Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:09 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:10 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 4, 2010, 2:52 am
by: Bryan

April 8, 2010

Worked, lopped and flagged the trail from Alamar Saddle to Puerto Suello and up to Madulce. It was good to see that much of our work from the previous years is doing well. The trail to Dutch Oven should be obvious, although expect to bushwhack a little here and there. The Puerto Suello should be followable as well, but we did not spend as much time on that section as we did on Alamar proper.

NOTE: The Alamar trail is still tougher traveling than almost all the trails in the area. Don't expect it to be a highway, yet!

Posted: July 21, 2009, 4:07 pm
by: Bryan

We spent this past weekend working the top mile of the Alamar Trail down from Alamar Saddle. Myself and three others spent approximately 24 work hours on the trail over Saturday and Sunday mornings. I had led a trip back to Alamar in May and this was a follow-up to tread and rip out all the pines and other plants that were well on their way to growing on the trail. We also established a new trailhead since the last one was destroyed by a fallen tree, and we created a reroute around a washed out gully section. All in all a great trip and we got a lot done. Sort of scary that it took us 24hrs to work one mile of trail – do the math and its overwhelming.

I plan on continuing work on the Alamar and chipping away here and there until its dialed in. As of now the trail should be more or less followable to Dutch Oven and clear to the bottom of the switchbacks.

Posted: June 1, 2009, 10:27 pm
by: Bryan

Alamar Trail
May 23-25, 2009

We hiked and worked on the trail from Alamar Saddle to Dutch Oven and back. Here are some parts of a report sent to the Forest Service.
-----------------------
• The trail is sort of broken up into 3 stages between the saddle and Dutch Oven. The first being the trail down from Alamar Saddle to the bottom of the hill or the first substantial creek drainage. This section was in pretty good shape, comparatively, and is not so bad until you get to the bottom. We cut maybe a dozen or so fallen logs, and brushed the trail down to the bottom. The tread is still there so not much work needs to be done on this first section. I would like to come back sometime later in the summer and root up some of the pines and other brush that is starting to grow on the trail. There is also a short 50 yard section that needs to either be re-routed or cut back into the hillside. Another factor for down the road will be when the dead pines start to fall across the trail. That will no doubt cause a major mess along the trail.

• The second part of the trail goes from the bottom of the hill to Bill Faris Camp. This is by far the worst section. I last hiked this in March 2006 and we literally crawled through this section. Its a lot better than that now, but signs of the old trail are few and far between. We basically took the path of least resistance and tried to tie in as many signs of the old trail as we could. Our approach is to flag the trail for the time being so at least people are going the right direction and along the same path, then come back and work the trail to the point where we can remove the flags, nobody likes to see those things but it certainly helps with the way the trails are right now. We cleared this section of trail pretty well and the next people through should have little problem at least knowing they are heading the right way. There is a section of trail about a 1/4mile above Bill Faris where we could not locate a way through where the old trail went, since we didn’t know where we were we did not flag – this section will need some additional attention. For as few visitors as this canyon gets its crucial that the foot traffic follow the same path. I think we got that established at least for the time being. There is much more brushing that we could have done and tons of tread work. Much of this trail was covered in silt/rock run-off coming off Madulce.

• We got to Bill Faris Camp and it was pretty much gone. There were 3 ice cans, of course the steel sign and some nails in the trees; but the old table burned and the brush had overgrown the entire area. We pulaskied out a few sleeping areas, rebuilt the fire ring, built an ice can table and built a trail down to the water. Unfortunately many of the trees are dead around Bill Faris as the fire burned extremely hot. The large pine in the center of camp is dead. All that being said the camp is really nice even with the burn scars.

• From Bill Faris to Dutch Oven was the part that I worried the most about. The trail goes from Bill Faris up the hillside and gets pretty steep. I figured that this section would be gone, but amazingly its in better shape now than it was immediately post fire. The trail is by no means perfect but the tread is followable and there is not a ton of regrowth impeding this section. We did spend almost an hour clearing out a particularly nasty section of the trail towards the top of this section where the fire did not burn. Still precarious in spots but better than expected. Once over the small hill you start down towards Dutch Oven Camp. The trail here has changed quite dramatically. In 2006 this was a tunnel of brush, now its knee high brush. This section could also use some treadwork. If we could just hack away now before the plants get established that would really help, but its a lot of work. Once through this section the trail takes a eastern jog and goes along another steep hillside. The tread was followable but again will need some serious work in order to get up to standard. Just the trip in and out that we hiked made a huge difference as the tread was much more visible after our journey than it was on our way in.

• Dutch Oven was in poor shape, would be nice to move it closer to the water.

Posted: May 11, 2009, 11:12 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked from Rollins Camp down to the old Tin Shack site on 5/1/09. The trail was pretty much gone, but we did flag and cairn the route pretty thoroughly. The next people should have better luck. Pretty remote area that does not get much human impact.

Posted: March 19, 2007, 11:06 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked Alamar trail from Cox flat over Puerta Suela down to Alamar to Dutch Over March 6,2007.

PUERTA SUELA
Puerta Suela trail from Madulce is pretty overgrown. You can see the tread but the brush is pulling at you from the Don Victor junction to the Puerta Suela saddle. Great views here!!! I cleared this portion of the trail but really just scratched the surface - should help though. Puerta Suela from the saddle down to Dutch Oven is much better. There is brush but the trail drops into the creek area and its basically following cairns down through the occasional brush and poison oak. There is a section about 80% down that is solid bushwhacking for 100 yards or so. Not too bad since its only a short distance. Note that Dutch Oven camp is downstream from the Puerta Suela trail junction with Alamar. Dutch Oven is not near water but head downstream for water access about 3 minutes.

ALAMAR
Cleared Alamar Trail from Dutch Oven downstream to the Don Victor fire road. Trail is not too bad. There are some spots you have to stop and look for the trail but its easy to stay on and not too overgrown, comparatively. There is one washout about 60% down that would cause problems for horses.
Upstream is a different story. From Dutch Oven up is in really bad shape. Bushwhack city! We cleared what we could in three hours from Dutch Oven to Bill Faris. Trail is followable and our lopping will certainly help. BRING LOPPERS to help - help you and the next people too. Once at Bill Faris the trail gets significantly worse. As the trail climbs into the higher elevation oaklands the brush becomes all encompassing to the point where the trail is virtually gone. We got lost multiple times and had to crawl our way out of at least 5 places. I think the occasional snow at the higher elevations caused the oaks to collapse and in some cases collapse over the trail. Expect to go real slow from Dutch Oven to the bottom of the Alamar climb. The climb is nice with some fallen trees but compared to what lies below is a walk in the park. Really be careful here, bring loppers to cut your way through, plan on going 1 mph, and watch for old cuts in the brush.

We did not see one footprint in 3 days along the Alamar.

Posted: March 29, 2005, 10:18 pm
by: Anonymous

Hiked this trail as part of a longer pack route last year. Dutch Oven camp to the Alamar tin shack is a brutal hike (only 3 miles), almost no sign of the trail. Alamar Hill to Loma Pelona is much better, and the trail from Loma pelona to Bluff camp is clear yet difficult. Good Luck

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:11 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:11 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: February 22, 2009, 3:08 pm
by: Bryan

Alejandro Trail is in great shape from start to finish (Colson Saddle to La Brea Creek). I've heard rumors that a Santa Maria based mtn biking club has been keeping it open and it shows. The poison oak was an issue only at the camp. Honestly the camp was quite dismal and by far the worst part of the trail. The FS would be wise to move the camp into a more open area, theres a good candidate about 100 yards up stream. The water was on and off through out the canyon and there was water (albeit blackish and weak) at the camp. Really a nice trail and worth checking out.

February 21, 2009

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:12 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: September 25, 2009, 4:21 pm
by: douglasdodge

Just to let you know, the sign posts for the nature trail have been updated.

Each of the sign posts has the number from the brochure. Additionally, each of the posts has the appropriate portion of the brochure attached so you do not need to carry a brochure with you.

Enjoy.

