From the category archives:

Los Padres National Forest

Scattered Smoke

August 17, 2009

If anyone checked the weather forecast and saw “Scattered Smoke” included with the temperature, you know Fire Season is officially on. I flew back in to LAX yesterday afternoon, and was pretty disheartened to see how thickly the smoke from the La Brea fire had spread over the L.A. basin. Even after landing, visibility was [...]

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The Times Does Hot Springs

December 7, 2008

Over the weekend, the LA Times posted a great travel article about a hike to the Sespe Hot Springs in the Los Padres National Forest. There is an excellent description of the 9.5 mile (one-way) hike into the deep, quiet canyons of the Sespe Wilderness, and of the bather’s first natural reaction to the hot [...]

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Backpacking Sespe Creek

June 19, 2007

A 9 mile round-trip backpack along the Sespe Creek to a shaded riverside campground. Hot valley air, cold river water, and plenty of scenes of recent wildfires keep up the variety, and the relatively level elevation makes it easy on the knees. A great weekend getaway. The Basics: – Distance: 9 miles – Elevation Gain: [...]

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Backpacking Matilija Creek

January 17, 2007

A beautiful, isolated, and rugged river canyon in the Los Padres National Forest. Lots of river crossings, swimming holes, fascinating geology, and opportunities for off-trail adventuring. The Basics: – Distance: 13.92 miles roundtrip. It’s 4 miles from the trailhead to Middle Matilija Camp, and another 1.6 to Upper Matilija. Our off-trail scramble added some mileage. [...]

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