You may remember that I help Los Padres ForestWatch clean up microtrash from a condor feeding site in March.
Well, LPFW had another gig lined up, at a new spot. Thorn Point is on the edge of the Sespe Wildnerness, with a fire tower on top. It is a known condor feeding site, and probably some microtrash. But no one from LPFW knew for sure.
I offered to hike up and scout the place out. There was a 9-mile long dirt road (Grade Valley Road) from the paved Lockwood Valley road to Thorn Meadows, the campground nearest Thorn Point. It opened on Friday, April 25th. I drove there the next day. I stopped at the Chuchupate Ranger station to make ABSOLUTELY sure the road to Thorn Meadows was open.
Grade Valley Road was in pretty good shape. There were some rough spots, some rocks, and 4 creek crossings. First time I've been on a BANKED dirt road. My Subaru Forester (well accustomed to snow and ice) handled the road fine. There was some traffic on the road - I think a lot of folks were just out driving around, checking things out.
I arrived at Thorn Meadows campground. A bit dismayed to find the outhouse full of holes (guns), but otherwise the site was pretty clean. I wandered around the campground, ate a snack, and looked at the maps. Strangely enough, there were a bunch of cars that came by, turned around, and left (including a Ventura County Sheriff's truck). It made me a little nervous, being there on my own. One guy stopped to hang out for a while - drinking two beers at the same time...
Anyway, I headed up the trail a little before 3. I wanted to have late afternoon light for photos, but get back before dark. Since I was on my own, I had supplies to stay out overnight if I had to. The first mile was lovely and flat, along Cedar Creek. And I knew it was going to pay! Thousands of feet of elevation gain in 2 miles is tough! I imagine I was one of the first to hike the trail this spring, and some of the dusty dirt trail was a bit hard to find without footprints to follow. Although there were some footprints...just not the human variety. I saw bear sign - including what I think was a small cub-print.
I took a few wrong turns, but was it pretty easy to get back on track. It was sunny and warm, but bearable. I stopped and took a lot of photos on the way. There were a few spots where I had to cross snow on the trail, but I figured in 2 weeks it would probably be gone. I saw quite a few quail and heard lots of birds (I don't really know the birds in SoCal yet, other than the scrub jays and red-tailed hawks).
I got to the top (hooray!) a few minutes before 5 and took a look around both the fire tower, and just below it in the boulders. There was some glass and trash. But not NEARLY as much as there still is up at Whitaker Peak. There was an old cabin and shed at the site, too. A little bit of snow remained in the shade just below the tower. I made a little snowman :) It was a quick hike down...until I hit some scree and lost my footing. I was holding my camera, which I didn't want to break, andI landed on my elbow then slid and tumbled a bit. OW! Thankfully I managed not to end up at the bottom of a ravine (and my camera didn't break).
It was lovely evening back a Thorn Meadows. There was a (some kind of owl?) calling - and an amazing number of airplanes! Thorn Meadows must be directly under a flight path. At about 11:30 I was woken by a noise which was NOT an owl. Mammal...not coyotes far away, but something down in the creek. I think it was a bear cub, and there were a few soft 'woofs' in response to each squeal. And there I was out there in my tiny nylon burrito. Probably the first person to camp there since last fall. I got out of my tent, and said 'hey bears, I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone.' You know that noise, something big moving in the brush? Yeah, that noise. Decided to spend the rest of the night in the car. Shhh...don't tell anyone....
The waning gibbous moon rose around 1 am and the sun around 6 am. The planes started up around 6:30. I made coffee and breakfast, and watched the sun move across the land. I decided perhaps it would be wiser to head home to an icepack, rather than follow my plan to hike Fishbowls, feeling a bit, well, battered.
I took the shorter but slower way home - Lockwood Valley Rd to the 33. Narrowly missed hitting a squirrel - and 4 cattle who decided to cross the road. It was HOT in Ojai - at least I thought it was hot until I hit Ventura - 96 degrees? wtf? Where's my ocean breeze?
It was beautiful up there, and I'm excited about doing more hiking and backpacking in LPNF. I'm looking forward to learning more about this place, which is very different than the Pennsylvania woods or Alaskan coast where I've spent much of my tent-time the last 10 years.