Posted: March 2, 2009, 8:29 am
by: Rokrover

The Aliso trail loop is in fine condition (March 2009), except for a rock slide above the switchback on the lower trail leaving the creek. I imagine horses might be spooked there, but perhaps a mule would be OK. The interpretive trail numbers are wearing off and we could find no fliers anyway so this service appears neglected. The trail down into Upper Oso from the 4-way junction is a veritable highway, unlike the more primitive trail heading north up the cliffs. The upper section is in bad shape and quite out of character with the rest of the hike, unless you like a “Jekyll and Hyde” experience. It is eroded with steep, sandy slides and hard to pick out at times. The top of the ridge sees little traffic judging by the heavy brush, although there are rock carvings going back many years.

Posted: March 27, 2006, 9:09 am
by: Anonymous

We just hiked the loop yesterday (3/26). The trail is in great shape. The climb up to the saddle that overlooks Upper Oso campground is in fairly good shape even though you could tell that some horses had gone through. All the streams were flowing from the rain Saturday morning. There were quite a few wildflowers out, but there will probably be alot more out within the next month. The views were great, but the main issue was the ticks. We didn't get any on us but we picked 5 off of our dog. Be careful.

Posted: March 2, 2006, 11:44 am
by: Paolo

Quote:

Does anyone know where to buy an adventure pass in advance? There are sings to buy them in the park, but we couldn't find any either at the ranger stations or at the two other places indicated in the park as places to obtein them.

You can drive all the way to the first water crossing, and usually they sell them there. However, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they are needed any longer before the checkpoint, only selected areas are still enforced.

Posted: March 2, 2006, 10:54 am
by: Anonymous

We hiked this trail on Saturday and it was beautiful. The trail is in great shape.
Lots of wild flowers already in bloom.
The hike was beautiful but we were worrried all the time because we were afraid we would be getting a $$$ ticket for parking without an adventure pass. We tried to buy one, but it was impossible!

Does anyone know where to buy an adventure pass in advance? There are sings to buy them in the park, but we couldn't find any either at the ranger stations or at the two other places indicated in the park as places to obtein them.

Thanks

Posted: April 30, 2005, 5:28 pm
by: Paolo

The trail is in great condition, just overgrown with flowers, which makes for a really nice hike. Just watch out for the occasional tick. Some water on the upper part of the loop, which is unusual. The only slide has been fixed. Burn area barely visible in all this green. Definitely worth the hike!

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:28 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:13 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 28, 2010, 1:45 pm
by: dmarchiando

Took the Arroyo Burro to Camino Cielo Sunday 06-27-10. Beware, in the dirt road, in the lower section of the trail, before you get into the single-track, there is a huge colony of ground-dwelling bees that, that you will want to keep your distance from. There is another large colony about half-way to Camino Cielo, right in the middle of the trail, before you start decending into the next drainage/canyon/creek. Upper trail was fairly over-grown with lots of different thorny weeds, and tall mustard. Upper-most sections of shaded trail has lots of poison oak, much of which hangs vine-like from the trees. I wish I had worn longs pants and gaiters over my socks.

Posted: May 2, 2010, 1:35 pm
by: graytest

I tried to do the Arroyo Burro trail today but had problem finding the trail after the pavement. Was hoping that someone could help me so that I'll find it easier next time!

I reached the two roads. One going from left to right (left leading to a gate, right having a sign that says "private, no trail access") and one road going up the hill. I took the one going up the hill (had sign saying "public trail"). Followed the road and passed a few trail-signs.

Once I reached the top of the hill there was a dirt road to the left that said "Private" (seemed to be fenced in for horse use or something). On the right side of the road there was another Trail-sign that pointed sorta off of the ridge (assumed that it was just misaligned and pointed along the road). I kept following the pavement trying to find the non-paved trail access. After a short walk I passed the gate to San Roque Ranch.

After passing the ranch there was a dirt area to the left. A bit further ahead a dirt road led off the ridge to the left. I first thought this was the trail, but the road had a No Trespassing-sign (and barbed wire across) a few yards down.

Trying to follow the paved road a bit further led me to a locked gate across the road.

Could anyone please let me know where I missed the trail? And give me a more detailed description how to find it next time?

Thanks for the help!

Posted: August 9, 2009, 1:18 pm
by: Rokrover

Indeed, as GerryC updated,the trail is mostly undamaged and these pictures confirm the current conditions:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rokrover/ArroyoBurroBuff#

Posted: July 12, 2009, 9:01 pm
by: GerryC

Hiked the lower portion of the trail today from the Cater Water Treatment plant. The Jesusita route is burned in places, but the trail undamaged to the AB trail junction. After climbing up the paved road, I rejoined the trail. The formerly overgrown section from the top of the paved road to the meadow (prior to rejoining the old trail route) is now very clear. All the brush is gone. Some of trees on the first portion may survive, but there are lots of green shoots sprouting.

Posted: April 23, 2008, 11:48 am
by: Slothers

I hiked this trail about a week ago and it's looking very nice. My only concern would be the empty shotgun shell I saw and the gun shots I heard on the other side of the mountain. But I figure there is probably a shooting range nearby. The shots sounded very close however.

Make sure to bring at least a half gallon of water, it's a strenuous trail and you don't want to be dehydrated. I'd also be aware of ticks, I went on the hike 3 times in the past two weeks and had to pull them off each time. Lastly I'm pretty sure there is a bear and a few mountain lions up there.

I didn't see them but I saw their prints.

Oh... and watch out for poison oak.

Posted: May 4, 2007, 6:46 pm
by: Rattler

Hiked AB two days ago. Amazing! Stunning view. The description I found to be helpful up to the last part where it leads you to believe you have on .25 miles to get to E. Camino Cielo Rd. It is more like 1.25 and feels like at least 2! Wildflowers out in force. Get up there.

This was my first major hike for a long time. It took us 7 hrs. I was practically comatose by the time we were 6 hrs out and only a couples miles to get back. Developing tunnel vision (ie eyes looking up about 4-6 ft ahead) and walking fast down a slight decline, I suddenly became aware that I was directly in line to hit a - what is it? !!! it's a rattlesnake right smack in the middle of the trail!! At the same time I saw it, it saw me and writhed in a most hypnotic, frenetic fashion, just as it turned on the max volume of it's rattle. Needless to say I was startled and reared back when I could check my speed. It was like it was in slow motion. The sound was so loud. The sun was blazing down at 3:00pm and the rattler just stood it's ground and continued to sound that rattle about 30-40 seconds longer after I backed away. The snake is apparently a Souther Pacific Rattler. It was black with diamonds and had a white 3 in. rattle which it held high out in front.

What an experience!! It pays to keep alert. These last few days I've been reliving this experience in my mind. It is certainly one of the most intense experiences I've had.

Great trail!!!

Posted: March 9, 2007, 5:06 pm
by: SkipSmith

The person who said the trail is closed because it crosses private property is wrong. It used to be closed to the public, but an easement was negotiated a while back. See for example:

http://www.lpforest.org/trails/arroyo_burro_trail/

Posted: November 19, 2006, 8:21 pm
by: quickstep

I did Arroyo Burro Trail today - really hot for late November (81F). I read all these discussions about legal issues with this trail ... As far as the lower part all the way down into San Antonio Canyon (after ~5mi) is concerned it seems to be perfectly alright. There are parts where you have to cross private property but there are signs indicating that the trail is a public way. There is even a sign posting the agreement between San Roque Ranch and the county. I guess it is now hikers responsibility to treat the private land with respect and stay on the trail. Down in San Antonio Canyon I saw only a "No Trespassing" sign on the way back from the ridge, so cannot comment on that.

In general this hike is rather strenuous and not that impressive I have to say. I certainly prefer all the canyons over to Montecito or Mission/Rattlesnake Canyon. Arroyo Burro Trail just involves too much hiking on dirt and paved roads but the later 3mi are not too bad. And on a clear day - like I had today - you can catch great views to the Islands.

http://www.chem.ucsb.edu/~hnahler/hiking

Posted: March 12, 2006, 11:26 am
by: Diane

If you can't use this trail without tresspassing the owners sure do go out of their way to guide you through with plenty of signs.

