The Persistence of Piedra Blanca

 

Until death, it is all life.

~Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote

No matter where you go, there you are.

~The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The plan was...well, there was no specific plan really. We would just make it up as we went along. Let things unfold organically. Go with the flow. Ride the wave. Pierre Joseph Proudhon called it "the fecundity of the unexpected." It's an approach that literally makes my more centered half insane. She bristles at the idea of having no destination, no route, no schedule, no agenda. Me, I don't mind so much. In my daily life, I'm chained to planning and schedules and agendas and calendars and deadlines and meetings and formal processes. So cutting free from that rigidity is liberating. And I've found that things generally work out if you let them. 

So off we went into the forest like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the aging adventurist with his head full of romantic ideas about the outdoors, and his more pragmatic side-kick. We didn't pack much. This was to be a quick and dirty outing. On the way, we stopped for over-night necessities. Burritos from La Casita in Santa Paula, beer from Transmission Brewing in Ventura. Then up the Maricopa Highway.

I've accepted more crowds in the forests these days. Another inconvenience of the pandemic. But on this day, Route 33 was surprisingly and pleasantly quiet. At Rose Valley Road we veered east and descended to the Piedra Blanca Trailhead. Here too, we found less company than we had expected. A good omen on this All Hallows' Eve. 

On the trail, we crossed Lions and Sespe Creek which both still held water this deep into the dry season. At the junction with the Sespe Creek Trail we had options. Right took us east where we might find a nice spot along the creek. Left took us west and then north toward the impressive white sandstone of Piedra Blanca. Wanting an open site with uncluttered views where we could peer deep into the abyss of the universe on this Blue Moon night, we chose the latter route. Our pace was unhurried as we had committed in advance to not go far and just enjoy a leisurely night out. 

At Piedra Blanca, we wandered without agenda up, over, and through the manzanita and white stone until a promising location to put down for the night revealed itself. For those who have ever spent a night in the outdoors with me, this is generally a painful process because of my annoying, idiosyncratic insistence on finding the absolute perfect spot. My propensity to demand campsite flawlessness is so well known by my outdoor companions that it's become a bit of a running joke amongst them. As soon as we get to this part of any trip, the furtive glances and eye-rolling always begins as I scour the surrounding area for a truly transcendent site.   

Much to the chagrin of my companion, I was no different on this occasion, but fortunately the search was short. At the top of an impressive sandstone monolith with big sky views, we found a flat depression large enough for two bags and declared this our home for the evening. Because we were  cowboy camping, set up was easy and soon enough we were hard at work on the beers we had brought  and staring at nothing in particular and everything in general.  

Words are an imperfect medium to communicate the sacred sublimity of this place. True understanding can only be gained by sensing it, feeling it, allowing it to seep into and permeate every fiber of your soul. The indigenous people that previously occupied this land (this is the historical territory of the Ventureno band of the Chumash people) certainly understood this. Or being the overly-romantic character that I am capable of being, so I'd like to imagine.  

As the sun started its descent to the horizon, and dark shadows began creeping across the landscape, we sat in the stillness as the rock turned gold and the sky turned pink. Then, the lights went out completely. And stars twinkled and glinted as diamonds in the infinite black sky. A full moon then rose and it was like daylight once again. And we realized our place in both time and space. Despite what we as a species choose to believe, we're an insignificant pin-prick in the vast, undefinable fabric of the universe; an irrelevant flash along the time-line of infinity. But this immortal place, it has always been and it will always be. That's both a disconcerting and comforting thought. 

The next morning, the sun returned to brilliance, the sandstone shone white, and the cycle of things began once again. We meandered through the area looking for nothing, exploring like children for its own sake. Then it was time to leave, our welcome worn out, our trespass threatening to become conversion. So we packed up and left to return another time with the knowledge that this immutable place will be there. It always has been and always will be. 

Sespe Creek Recon: Searching for Water in all the Wrong Places

Update - March, 2016

Sespe Creek, Piedra Blanca Creek, and Lion Creek are all flowing once again thanks to the winter rains we have had. The flow won't last long, but for now water is moving in all three creek beds with nice, deep pools for swimming forming along the Sespe. Here's a couple of pics from last weekend.

Lion Creek

Piedra Blanca Creek

The Sespe

Sespe Swimming Hole

Sespe Swimming Hole ~ Another View

Can You Tell I Like This Swimming Hole?