Well, LPFW had another gig lined up, at a new spot. Thorn Point is on the edge of the Sespe Wildnerness, with a fire tower on top. It is a known condor feeding site, and probably some microtrash. But no one from LPFW knew for sure.
I offered to hike up and scout the place out. There was a 9-mile long dirt road (Grade Valley Road) from the paved Lockwood Valley road to Thorn Meadows, the campground nearest Thorn Point. It opened on Friday, April 25th. I drove there the next day. I stopped at the Chuchupate Ranger station to make ABSOLUTELY sure the road to Thorn Meadows was open.
Grade Valley Road was in pretty good shape. There were some rough spots, some rocks, and 4 creek crossings. First time I've been on a BANKED dirt road. My Subaru Forester (well accustomed to snow and ice) handled the road fine. There was some traffic on the road - I think a lot of folks were just out driving around, checking things out.
I arrived at Thorn Meadows campground. A bit dismayed to find the outhouse full of holes (guns), but otherwise the site was pretty clean. I wandered around the campground, ate a snack, and looked at the maps. Strangely enough, there were a bunch of cars that came by, turned around, and left (including a Ventura County Sheriff's truck). It made me a little nervous, being there on my own. One guy stopped to hang out for a while - drinking two beers at the same time...
Anyway, I headed up the trail a little before 3. I wanted to have late afternoon light for photos, but get back before dark. Since I was on my own, I had supplies to stay out overnight if I had to. The first mile was lovely and flat, along Cedar Creek. And I knew it was going to pay! Thousands of feet of elevation gain in 2 miles is tough! I imagine I was one of the first to hike the trail this spring, and some of the dusty dirt trail was a bit hard to find without footprints to follow. Although there were some footprints...just not the human variety. I saw bear sign - including what I think was a small cub-print.
I took a few wrong turns, but was it pretty easy to get back on track. It was sunny and warm, but bearable. I stopped and took a lot of photos on the way. There were a few spots where I had to cross snow on the trail, but I figured in 2 weeks it would probably be gone. I saw quite a few quail and heard lots of birds (I don't really know the birds in SoCal yet, other than the scrub jays and red-tailed hawks).
I got to the top (hooray!) a few minutes before 5 and took a look around both the fire tower, and just below it in the boulders. There was some glass and trash. But not NEARLY as much as there still is up at Whitaker Peak. There was an old cabin and shed at the site, too. A little bit of snow remained in the shade just below the tower. I made a little snowman :) It was a quick hike down...until I hit some scree and lost my footing. I was holding my camera, which I didn't want to break, andI landed on my elbow then slid and tumbled a bit. OW! Thankfully I managed not to end up at the bottom of a ravine (and my camera didn't break).
It was lovely evening back a Thorn Meadows. There was a (some kind of owl?) calling - and an amazing number of airplanes! Thorn Meadows must be directly under a flight path. At about 11:30 I was woken by a noise which was NOT an owl. Mammal...not coyotes far away, but something down in the creek. I think it was a bear cub, and there were a few soft 'woofs' in response to each squeal. And there I was out there in my tiny nylon burrito. Probably the first person to camp there since last fall. I got out of my tent, and said 'hey bears, I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone.' You know that noise, something big moving in the brush? Yeah, that noise. Decided to spend the rest of the night in the car. Shhh...don't tell anyone....
The waning gibbous moon rose around 1 am and the sun around 6 am. The planes started up around 6:30. I made coffee and breakfast, and watched the sun move across the land. I decided perhaps it would be wiser to head home to an icepack, rather than follow my plan to hike Fishbowls, feeling a bit, well, battered.
I took the shorter but slower way home - Lockwood Valley Rd to the 33. Narrowly missed hitting a squirrel - and 4 cattle who decided to cross the road. It was HOT in Ojai - at least I thought it was hot until I hit Ventura - 96 degrees? wtf? Where's my ocean breeze?
It was beautiful up there, and I'm excited about doing more hiking and backpacking in LPNF. I'm looking forward to learning more about this place, which is very different than the Pennsylvania woods or Alaskan coast where I've spent much of my tent-time the last 10 years.
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