Posted: March 12, 2006, 6:12 am
by: Anonymous

The information about this trail is wrong. First of all this trail is not a through trail. There was a court case involving this trail in the 1980s in which the public represented by the County LOST the right to use the trail past the first half mile. You can not use this trail without TRESSPASSING. Second the owner had every right to pave his driveway, the public never owned the trail they merely had permission to walk accross someone's private land.

Posted: September 6, 2005, 7:15 pm
by: Diane

Yes, this trail has moved a few times since the topo was created. It is marked, however, so you should be able to find the way despite the map.

Posted: September 4, 2005, 9:04 pm
by: Anonymous

I was looking at the map provided for the Arroyo Burro trail and noted that the Jesusita trail (using the Cater treatment plant trailhead) is the original trail. This portion of the trail was moved years ago. The original route will tend to take you thru someone's back yard.

Posted: April 4, 2005, 6:50 pm
by: Jeff

Yes, it's extremely beautiful up there right now (April 3), though wear long pants unless you really, really like ticks (oh, and poison oak, too).

Posted: March 25, 2005, 10:32 pm
by: Anonymous

Oh, joy. I just found this trail report area.

As I posted in General, Arroyo Burro was gorgeous last Sunday (March 20). Waterfalls, wildflowers (blue dicks, indian paintbrush, indian pinks, lupin--what's with the lupin this year?--the first peonies, shooting stars, mariposa lilies, milk maids...and the list goes on) and no other hikers!

It takes a little extra effort to get there, but it sure is worth it...

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:12 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: February 22, 2009, 8:10 am
by: Bryan

The map is wrong, the camp is actually 0.6 miles downstream from the junction of the Bear Trail and Bear Motorcycle Loop. Motorcycles have been riding the entire length of the Bear Trail and as a consequence its very easy to follow. Bear Camp is great, two tables, entire canyon of grassy potreros and oaks. Not much water in February, would guess that there would be no water most of the time. Very pleasant hike.

Posted: August 22, 2005, 1:30 pm
by: Tim

Trail head has been brushed. Easy to follow just watch
close at the creek crossing. We turn around at the camp so no idea how the loop is. Lots of ticks at the
camp.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:15 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: August 21, 2006, 11:03 am
by: trailrider121

Bear canyon loop trail is over grown.Brush has taken over trail.Trail needs grooming before its to late.Very nice hiking trail.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:15 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:16 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 7, 2010, 8:16 am
by: TheBeeman

Returned to this trail to check out the work of a group of CCCs based out of the Narrows for the month of April. I am truly amazed and appreciate all the work they did restoring this trail to the campsite. Easy to follow with some nice erosion control rock work.

They relocated the table away from the bank that is eroding into the creek and cleared a few more camping spots.

If you want to find the upper campsite follow the branch-lined path above the camp and look for the flag and trail to your left before you cross back over the creek.

The 1.2 mile climb to the McKinley road is steep, and belongs in the category of a "heartbreak hill". The brush was cleared last October by another CCC crew.

This trail maintenance now opens up a nice weekend hike to Mckinley Springs and beyond to Mission Pine Springs and Mission Pine Basin Camps.

For pics, click on Nira to Nira loop at http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Happy Trails.

Posted: December 30, 2009, 10:46 pm
by: TheBeeman

We hiked the lower BCS section between Manzana Trail junction and BCS campsite Dec 28-30 2009. We used cross cut saws to clear several downed trees and reopen the trail. We flagged the original route with the help of a GPS. It is now passable to hikers but not stock. Hoping a CCC crew will return to complete the work and bring it to the standard of the upper section and Manzana Trails. Highly recommend taking this route to McKinley and San Rafael Peaks, Mission Pine Springs and Basin Camps, and the Santa Barbara "High Route" to Big Pine. Great Wilderness experience.

Posted: July 3, 2009, 10:05 am
by: Bryan

Trail from McKinley Saddle down to BCS was worked in June 2009 and is 8ft wide the entire stretch - wide open. The trail was not worked from BCS to Manzana.

Posted: June 26, 2008, 1:00 am
by: rob.guzzon

Backpacked from Nira to Manzana and then on to San Rafael Mountain on the weekend of June 20th. BCS trail from the Narrows to BCS campsite is nonexistent, though forging your own trail up the valley is certainly possible. The fires / harsh winter have taken their toll, and we found it would take longer to try and find the trail than just head up-valley. Much of the valley is burned out away from the creek, which is running all the way up:

Couldn't find the trail after the BCS campsite, so we hiked up through the burn to the road:

On the way down, we found the BCS trailhead, and suffered the closed-in trail all the way down. I wouldn't recommend it:

Posted: January 20, 2008, 12:31 pm
by: goletasteve

Hiked down to BCS from McKinley/CachumaSaddle. Trail in overall good shape -- a little scratchy at times, but definitely evidence of recent work. I was running out of daylight so did not continue to the Narrows. I am happy to report that BCS survived. The fire reached to within a stones throw, but the two campsites are fine.

There is clear evidence of a high water event from the early January rains. If San Marcos Pass received 8" from the big storm, McKinley must have had at least that. (Still snow up there too.) I estimate at least 8-10 feet of water flowing through at BCS, but did not breach the camp site. I'm now very curious about the flow at the Narrows and how it faired...

Posted: March 31, 2007, 10:55 pm
by: Bryan

Packed from Nira to Big Cone Spruce and up to McKinley Road on March 23rd/24th. The trail from Manzana/Whiteledge Junction to BCS is slightly overgrown but very followable. From BCS to the road the trail is pretty brushy. The trails goes straight up through the chaparral (IMO one of the two hardest climbs in the backcountry) so there is no way to get off the trail but expect to bushwhack. I lopped portions of the entire trail but the upper portion could use work in the next few years before it gets real bad.

Posted: November 5, 2006, 10:35 pm
by: Bryan

I hiked to White Ledge this weekend. I heard that the trail from Big Cone Spruce up to McKinley Rd is very overgrown. This is second hand information. Cheers!

Posted: November 15, 2005, 1:12 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

McKinley Mountain Road to Manzana Trail on 12 / 13 November. This trail is well marked and cleared for hikers and it would probably now be marked as yellow on Bryan Conant’s great map. Thank you to those who made it so. The creek is flowing well through spooky Big Cone Spruce Camp, which has a nice new upper camp site to replace the seemingly missing lower camp.

Posted: September 20, 2005, 12:11 am
by: Anonymous

I spent a large part of Sunday clearing the trail to Big Cone Spruce from the Narrows. The trail was already in better shape thanks to the CCC crews that worked it this past Spring. Basically I cut away this summers new growth and cleared up a few problem areas that had been missed. Besides the abundance of bright red poison oak the trail is easy to follow up to BCS camp.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:17 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:17 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:17 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: February 22, 2009, 1:14 pm
by: Bryan

Feb 21, 2009

I hiked from the Colson Canyon TH up to the ridge. The trail starts out pretty good, but then gradually becomes more and more poison oaky - until finally you are literally crawling through oak. It was awful; I am super bad with oak! The tread is fine, but needs a good brushing. You will eventually get to a small meadow, the trail cuts down to the left at the start of the meadow, look for my cuts. Then the trail dips down into the drainage and across into a larger meadow. From here the trail is at the far top left of the large meadow. Check Google sat maps before attempting so you don't end up bushwhacking like I did, stay away from the creek. There is water at Peach Tree Spring and if you make it that far then you'll be on an old road that will take you to the ridge.

From there you hit private property and access down to Bear would require trespassing. There are supposedly two old trails down from there, both would require trespassing and from I can see on sat maps - both would involve miles of bushwhacking.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:18 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:21 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: November 25, 2006, 5:47 pm
by: george

Hiked the whole thing today in about 6 hours. Didn't see anyone except for out in boats on Lake Cachuma! The first loop appears to get all the (horse) traffic and so the road was like walking on talcum powder. The longer loop over to Santa Cruz Bay was a lot firmer and more enjoyable, with many good views over the lake. I'm not sure you're actually allowed to hike the trail, but it seems discriminatory to only allow a very small percent of people who own horses to use such a fine set of trails (roads, actually). The hike would be awesome in the spring, when the many grassy areas would be green and flowery!