Gratuitous View of the Topa Topa Bluffs

Original Post - October, 2015

It may not be readily apparent, but I really do still get out into the amazing playground that is our local mountains. Because of my indolent and slothful ways, however, I've allowed this blog to become a bit hairy, stale and stinky of late. Well I'm going to remedy that right here and now. This thing is getting off the goddamn couch and is going to shave, shower, and dress so that it is at least minimally presentable to all you fine outdoor folks out there who have been patiently waiting in great anticipation for another riveting installment of Wild Southland. Ok, perhaps that overstates things just a wee bit, but for all three of you who actually visit this blog, here's some stuff for you to look at and read.

Sespe Creek Water Recon

A couple of weeks back, I decided to recon Sespe Creek for water. Starting from the Piedra Blanca trailhead, I first traveled west on the Middle Sespe trail for approximately 4 miles. This stretch of trail, which lies outside of the Sespe Wilderness, sees considerably less travel than its counterpart going east. On the day I was out, I saw no one. The trail meanders in and out of a number of drainages as it parallels the Sespe on a relatively level plain that sits above the riverbed which is not always visible. On this section of the trail, I spotted one pool of water in the river below which I attempted to reach by dropping down a dry wash. Those efforts were thwarted when the wash eventually topped-out at some dry falls that were about 25 feet high. I might have been able to down-climb them, but decided against it since I was solo and nobody would know to look for my body in the wash since it wasn't on the itinerary that I had left with my spouse. So I sat in the shade, had a snack, and then headed back up to the main trail.

View North Toward Piedra Blanca and Thorn Point

Thorn Point Up Close and Personal

View West Along the Middle Sespe Trail

Beautiful and Invasive Thistle

View East Down the Sespe from the Middle Sespe Trail

The Pine Mountain Ridge from the Middle Sespe Trail

The Only Pool of Water I Saw Along the Middle Sespe

After striking out along the Middle Sespe, I back-tracked to the junction with the Piedra Blanca Trail and headed east toward Bear Creek trail camp. Here too, I surprisingly had the trail to myself. And just like the Middle Sespe, water was very scare along this stretch as well. I saw one small, stagnant pool between trail junction and Bear Creek, but that was it. Piedra Blanca Creek, which was flowing quite nicely in March, was dust dry.

Bear Creek trail camp was different. The two big pools that sit adjacent to the camp (which was completely empty) had a nice amount of water (and fish) in them. I pulled out a book, popped a beer I had brought along, and savored the silent moment. Fine literature and still cold adult beverages in the wilderness. Does it get any better?

Eventually, I had to pick myself up out of the shade and start heading back. Before I did, however, I decided I needed a couple of pics of the pools to document the fact that there actually is still some water in the dry Ventura County back-country. To get a better vantage, I dropped down near the water's edge and onto a sandstone slab on the edge of the pool. In wetter times, that sandstone had been under water and covered in moss. You couldn't see the moss now that the sandstone was dry, but is was still slick. With camera in hand, and day-pack on, I stepped onto the mossy sandstone and then slowly and reluctantly glided into the pool and up to my neck in the warm water. I was able to keep the camera above the fray, and out of harm's way, but nothing else. Amazingly, after I'd found my footing and removed my pack (which had been fully submerged), I discovered the contents (including my book, wallet, and phone) completely dry. Props to Osprey for making such great gear. If you're in the market for a day-pack, let me recommend the Osprey Talon 22.

Large Pool at Bear Creek Trail Camp

One of the Many Denizens of the Bear Creek Pools

Beautiful Blue Dragonfly

Red Dragonfly-looking Thingy

Aquaculture

Reeds

Second Pool at Bear Creek Trail Camp

The Pool I Slid Into

Sunfish (ID assist to iWalton)

More Sunfish

View West Along the Sespe Trail. Note the Dry Riverbed

View East Toward Bear Creek Trail Camp

Piedra Blanca Formation

So there is still water in the Sespe, just not much. And the water that does exist is pretty much collected in intermittent pools located along the river's course. But there is water in them thar hills if you know where to look. But I'm told you need to be careful about drinking it because it might give you a bellyache.

3 Days Along the Gene Marshall National Recreation Trail

View North Down Beartrap Canyon from the Gene Marshall Trail

This was not what my fellow traveler Chris and I had in mind--a long weekend in the local forest. Instead, we had dreamed of spending a couple of days at 10,000 feet lounging along the shores of Lake Muir and exploring the Cottonwood Lakes Basin in the southern Sierra Nevadas. And we could perhaps be forgiven for naively thinking we could actually pull that off this early in the season given the paltry amount of snow California received this past "winter." But a last minute check with the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor's Center in Lone Pine forced us to scuttle those plans. Despite the absence of snow-pack, Inyo County, we were told, had yet to open the road to Horseshoe Meadows. Foiled again.

