Foothill which is almost entirely paved and easy to navigate even in your low rider. But leave your low rider, that stuff is only cool in the city and is quite the opposite out here. Besides the rancher taking a couple head off to their destiny and the rest wandering about waiting for their turn, there is no ...

Los Padres National Forest Click for map. The bike gives an opportunity for a two vehicle shuttle with only one car. In some instances, I might even be easier. I decided to try it out in service of walking the whole of Blue Canyon and Forbush Canyon. So up the mountain with bike and pack and stopping at the saddle to drop off the first. Cold Spring Saddle gets a lot of traffic, so it needs to be out of the way and locked to be sure it will still be there. Then down the road past some joggers. The road has gotten rougher with the rains and there are a few land slides and a couple big rocks on it. It is a little better after the gate, but still has some bad spots. I am glad to see the bridge that serves as an easy landmark to find the upper trailhead for Blue Canyon. The road bulges quite a bit right after the bridge for trailhead parking and right in the middle of the bulge, a slapstick marks the top of the trail. I park right next to this and grab up my hiking gear. ...

Los Padres National Forest The night at Dome Springs was quiet once dark came and the not very distant target shooting finished. The morning comes with frost, but it feels like it just barely got there. Dry Canyon For the morning, we just ride down East Dry Canyon from Dome Springs. This is just along a road I have driven, so I elect to leave the camera. It is a simple ride until we elect to head up West Dry Canyon a little way. Once out into the open wash and starting up the little wash, things do become quite photo worthy. They also become very very sandy. Over and over again, little humps and deep sand cause my wheels to suddenly slide sideways leaving my bike tilted and my weight to one side requiring great effort to keep upright. More usually, it requires putting a foot down. Bruce says just drop it into the lowest gear and enjoy myself and I say this is what feet were made for. There is more trail, but once we reach our goal, we are back. It is a little easier ...

Los Padres National Forest Bruce, a geocacher, has been looking for people to mountain bike with and we agreed on heading out to the area high along the Cuyama River for what turned out to be a lot of little trips. Besides wanting someone to ride with, he also seems to relish the idea of showing someone the ropes of pedaling a mountain bike. My own goals for the mountain bike are downright mundane. I see it as something to get me to the more interesting bit of trail when there is a lock on a road or it is just too rough for a small car. Tinta Creek My big goal for the trip is Cuyama Peak with its fallen fire lookout and view. Well, I assume it has a view. My plan to get there is Tinta Creek, which starts off as road, then turns into a motorcycle trail. The climb will finish on another road. For hiking, I rate the road as "flat", the motorcycle trail as "mostly flat", and the further road as "easy climb". For mountain biking, Bruce rates thes...

Ventura County Park Zooming down the 101 and then zooming down the 33, it is odd to just turn a corner and find myself facing a gate in a dark bit of canyon with very little around me. A calf on the road (on the wrong side of the gate) hints at what is to come. The gate is my starting point for a long climb a mere 2200 feet in about ten miles. This should be a better place to try out my new mountain bike. It is a bit long, but I could certainly handle it walking. It is just walking the downhill that I dread. That slow, slight downhill makes my legs want desperately to get it over with and I can definitely get out of it with the bike. Some of the information at the gate at the start. More is on a kiosk to the side. Although the overall climb might not be much, the road does seem to be making a serious start at it. A ditch down the side is full of water, which is not odd considering the recent rains. Everything is wet at the moment. Under it, the dirt is dark with...