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:22 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 22, 2006, 5:40 pm
by: Anonymous

I biked this trail last month (Feb 06) just after a storm had come through. There were some beautiful views of the Sierra Madre range with snow on it. The trail was well maintained even though it didn't look like it got much use. Some pretty rocky sections with very little mud. There is no water along the trail. The area is pretty baren until you drop into a small area of pine trees. Best to try this trail in the fall or winter since this area can get pretty hot in the summer with no shade. Pretty short trail though with some cool views of the backside of the Sierra Madre range and the Caliente range.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:22 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: January 2, 2007, 12:35 am
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked the trail from Buckhorn Road on 1 January 2007. Open, beautiful trail. No Water. What does the fenced off area in the upper meadow tell us?

Posted: January 2, 2006, 9:09 pm
by: Anonymous

I rode this trail on my mtn bike back in October or November and it had just been cleared. It very good condition all the way through. Thank you to the trail crew who spent time on it. Fantastic shape now. Watch out for the rattlers sunning themselves though in the cool mornings. I had a nice chat with a 3 footer, and then two other small king snakes later on! Give 'em room and a quite conversation and they will let you on your way.

Posted: June 17, 2005, 8:06 am
by: Anonymous

The trail is badly overgrown. There are places where the brush completely covers the path. If it weren't for the trail users tramping down the foliage, the trail would be lost in places.

The tread is dry and loose in places, especially on the steeper switchback climbs. Let's put this one on our to-do list for trail maintenance.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:23 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:24 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:24 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: February 26, 2006, 7:53 pm
by: Diane

The old cabin is probably where the ruins are. Pretty near to a large oak tree with a fire ring beneath it is a little crook in the trail. Off to the west about 10 feet are some old ruins. Just old rusty trash now. Not much to see.

Posted: February 25, 2006, 8:21 pm
by: Anonymous

My friend and I from Santa Ynez High School, hiked from Figueroa Mountain Road to Davy Brown Camp on Wednesday February 22, 2006. The trail was in great shape after the recent storm with only a few trees down in the path. Be careful when the trail comes to one 3 way fork, and very shortly thereafter a second 2 way fork. My friend and I took the correct trail on the first fork, but come the second, we took a left and ended up a bit lost for about 20-30 minutes. Just remember to follow the creek the whole way, and you will make it. Since it had snowed a few days before there was still remnants of this rare event, and my friend and I enjoyed the occasional snowball war!
Davy Brown Trail is a hike I would definetly recommend to anyone who wants to strengthen their climbing legs, because on the way back up, that steep 3 miles downhill that you just descended from, does not look quite as inviting, especially with a 30lb backpack to haul along with you!
I had also read about an old miners cabin somewhere along the trail, but I was never able to locate that? Does anyone know where that supposedly is located?
The trail is in great condition and offers some great views and Davy Brown camp is always clean and accompanied by great Forest Service personel more than willing to talk/help you. Really helps to make you feel more comfortable when a Forest Ranger has such a friendly Dimeanor. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. Strongly recommend it!

Posted: January 30, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Duane

In surprisingly good shape, although there are several washouts near the bottom, beginning about a half mile from Davy Brown camp. Just follow the creek and you will be ok.

A much steeper trail than I realized. Hiking downhill is very difficult in some places.

There is a trail junction about a mile down from the trailhead at Figueroa Road. The trail on the right is the Willow Springs Connector; the one on the left is the Munch Canyon Spur. Davy Brown Trail continues as the middle trail on the right hand side of the creek.

Posted: January 30, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Duane

My mistake; at the trail junction, the trail on the RIGHT is Munch Canyon Spur, and the trail on the LEFT is Willow Springs Connector. Sorry about that.

Posted: January 1, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

1 January 2005 hike from Figueroa Mountain Road to Davy Brown Camp. Thank you for the great trail work. Creek crossings are rock hoppable. Two trees and two dirt slides across trail.

Posted: July 18, 1973, 5:38 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: October 20, 2005, 10:58 am
by: BSA Troop 42

Camped there 25 / 26 August 2005. Good dirt road / trail to the Spring area. Spring fed creek running below camp. The large camp oak still stands.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 6:26 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:04 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:05 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 7, 2010, 8:33 am
by: TheBeeman

With 3 day weekend and lightweight packs, we hiked a 45 mile loop that started at Nira and ended at Nira via the Fall Canyon Trail.

There was water off the trail just before the trailhead to Fall Canyon a 1/4 mile past the big pine tree junction. Look for the willows.

I reflagged the upper section where the grass had obliterated the trail. Lets hope the birds don't take the markers.

Wildflowers were in full bloom and marked the middle section of the trail. There is no tread so your ankles get a good workout on the sloping terrain; easy to follow thanks to the hoof prints from the cowboys who rode it last year. Lots of water in the creek marked by a spring on Bryan's map.

The last mile from the small mesa down to the switchbacks above Mansfield was hard to find, a GPS and topo map was helpful in finding the original trail section.

A few pics in the Nira to Nira photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Happy Trails.

Posted: June 4, 2010, 1:37 pm
by: Cowboy Clark

A few cowboys made the trek up Fall Canyon this year again. Trail was till in good shape, although all of our flags were gone! I can't imagine that anyone would do that, so we think it might be birds who like the bright orange tape! A few more improvements were made, but this trail needs travel!
Please use it or lose it!

Posted: May 13, 2009, 10:24 am
by: Cowboy Clark

So we made our ride. It took us a full 10 hour day of hiking up and clearing trail down but the Fall canyon trail is passable now. We re-routed above the lower spring through the burn to avoid the unburned brush. We also flagged it to where it again joins the original trail. We brushed it out to ~1/4 to 3/8 mile to Mission Pine Basin where we followed the steep meadows. The two remaining problems are: just above the higher spring is a slide we dug tread through unfortunately encountering a rock that the pack animals couldn’t pass. So we had to unpack, carry & repack. The trail should probably be rerouted ~ 50’ higher to avoid more slides; secondly, the last 1/4mile below Mission Pine Basin should be brushed out. Every other place was OK.
It's a beautiful trail - keep traveling it to keep it open!!

Posted: April 24, 2009, 1:40 pm
by: Cowboy Clark

hmmm...
I guess no one has checked this trail out in a while...
Well we will be trying to open it up next week - wish us luck!

Posted: April 15, 2009, 10:53 am
by: Cowboy Clark

Hi there.
Later this month, a few of my friends are going to attempt going up the Fall Canyon trail from Mansfield Camp to Mission Pine. We assume that after the fire, at least the brush will be cleared out.
Has anyone tried to hike it since the Zaca Fire?
Any info. would be greatly appreciated as we will likely be flying by the seat of our pants!

Thanks in advance!

btw, if at all possible, we will be opening the trail up for horses - so we have our work cut out for us!

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:05 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: April 2, 2009, 4:46 pm
by: Bryan

February 28, 2009

I hiked to the junction of where Hiawatha Camp is supposed to be and did not see any trail heading out towards Roque. If you are brave enough to attempt that trail; good luck and give me a call - would love to check it out somemore.

I hiked from Kerry Canyon out towards Roque in early January 2009. The trail was relatively good. More information here:

http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/community/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=619

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:06 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:06 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 17, 2009, 10:23 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked the trail late March 2009. The first mile or so from Bluff had been worked last summer and is in virtual freeway condition. You'll notice the dozens of left over water jugs along the trail. This area was severely scorched during the Zaca. When you round the corner near the old Grapevine the trail gets significantly worse. Lots of waist to shoulder high grasses growing on the trail and some small washouts. Trail is hit or miss the remainder of the way to the Santa Cruz Junction. There is an unburned table at Pelch but also lots of trash. I flagged the difficult sections along the way. Worth checking out Jackrabbit Flat while in the neighborhood, interesting feature.