So we quickly re-configured and targeted the Gene Marshall National Recreation Trail (the "GMT") which cuts through the heart of the southern Los Padres National Forest. Beginning at its northern terminus near the Reyes Creek campground in the Lockwood Valley, and ending at Lion Campground along Sespe Creek, the GMT is a scenic 18 mile frolic through the riparian canyons and over the forested plateaus of the Pine Mountain ridge. It's not the Sierras, but defaulting to this option certainly wasn't settling for anything. It is a very worthy destination in its own right.



The Gene Marshall National Recreation Trail

Logistically, the GMT can be a bit of a challenge because of its out-of-the-way location and point-to-point configuration. Since we couldn't convince anyone to spend the better part of their day shuttling us to the trailhead, we needed two cars. Because the optimal way to walk the GMT is from north-to-south (the other direction involves a 3,000 foot ascent of the southern, sun exposed ramparts of the Pine Mountain ridge), we dropped a car Lion Campground where the Sespe Trail begins and then drove up the Maricopa Highway to the trailhead near Reyes Creek and Camp Scheideck. Along the way, a very healthy looking coyote and a couple of deer crossed our path. They would be the only wildlife we saw the entire trip.

The initial thought was to spend the first night at Haddock Trail Camp and the second night at Piedra Blanca. But at the recommendation of Los Padres explorer extraordinaire David Stillman, we decided instead to aim for Beartrap Trail Camp the first night and Pine Mountain Lodge the second. As it turned out, it was a good recommendation for a variety of reasons.

First Night's Destination

Second Night's Destination

End of the Trail :(

So on Friday afternoon, we departed the vacant parking area at the Reyes Creek trailhead and began our adventure. The GMT, which is well marked and well maintained here, tracks Reyes Creek as it gently climbs out of the Lockwood Valley foothills into the northern flanks of the Pine Mountain ridge. At an elevation of approximately 3,850, the landscape here was populated by sage, oak, ceanothus, and other flora typical of Southern California inland coastal valleys. Higher up and deeper into the more mountainous recesses of Pine Mountain, we could encounter stately cedars and magnificent ponderosa pine.

Trail View Along Lower Reyes Creek

Climbing Out of Lower Reyes Creek

View North Into Upper Reyes Creek

At about the 3 mile mark, we crested a small saddle and then gave up some elevation as we dropped into forested bowl in which Upper Reyes trail camp is located. The setting, adjacent to Reyes Creek where water was still flowing, is pleasant and scenic and would make a nice destination for a short overnight. The camp was empty except for a newer looking tent that was lying on the ground covered in pine bows and its tent poles. We saw no one around.

 



Reyes Creek

Tent Site at Upper Reyes Creek Trail Camp

Beyond Upper Reyes, the trail climbs again out of the bowl to another small saddle which separates the Reyes Creek drainage from the Beartrap Creek drainage. The trail then drops into lush Beartrap Canyon trail camp which is approximately 1.7 miles from Upper Reyes. The camp, which sits immediately adjacent to Beartrap Creek (which also had flowing water) and came equipped with a fairly elaborate fire rock ring, is flat, gorgeous, and damn luxurious. We were told this spot is quite popular with the scouts, but on this night, we had the run of the place. We quickly established camp and set about building a fire with left-over wood previous camp occupants had charitably left for us. The night was absolutely still and the sky sparkled. We then sat around the fire until the embers died sipping bourbon to stay warm as darkness took over and the temperatures dipped to a chilly 30 degrees.

A note about fires in the Los Padres: before we left, we checked with the forest service's Ojai District office about fires in the backcountry. We were told that for the weekend we were out, fires were permitted in established fire rings with a permit as were backcountry stoves. The permits are available on the forest service's website and can be pulled and printed out on-line. But just because you can have a fire, doesn't mean you should have a fire. On our second night out, the winds came up thus making an open fire a dangerous proposition, particularly in the drought conditions. Despite the cold, we therefore decided against another camp fire.

Trail as it Drops Into Beartrap Canyon



View North Into Beartrap Canyon

Beartrap Trail Camp - Home for the Night

The following morning was glorious as the sun bathed the area in light and warmth. We made coffee, had some grub, and then packed up camp. Beyond camp, the trail ascends Beartrap Canyon following the creek a good portion of the way before stiffly climbing to a saddle that deposits you into the upper Piedra Blanca watershed and the headwaters of Piedra Blanca Creek. Before reaching the saddle, the trail crosses and re-crosses Beartrap Creek a number of times as it winds its way up the canyon under a shady, riparian canopy. As you near the head of the canyon, the character of the landscape changes perceptibly as it becomes dominated by rock formations and evergreens. This is wild and rugged landscape that provides as much quiet and solitude as you can handle. True wilderness.

