White Horse Trail - South Ridge

White Horse Trail - South Ridge

A Walk In The Clouds

Hello.

I hope you are well. have you been for a walk lately?
Java and I have, just this past weekend in fact.

We spent our time in two different locales: Nicholas
Flat & White Horse Trail, both in the Santa Monica
Mountains.

The biggest highlight of our hikes was views, or more
exactly the lack of them. I would love to say that
Java and I were witness to the white caps forming on
the Pacific, from high above on the ridges and flats
of the Santa Monica Mountain range, but I'm sorry to
report that was not the case.

Instead we were confronted with low altitude clouds,
known else where as fog. At greater than 1800 ft we
were literally walking in the clouds. At times
visibility was no better than 10 - 15 ft.

One, perhaps the only, benefit of the dense fog was
the need to do some improvised route finding. At
times we did some heavy bushwhacking up, and down
steep hillsides to find our way to the primary trail.
It was a little strenuous, but well worth the effort.

I hope you feel as I do - Life is Great! Enjoy it.

-Manny

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Sespe Condor Sanctuary - Alder Creek Trail: Squaw Flat

Sespe Condor Sanctuary - Alder Creek Trail

Hi everyone. Isn't it great to be alive?

Java and I just got back from another one of our
weekend jaunts. This time we went deep into the Sespe
Wilderness and traversed the Condor Sanctuary, on the
Alder Creek Trail.

We got a late start but we did manage to make camp
just before dark. Prior to that however, we were
privileged to some incredible sights.

The terrain alternated from exposed ridge lines, deep
narrow canyons, wide open meadows, creek beds, several
saddle-passes and steeply pitched ascents.

As we hit the trail there was a definite sense of flux
in the air; which became something more than mere
intuition - In an area that is normally hot and arid,
it was cool and humid. The thin wispy clouds above
provided clues about the weather that was on the way.
Sure enough, late in the day and at night it rain but
only briefly, and very lightly. Today though, we had
only barely made it to the car before the rain come
down once again, but this time much heavier.

Over the weekend we encountered some deer hunters
although I'm not certain they were legit - They were
not wearing any hunting tags. They were carrying out
their prize bagged, on top a bicycle. Given that we
were in a protected wilderness area, let alone the
condor sanctuary; were neither bicycles, nor firearms
are permitted; i'm pretty sure they would be
classified as poachers - But seeing as there were
seven of each packing multiple guns and rifles - I
just politely nodded and kept trekking along.

Something more disturbing than the "hunters" was the
many, many, many (read lots), of signs of bear
activity. The droppings every 100 yards, often more
frequently, and the highly distinguishable paw
indentations pretty much gave their presence away.
That plus the numerous flattened, bedding areas we
found just off-trail also reinforced their presence.

You can be sure I was noisy going around each bend in
the trail, and frequently practiced the following
phrase in my head, "Nice bear. Nice Bear. Please
don't eat us nice bear." Despite our camp site, Alder
Camp, also having obvious signs of bear visitation we
did not encounter any. However, on our way out today
we passed the site at Squaw Flat were a group of 2-3
had setup camp the day before. They were obviously
all gone, including their bicycles, but their tent was
badly damaged with bent poles, although still erect.
My guess is they got an unfriendly visit at night, and
split with what they could grab - Pure speculation of
course, but I can't come up with a better reason.

More pleasantly, we did counter three deer on the
trail, but Java sort of scared them away, and then
proceeded to drag me along as he attempted to chase
after them. In addition, we saw numerous quail,
hummingbirds, and various other birds, although the
one I wanted most desperately to see we did not - A
Condor.

Trip Summary: Two Days, one night, 24 miles. Total
Ascent 3420 ft., Max Elevation 3915 ft.

All in all, we had a great weekend, I hope you did
too.

-Manny

Up and Over on the Gene Marshall Trail 

Weekend Recreation

Hi hope you are doing well.

The weekend before last, Java and I were thrashing
through the Gene Marshall (Piedra Blanca / National
Recreation Trial) in the Sespe Wilderness. I can
assure you that the trail is far removed from
recreational, and instead it much more resembles the
location where it resides - Wild.

At times, the trail was merely a figment of our
imagination, and only after extensive bush whacking,
scrambling, and back tracking did we make any
progress. At some point my desire to "make camp"
became more than just a goal, and turned into
something more like an obsession. So with that as
motivation we crossed multiple creek beds choked thick
with poison ivy, tall reeds, thin brush, and young
trees - Like I said the trail was in need of some
serious TLC.

We started our hike from Camp Reyes near Camp
Scheideck in the SouthWest end of the Lockwood Valley.
On Saturday we made our way over several passes to
our goal - Haddock Camp - The place where we had made
camp the weekend before. Not wanting to have to cross
several of the passes early the next morning we
retraced our steps and hoofed it back up the trail to
Bear Camp. Fortunately we did not encounter any of
the camp's namesakes!

Although we did not need to fight off any wild
creatures, Java did struggle through some hunger pains
until I improvised a dinner for him - I forgot his
food at home. I'm a terrible person I know!

Of course the night was beautiful, the soothing sounds
of rustling leaves, crickets, and frogs surrounded us
at night. The constellations were lost amongst the
sea stars above. You know, the usual very cool stuff -
Yada, yada, yada.

Trip Summary: Overnight hike, 16 miles, Total ascent
- 3800 ft., Max Elevation - 6265 ft.

Life is wonderful - Hope you make the most of it!

-Manny

P.S. Have you ever wondered where Lady Bugs come from?
Apparently, its the Sespe Wilderness - All of them, I
think. It was a sea red every where you looked.