Posted: November 27, 2005, 7:25 pm
by: Diane

Grapevine trail is a bit brushy the further from Bluff you are. It's easy to take a wrong turn and end up at Pelch. Basically you have to turn north at the post and the tree that has half of the Pelch sign hanging in it.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:07 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:07 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:08 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:08 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 3, 2010, 12:09 pm
by: Coyote Dave

Trail is in excellent shape. The layout of the switchbacks really makes this steep ascent a walk in the park. The road from Aliso Camp to the trail head however is really overgrown and scratched my truck up pretty bad.

Posted: April 13, 2009, 12:41 pm
by: BernardMines

A spur of the moment overnighter to Painted Rock.

Did this trip with Steve a regular Wed Nighter.

This was our first time out here. We wanted to do an overnighter and had loose plans. Our original destination was changed, and Steve insisted that our destination either had to have a hot spring or an arch site, so the choice was easy. So at about 2 PM Saturday we headed out of town.

Steve was driving his Saab convertible and we originally planned on taking Sierra Madre road the whole way to the gate in the car and then walking the rest of the way. As it turned out the car was not the best of choices. Lots of gizmos on this car and Steve was worried the dirt road would jar loose the electronics. Also we did not have enough fuel as it turned out. The car has an electronic display that give you the miles til you need gas estimate. Well the estimate kept changing, pretty dramatically in the wrong way as we headed up the dirt road. So we were forced to turn around after only driving about 8 miles on the dirt road. We decided that rather then risk running out of fuel we could head out towards Cuyama and fuel up there, and hike one of the trails from there. No gas for sale in Cuyama as it turns out. Because Perkins Rd. is now gated, the most direct route The Rocky Ridge Trail was not so easily available. (A local in Cuyama told us that it would be trespassing to walk up Perkins Rd to the trailhead, past the gate. Does anyone know if this is true?) so we drove up the next road and followed up 6 miles up to Aliso Park.

Aliso Park is a pleasant grove of oaks in a little canyon, its got a toilet a few picnic tables and a few fire rings. I bet this place gets a lot of use from the locals in the summer because its so nicely shaded and a couple of thousand feet higher then the plains. There is a road that goes another 2.5 miles into the canyon with a very gentle rise up to Hogs Pen Springs. This also would be a good place in the summer its pretty out here, with a nice green grassy area. Plenty of water as there are two springs and a trail that goes up to Sierra Madre Rd on the ridge. The trail very closely resembles the hike from Forbush to Camino Cielo. In about a mile and a half it goes up to the top ridge switch backing the entire way, up a little less then a thousand feet. The footing is good and someone recently came thru here and cleared trail (who ever you are thank you) I bet this trail does not get that much use and there is a lot of yucca growing on the slope, but its been cut away so I did not get pricked even once. Up on top we got to the road and drank a beer watching the sunset. It was brisk and a bit windy. The road is in great shape and recently graded. And we hiked into camp at something like 9:30 PM.

Just using dead reckoning I figured we were pretty close, plus I started to see some cow patties in the road evidence of a meadow. Steve thought we still had a couple miles to go, I saw a jackrabbit cross the road. As the moon had not yet come up it was pretty dark and we crossed the last cow crossing and arrived into camp. Looking for a suitable place to camp, so we managed to distress both groups that were there, strangers arriving late at night with headlamps shining around. We ended up camping near the rock had the best spot IMHO. Set up tents ate dinner and climbed into bed. I've never slept so well, it was cold but not freezing cold, and lots of condensation.

Painted rock is gorgeous, a big meadow and interesting rock formations. Looking south we had epic views from on high, of places we often hike, the Manzana and Sisquoc, We could see the entire range running from Big Pine and beyond all the way to Zaca Peak. We could see a bit of snow on the north slope of McKinley, and we got a good view of the North face of Hurricane Deck. There was a bit of water dripping down the face of the rock that cooled our beer and provided us water.

As for the arch site the lower cave was in pretty bad shape just one image, (a humming bird I thought, and later saw a humming bird drink from the air of the water dripping off the rock face adjacent to the image.) The upper cave is in much better shape. The area around it is off limits but you can still get a good gander from below. I found a sliver of a sea shell, and put it back where I found it. Lots and lots of pestles. Obviously lots of people grinding acorns here over the years. Walking over the ridge and down a bit there was an amazing rock formation that was very evocative of a mystical castle. Its interesting because my brother Loren said it reminded him of Disneyland, and that was my thought as well. Really a lot to see out here, and Springtime is the best time to do it. While the grass is green and the temperature is still comfortable. It was a bit chilly hiking in the wind, but that kept us very comfortable as well.

Coming out here made us aware of how much hiking is still out here to explore in our back country. And I'd say its planted some seeds for future trips. I'd be curious to hike the Jackson trail down to the Sisquoc. This would make an excellent way to pass thru on a hike thru from Cuyama back to SB.

But soon enough it was time to pack up and hike back. I’d rate this as another excellent destination for an overnighter and very approachable too. Roughly 5 easy miles from the road. Or if you went our way 10 each way but only a 1.5 of easy ascent. Distance from SB wise, probably not more then an hour more of driving, in comparison to Nira from SB. So when you think about it its not really that far away.

Happy trails,

Bernard

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:09 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: April 2, 2009, 1:52 am
by: Bryan

February 28, 2009

Hiked from Sierra Madre Rd down into Horse Canyon and out to the Sisquoc. If coming from the Sisquoc the trail is followable through the first couple miles then becomes scattered. The canyon is open enough to find a trail here or there and make your way up. You might be on the trail, or you might not - but there are sufficiently easy ways up the canyon. We flagged here or there when we thought we were on the trail. Once the canyon narrows your choices similarly narrow and you are forced onto a more clear trail. The trail is relatively good until you get about halfway up the last side canyon towards Wyndham Gap and Hiawatha. There is a point where it ends completely and you'll be relegated to crawling and serious bushwhacking. There was water almost the entire length of the creek, but I would not expect it to last long. This canyon did not burn. More details here:
http://bryanconant.com/CONDOR/HorseHiawathaSisquoc.htm

Posted: April 6, 2005, 10:45 pm
by: Anonymous

We hiked up the canyon about 1.5 miles in mid-March. The trail was not too hard to follow, and someone had periodically flagged it. It's a scenic canyon with plenty of water and some lovely grassy benches full of goldfields. A very remote feel to the place. It deserves more attention. We turned around before I really wanted to, but we had to get back to our camp on the Sisquoc.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:10 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 10, 2010, 10:00 pm
by: codycolor2

I started out my venture on Sunday hoping to be able to to do a in and out all day hike of 25.1 miles starting at Nira and proceeding on the Lost Valley Trail to Hurricane Deck Trail to White Ledge Trail to Manzana Trail which ends at Nira. There is lots of "hunting" for the trail after the final creek crossing on the Lost Valley Trail. I made a arrow out of rocks pointing towards the trail which takes you up the mountain. I got all the way to the Hurricane Deck Trail then boom! where did the trail go? I got frustrated and since I had never been in that area before no need to push my time limits so I turned back. Next time I will start on a Saturday and over night it at White Ledge if I need to. I will also bring some pruners and handsaw for the 4.4 miles of Hurricane Deck Trail. Luckily no encounters with rattle snakes; although I did come across a garder snake and a gopher snake and 3 horny toads. If anyone wants to do this loop with me hit me up.

Posted: April 12, 2010, 8:45 am
by: toejam

I walked the Deck from Whiteledge to Manzana Schoolhouse April 10. The trail from Whiteledge to where it finally hits the ridge about 3 miles up is not easy to follow. Then there are some badly overgrown spots all the way to the Big Bend Trail, which I never saw cuz I got off route. I stumbled to the high point about 1:00 and stopped for lunch exhausted. The rest of the hike was more enjoyable and there was no problem following the route all the way to the Sisquoc.