Breaking Camp at Beartrap

 

Upper Beartrap Creek

Petrified Wood Along Beartrap Creek

Shady Rest Spot in Upper Beartrap Canyon

Over-the-Shoulder View North Back Into Beartrap Canyon

From the divide separating Beartrap Canyon from the upper Piedra Blanca watershed, the trail roller-coasters through a series of valleys for approximately 4 miles until you reach the Pine Mountain Lodge trail camp (which means you're gaining and losing elevation constantly). Along the way, the trail passes through two additional trail camps that provide other over-night options. The first is Haddock camp which sits in a broad meadow adjacent to Piedra Blanca Creek. The second, called Three Mile, is two miles further along and is the more attractive of the two. Sitting immediately adjacent to Piedra Blanca Creek, it is equipped with a picnic table (quite the luxury this far out), a fire ring, shade, and plenty of flat spots for a tent. Easily one of the nicest trail camps I have come across.

Here, we ran into a couple of young fellows who were making their way to Reyes Peak. They had started the morning before a Dough Flat near Fillmore and had spent the night near Piedra Blanca trail camp. They were going to exist at Reyes Peak although it wasn't exactly clear how they were going to accomplish that given the fact that Pine Mountain Road is still closed. Either way, by my reckoning, their first day had to be 25+ miles through some very remote and difficult terrain. Their second day had to involve about 18+ miles with substantial elevation gains. Oh to be young again.

One of the Sites at Haddock Trail Camp

Trail Through the Pines

 

Trail Signage at Three Mile Trail Camp

Three Mile Trail Camp - Super Deluxe

Making Our Way Toward Pine Mountain Lodge

Pine Mountain Lodge is another 1.8 miles further. It is a small camp that sits adjacent to Piedra Blanca Creek about a half mile from where the GMT spills into Piedra Blanca Canyon before dropping 3,000 in 3 miles or so into the lower canyon where Twin Forks and Piedra Blanca trail camps are located. Apparently, there is another Pine Mountain Lodge, the "real" Pine Mountain Lodge, located in a forested bowl just south of the official trail camp. Not knowing exactly where that was, we opted for the official camp which once again we had completely to ourselves. We sipped more bourbon as the sun vanished from view, the temperature dropped, and the winds came up then retreated to our tents for the evening.   

 

Pine Mountain Lodge Trail Camp - Night No. 2

Approaching the Trail Crest Above Piedra Blanca Canyon

View South Into Piedra Blanca Drainage

The next morning, we broke camp as the sun rose so that we could get an early start to avoid the inevitable heat of the Sespe. From Pine Mountain Lodge, the GMT meanders through one last stretch of forest before cresting the ridge and dropping precipitously down Piedra Blanca Canyon. The hills, with their southern exposure, are dry here and are covered with chaparral. That changes dramatically when the trail hits the canyon bottom and begins tracking Piedra Blanca Creek which was flowing quite nicely. Here, in the cool and shaded recesses of the canyon, the foliage is thick and poison oak abounds. Avoiding the stuff was virtually impossible so appropriate dress is advisable.

Piedra Blanca Formation in the Distance

 

Piedra Blanca Creek was Flowing Nicely - Watch for the Plentiful Poison Oak

View Back up Piedra Blanca Canyon

At Piedra Blanca trail camp we encountered the first folks we had seen all weekend save the two youngsters we spoke to at Three Mile. We gave the campers a friendly nod as we passed. In return, some young ladies asked us if we had seen any rattlesnakes. Odd. We told them "no," we had not seen any snakes, just bears and mountain lions. Further down the trail, we had to make way for a herd of 17 day-hikers who were making their way to Piedra Blanca trail camp. That moment validated the choice to hike the GMT, and enjoy the solitude it affords, instead of going into the justly popular (and crowded) Sespe for the weekend.

Piedra Blanca Formation

Sespe Creek

Back at the car at Lion, Chris had stashed a cooler in the trunk with a couple of PBRs in it. Because the night-time temperatures had been low, the beers were miraculously still cool. We toasted the GMT and savored the memories of a weekend well spent before loading our gear into the car and making our way back to reality.

Post Adventure Refreshments at Lion Camp