The view from most of the ridge is world class and the western half had a nice display of wildflowers. I saw nobody on a Saturday, although there were about a dozen groups of scouts on the Manzana. Dress in heavy clothes and bring loppers and a saw if you are hiking the eastern end.

I really enjoyed camping at Whiteledge and Manzana Schoolhouse, but hated hiking in soggy boots all the way back to Nira. Running shoes would have been a better choice on the lower Manzana this time of year - had to cross it 30 times.

Posted: March 15, 2009, 4:09 pm
by: scottgrafton

Four of us ran the Potrero/Deck/Lost Valley loop March 14, 2009. The trail was in good shape. A million times better than both recent rumors and the last time I was on it (1977).

Potrero meadow is greening up nicely, but no spring. Trail up to the deck is wide open and burn section is easy to follow. Washouts are repaired beautifully, although it would still be unwise with a pack animal.

The western 2/3 of the deck is passed pretty much "on the edge", usually staying as far to the south as possible within the fire clearings, and without falling off. FUN!

From Big bend trail junction (Near the mystery bedframe) one traverses through the manzanita and white oak across the North side, but it is not that bad. We ran with clippers and opened up some of the overgrowth, and left plenty behind for others to cut in the future.

The only true nasty section is the double switch back on the north side of peak 4000', 1/2 mile west of the Lost Valley/Hurricane junction. It needs big loppers or a hand saw to get cleared properly. However, with some ducking and patience it is readily passed.

Lost Valley is wide open all the way down if you don't mind dodging burnt manzanita. There was water at the Pine tree, at the waterfalls heading into the valley above Castle, at the Spring on the road and in the creek all the way down Lost Valley.

9 hours of run/walking/clipping. A gorgeous day!

Wild Peonies everywhere.

Bring pants!

Posted: January 12, 2009, 10:32 am
by: ptsal

Hiked from Manzana Schoolhouse up the deck trail to Potrero trail and back to Nira. The trail is in great condition except for losing my way a couple of times on the north facing slopes as the trail switchbacks up out of the Sisquoc river valley. There were some downed oak trees or big fallen branches on the trail. The trail scars themselves became hard to follow as you approach the burn area. It needs to have a little TLC in that area and then the West Deck will be stellar! The switchback section was also "tick city" so keep that in mind. Zero ticks in the burn area so that's a plus. The burn area trail is wide open and very little difficulty following the trail. I was extremely dismayed though that the star thistle is absolutely EVERYWHERE, even on the deck. It's too bad and it seems like we are stuck with this nasty invader. I was up there Jan 11, 09. The flowers are starting to open. The honeybees were going nuts on the flowering manzanita bushes. Only saw one mushroom, a puffball on the Potrero trail. Not in edible condition, too old. No wind, bright sunshine temps were about 80 degrees. Brought 3 liters of water and drank every drop. Great hike!

Posted: November 17, 2008, 10:58 am
by: jan

I ran from Nira via Manzana Trail up Potrero Trail, along the rim of Hurricane Deck Trail back somwhere between Lost Valley Trail and White Ledge Trail to Nira.
Let me summarize: The fire has done his part and the trail starting at the middle of Potrero is almost invisible. I searched but had to take my own route. Being up on the rim, the Hurricane Deck trail is almost gone in the middle part between the 4237 peek and the 3668 peek. Sometimes the remaining of the trail is so very much on the edge that you really do not want to walk it! I actually think that some part must have collapsed recently.
There are a few traces that actually lead you to the wrong descend has happened to me. I only noticed being being half way down again. I made it through the wilderness back to the Lost Valley trail which is nice and easy for the lower 2/3 of the distance.

If you plan to do a day hike/run (it took me 10 hours running, sometimes I had to return as I was not on the track and further descend was impossible because of the dense scrub) take lots of water. You can easily get lost and then need an extra half a gallon.
I suggest going up Lost Valley trail as it is easier to find the route climbing up this route.
Long pants you need for sure.
Because of the fire you will look black anyway passing all the burnt branches.

Posted: March 31, 2008, 2:32 pm
by: Diane

Hiked the Hurricane Deck trail from White Ledge to Potrero. Unfortunately, the fire did very little "damage" (I'd like to consider it more like "clean-up") to the trail. It's just as miserable and overgrown as ever.

The section starting at White Ledge has burned quite a bit and can be a bit hard to follow in a couple of spots, but having it be open like that is nice. Once you pass out of this burn zone, most of the rest of the trail is untouched by the fire.

A few places along the crestline are burned on the front side and a little over the crest. It's a little easier to walk through this burned crest but there are enough burned twigs and yucca coming back to life to make it difficult.

Better luck next time.

Posted: March 14, 2008, 9:04 am
by: trav867

Just read Diane's post in the General Discussion forum- I had no idea the extent of the fire damage- looks like the wilderness will be closed for a long time. Looks like I'll be headed to Sespe Wilderness this spring...

Posted: March 14, 2008, 8:17 am
by: pjthermos777

Nira and Davey Brown campgrounds are still closed. I attemped to go for hike two weeks ago. I ended up just doing a different trail.

I would like to know when it will open again.

Posted: March 13, 2008, 10:57 am
by: trav867

Can't give any info about fire damage, but I'm curious about the status of the wilderness. From the Los Padres National Forest website, I gather that the majority of the place is still "closed." Can anyone tell me with certainty whether this is accurate?

Posted: February 22, 2008, 9:52 am
by: pjthermos777

I am thinking about planning a backpacking trip with a few friends. What is the condition of Hurricane Deck and what about the fire damage?

Planning on going sometime in March.

Thanks for any help that you can give.

-Peter

Posted: May 11, 2006, 6:42 pm
by: trav867

I did the Nira-Manzana-Whiteledge-Lost Valley loop Sunday and Monday. I had never been to San Rafael before. I started from Nira at about 2 pm and camped at Manzana Narrows. Got up early and made great time to the Whiteledge camp.

The first mile or so of Hurricane Deck from Whiteledge is fine, but once you hit the chaparral the going gets reallly tough. I did the Hurricane Deck section between about 11 am and 3pm and honestly it was horrible- a combination of crouching through brush, losing the trail, and picking off ticks. At some points, the only way I could find the trail was by looking for cuts in the brush- thanks Bryan!

The lost valley trail was beautiful- there are 2 spots within a mile of the Hurricane Deck Junction where I found water. It's getting hot during the day, and from whiteledge I'd say bring at least 3 if not 4 litres.

I made it back to nira at 7pm- I would not recommend anyone doing the narrows-whiteledge-deck-lost valley- nira trip in one day. I'm 21 and training for a june marathon, and the trip nearly killed me.

Also, be warned! I just got back from the doctor where I picked up a perscription for Poison Oak medication. I thought I knew what the stuff looked like, but apparently not.

I have a complete journal if anyone is interested in reading it, but if you're planning on doing the loop, just know that the 5 or so miles of Hurricane Deck are basically hell. That said, everything from Nira to Whiteledge was absolutely perfect, and lost valley trail is in decent shape.

Posted: May 8, 2006, 5:10 pm
by: Brian_

Is the trail still passable?

Posted: March 28, 2006, 7:34 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked Western HDeck on weekend on March 5-6, 2006. Trail was pretty overgrown but was passable - no crawling. I've seen the trail better but certainly seen it worse. I brought along loppers and tried to clear as much as I could. I ended up making obvious cuts every 20 yards or so. That way you could follow the trail by looking for the cuts. Anyway the views are nice and never even saw a footprint.

Posted: March 5, 2006, 9:28 pm
by: Anonymous

25-26 Feb. 2006 Hiked Manzana Trail to Manzana Schoolhouse and camped there. Then hiked up Hurricane Deck and down Potrero Trail. Hurricane Deck was a bit overgrown, but passable. We lost the trail twice, but found it again. Encountered some ticks and 2 rattlesnakes. The junction with Potrero trail was unmarked, but otherwise pretty evident (I was afraid of passing it). There is a nice meadow with Chumash cave paintings on Potrero Trail, worth the small side trip.

Posted: January 17, 2006, 1:25 pm
by: Anonymous

Did the Nira-Manzana-Whiteledge-Lost Valley loop. Pretty dense brush on the Whiteledge-Lost Valley section of Hurrican Deck. The sign said 5 miles, but it took a solid 4 hours.
No ticks, no snakes. Watch out for the tricky switchbacks in the trail description.
Anyone know what the actual mileage is on this section?

Posted: November 19, 2005, 11:46 pm
by: Chris Chirgwin

Hiked from Nira to the Schoolhouse on Friday, November 18. Camped overnight at the school house (no water about 1 mile below Dabney Cabin to the Sisquoc). On Saturday, hiked up Hurricane Deck to Potrero Trail and back down to Nira. There was alot of brush on Hurricane Deck that slowed us down. Potrero Trail was in good condition however.

Posted: June 1, 2005, 7:01 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

30 May 05 – White Ledge Camp to Lost Valley Trail junction. Good trail. One rattlesnake encountered; no ticks. Hikers and packs turned yellow from blooming Greasewood pollen. Our deepest thanks to those with the energy and initiative required to maintain the trails. It was fun to recognize the spots that Diane mentions in her Trail Guide.

Posted: April 18, 2005, 2:45 pm
by: Anonymous

Hello Diane,
Thanks again for your site. You make enjoying the trails so much better.

There is a bad cave-in on Hurricane Deck between Lost Canyon Trail and Big Bend Trail. It is dangerous without ropes. The trail that had gone to the north side is awkwardly absent for almost a hundred feet - and several hundred feet down.

It is possible to climb up the ridge but is very loose and steep with no solid holds.

With that exception, the Marathon Loop was everything you described.

Thank you!
Dave

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:36 pm
by: Diane

Post your updates here.

Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:12 pm
by: george

Hiked this trail a month ago after coming down the Lakes Ridge trail from near Porter Peak. It was a lovely trail, in great shape, with a fine tiny creek and nice grass and flowers. I left it near an old camp and canyon junction to hike another good trail westwards up the ridge back to Davis Cabin. I like this area; it's different.

Posted: May 5, 2005, 9:05 pm
by: Anonymous

Indian trail from Brookshire Campground to the old camp location near the east end is OK for hikers but not to horses due to downed trees, a lot of brush and rocky sections. We crossed 2 snakes yesterday while hiking it. From the old camp to Plowshare canyon is better, accessable to horses from Pine Saddle. A few motorcycles have been on that section, but not many as it is demanding, rough and needs some trimming.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:10 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: June 19, 2010, 1:23 pm
by: Hondo

Did a solo, two-nighter last weekend up to Indian Camp. Trail is fairly wide open, for Indian Creek standards, up to about a half mile or so past Meadow Camp. At that point the brush has started to creep over what is otherwise a wide cut trail. It is still easy to follow, though, just requires a little pushing through branches here and there. After that it's into the creek with sections of decent trail interspersed with creek boulder hopping.

Saw two rattlesnakes so keep your eyes peeled. Found a nice pile of garbage waiting for me at Meadow Camp. I collected it and kept it with me in case I found its owner so I could shove it up their. . .

Plenty of cool water still flowing fast all the way down the canyon. It was about 90-95 degrees, but hiking in the creek water kept me cool and I hardly broke a sweat hiking up from Indian Camp. A lot of wildlife out there and blooming flowers.

--Hondo


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Posted: June 19, 2009, 11:04 am
by: ConiferKevin

Stayed at the meadow for two days memorial day weekend 2008. A late season rain squall occurred in the burned out upper drainage and quickly turned Indian Creek chocolate brown (I'm sure that's why there's no more trout). Had to hike over to buckhorn camp to get clean water.

Took a day hike up to perfect 10 and some extra curricular spelunking...fantastic. The numerous falls were amazing even when chocolate colored. Tons of bear evidence and the humboldt lilies were in full swing.

Posted: July 13, 2008, 4:22 pm
by: Ranger Juan

I hiked the Indian Creek trail as far as Meadow Camp by myself over Father's Day 2008, and have a few things to report.

There's a big black bear whose tracks are all over the trail, and who himself paid me a visit at my campsite just as I was finishing up dinner! I scared him off by banging pots and pans, and didn't see him again the rest of the trip. I definitely encourage hikers up there to keep their campsites scrupulously clean, and carry a bear canister if they've got one.

On my hike out, I saw big, fresh tracks that were unmistakably a mountain lion's. These, coupled with the bear encounter, and a terrifyingly close rattlesnake encounter, make me implore others to hike with a buddy. I love solo-hiking, but this trip, out in a remote part of the SB backcountry, has made me reconsider how prudent soloing is.

Other useful info: There's plenty of water still, although in the baking 95 degree heat, it might not last for much longer. No 10'' trout to report (see doug's post from 8/28/05.) The desolation of the Indian Creek area makes it a pretty special place; but know that from the end of the pavement on E. Camino Cielo, it's a 13 mi, ***50 minute*** drive to the trailhead over some pretty bumpy, dusty, tiring terrain (Diane already said this in her directions, but didn't indicate quite how long a drive this is!). Make sure your car is up to the task. (My VW Rabbit made it but wasn't happy.)

Don't let my report sound too discouraging though: Indian Creek's a great hike that I'll happily do again next spring--but with a buddy!

Happy trails!
-John

Posted: April 30, 2008, 2:49 pm
by: BernardMines

Since my last update a year and a half ago I have since participated in 2 trail maintenance projects put on by the Los Padres Forrest Association, to clear Indian Creek trail...

From Meadow Camp to Indian Camp is almost entirely clear. We have just one small section 100 yards or so left. Late this summer the CCC is slated to clearing the trail from the end of Camusa Road to the Buckhorn trail. So this should be a smooth easy hike the entire way.

Lots of water out there. The fire did not touch the lower part of the Cyn, but the upper part was mostly burned.

Happy trails,

Bernard

Posted: December 4, 2006, 5:08 pm
by: BernardMines

With a few Wednesday nighters we did an overnighter at Indian Camp.

The trail up until about half a mile N of Meadow Camp is in great shape. From there on its tougher going. Lots of P.O and a very overgrown trail. I agree with Diane that as you get further up the Cyn the prettier it gets. Just keep pushing on and eventually you reach the camp. Its very reminiscent of the meadow up Rattlesnake Cyn., accept a whole lot more remote. Its just a very special place with a big creek running thru, located along a meadow. We saw lots of bear scat, Loren said that it tasted no fresher then a couple of days old, I'll take his word on that.

Next day we tried walking further up to the illusive "Perfect 10" on the map. The trail really does not exist from Indian Creek camp on up, accept in an archeological sense. So my advice is just rock hop up the creek. If we'd have had a full day I'd try and make it up to Pens camp, but instead we had to turn around after more or less a mile. Creek hopping is slow going. So I forsee another trip to further explore the area.

Posted: August 28, 2005, 10:57 pm
by: Anonymous

8-25-2005

mountain bike to bluff camp, hiked down indian creek. trail is excellent to poplar camp, lots of running water, 10" trout (aug ?!!)
poplar to pens camp is alittle overgrown but well marked thanks to bear traffic.trail down indian creek dissapears at pens. alamar trail begins at this point to loma pelona,(to east) also in poor shape, dry, thorny, no water.
turned back at pelona, backtracked to overnite at poplar, where do the picknic tables come from??

Lots of bugs, poison oak,spooked bears, falen trees across trail (small but horseproof-2 mi ?)

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:30 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: October 13, 2009, 6:26 pm
by: Bryan

10/10/09

VWR and LPFA work trip removed fallen trees and light brushing down from Bluff to the where the trail narrows before Poplar Camp.

Posted: May 17, 2009, 10:33 pm
by: Bryan

3/30/09

If you've made it in this deep, then you know what to expect. Trail here, not trail there. Trail was flagged in March so you should have something to follow.

Posted: April 20, 2007, 2:19 pm
by: Bryan

4/14/07

Myself and 4 others cleared the trail from Bluff Cabin down to Pens Camp. Tons of Poison Oak but the trail is easy to follow and one of the most beautiful in the backcountry. From Pens up to Loma Pelona the trail gets significantly worse. The tread is easy to follow, but between the abundance of California Rose and the lack of bush clearing the trail pushes back more than most would like.

NOTE: The turnoff for Poplar Camp is REALLY easy to miss. If coming from downstream look for a spur/fork trail that takes a hard left off the main trail after two consecutive creek crossings. Its harder to find from the downstream side. The camp (with table) is there, its about 300 yards off the main trail in an oak filled clearing. Its hard to find so until the Forest Service marks it with a sign bring a map and take your time. Poplar is better than Pens IMO.

Posted: November 27, 2006, 8:48 pm
by: Bryan

11/24/06

Went from the Mono/Indian TH up to the Alamar Tin Shack. Trail was passable but hard to follow at times. Pay special attention at the Mono Creek crossings as the signs of the trail are difficult to see across the expansive creek bed.

Once at Upper Mono camp the trail was easy to follow up to the Alamar Hill trail. Some brush but the trail is there.

The trail over Alamar is a tough haul but followable. Be prepared for moderate bush-whacking. I brushed the trail from Upper Mono to the Tin Chack, and then from the Tin Shack up Alamar to within 1 mile of Dutch Over. After that the trail gets brutal.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:11 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: August 21, 2010, 12:02 am
by: TheBeeman

Over the weekend of Aug 13-15, Rik and I joined USFS personnel to check on groups of hunters camping along the Sierra Madre Ridge. We also hiked down the Jackson Trail to Sycamore Camp to check on the trail condition and new throne.

We met two hunters staying at the campsite. We joined them for two nights.

Trail is in great condition, including 2 miles up the river. We flagged the trail 2 miles down to near Cliff camp. Nice water in the Sisquoc River. No flies and few mosquitoes.

I have posted pictures of my trip at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Note: This trail is very steep over the last two miles down to the river. I would recommend going lightweight (Total pack weight <20 lbs) on this trail. The hunters reported carrying over 60 pound packs down the trail to Sycamore; they reported not being happy campers, and certainly did not look forward to hiking out.

Happy Trails

Posted: July 8, 2009, 9:10 am
by: mstiles

I hiked down Jackson in October of '08. The trail has been recently worked by the CCC and is very wide and easy to follow. The bottom mile or so is still steep and without many switchbacks, but that's another matter.

Mike

Posted: April 10, 2006, 10:52 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked down The Jackson Trail on 2 April. The Trail is in reasonable shape.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:12 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: June 3, 2010, 12:21 pm
by: Coyote Dave

I hiked up Judell Trail from Heath Camp over Memorial Day Weekend (2010) and was impressed by its gradual ascent. The tread was in good shape and the route was flagged pretty well.

Posted: July 8, 2009, 9:15 am
by: mstiles

I hiked up Judell in October of '08 as part of a Montgomery Potrero/Sisquoc River/Judell expedition for Los Padres Forestwatch, GPSing tamarisk along the river.

The bottom portion was burned badly and extremely hard to follow because of gullies and washouts. Once a mile or so up, the trail is completely undamaged from the fire and very wide and shady.

Mike

Posted: April 19, 2007, 9:22 pm
by: goletasteve

Hiked the Judell trail March 21 (Spring Equinox) on the first day of shuttle trip from SB Canyon to Nyra. The trail is in overall good shape. Suprising, since I didn't think this trail gets that much use. A few ticks and some poison oak, which BTW hadn't bloomed yet. (I guess because of the cold freeze we had?) Unfortunately I didn't figure out the oak was in its winter stick form until day two on the sisquoc. The five miles up from the gate on Sierra Madre just to get to the trail head will definitely warm your legs up!

Posted: June 1, 2006, 5:56 am
by: BSA Troop 42

We worked on this trail on 27 May 2006 as part of a trail maintenance activity. A great trail is getting more opened up; near flowing water much of the way to Heath Camp. The Sisquoc River is crossable on rocks between Heath Camp and Rattlesnake Canyon. A big Thank You to Volunteer Wilderness Ranger Mike Smith, his support team, and the loveable backpacking goats for keeping the Upper Sisquoc trails open! See pictures of Diane’s trip on this trail one year ago: http://www.santabarbarahikes.com/community/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=174.

Posted: March 28, 2006, 8:00 pm
by: Bryan

Some brush along the middle section, may want to wear long pants. Very few ticks. Cleared a section where a pine tree dropped a large widow-maker branch across the trail. If you haven't hiked this trail you are missing out. Great views, never a person in sight, and the trail covers so much of the beauty that makes the San Raf so special.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:13 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 5, 2005, 9:09 pm
by: Anonymous

Kerry Canyon from Pine Saddle to Indian trail is OK for hikers, needs some trimming for horses but is passable. Some erosion on the steep section near the start and the poison oak is doing well. Lots of ticks out. Crossed path with one rattlesnake.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:13 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 1, 2005, 9:59 am
by: Anonymous

Drove Colson Canyon, La Brea, Smith up to Miranda and out to 166 to check access. Road is all in good shape and the gates are all open.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:14 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: February 16, 2009, 10:02 am
by: Bryan

Trail down to Ballard (NEW) Camp was exceptional. A crew had been in recently and the trail is wide open down into the canyon. Really beautiful trail. From the new camp to the old camp the trail gets progressively worse until you are crawling in some places and scrambling in others. I searched for the trail up to La Jolla Springs and Zaca Ridge and could not find any signs once off the main creek. Lots of bear shit, ladybugs, freshly cut firewood, and no people.

Posted: June 11, 2005, 1:31 am
by: Anonymous

Hiked down to Ballard camp on 6/8/05. A few sections where you'll need to push through some bushes but all in all the trail is in good shape. There is one section about 75% down that is a small slide. Not a factor for the pedestrian but could be for the equestrian. Lots of ticks.

Posted: January 16, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

15 / 16 January 2005. Camped at Upper Ballard Camp. Good trail to Camp from Figueroa Mountain Road. Cleared several branches. More Lady Bugs in canyon than Davy Brown Trail on 1 January. Nice gurgling stream through Camp.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:28 am
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: November 6, 2009, 10:56 pm
by: TheBeeman

Hiked to Santa Cruz Station to check on the "40 mile wall". Trail is in excellent condition from Alexander Pass to Santa Cruz Station. CCCs have worked this trail and put in some great crib walls.

Water report:

1. No water in creek from SC trailhead to 19 Oaks; no water in water trough at camp.

2. Stock Trough - water dribbling out of spring pipe: water in trough for stock.

3. Water at Little Pine Springs Camp

4. Lots of water in Santa Cruz Creek.

This is the best time to hike to Santa Cruz Station. Grass is starting to grow. Cool temps. No flies or mosquitos.

Pics of our trip at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Happy Trails

The Beeman

Posted: April 22, 2009, 12:36 pm
by: GoldenBear

Now that I have (somewhat) learned how to post photos online, you can view my pictures at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pr77x/sets/72157617097910990/detail/

Posted: March 27, 2009, 8:36 pm
by: GoldenBear

:D
Does it get any better than my hike from Upper Oso to Happy Hollow, via 19 Oaks, on Tuesday, March 24th?
Skies? -- Sunny, blue, and clear
Temperature? -- High 60's
Wind? -- Light breeze
Flowers? -- In peak of bloom
Water levels? -- Coming a few days after a major rain storm, the Oso Creek was flowing well and clear
Trail condition? -- Easy to follow, with only one noticeable problem
Trail crowding? -- Not one other person seen
Pictures? -- Got several photos I doubt I could match

The trail has been well described in above posts, so I'll just give an update, and note things that might help a first-timer (like me).

The damage from the Zaca Fire can still be seen, particularly at Happy Hollow -- where it will be obvious for YEARS to come. However, the regenerative power of the creation is also easily viewable, when you see green all around you.

You cross Oso Creek twice before coming to 19 Oaks Campsite Spur Trail, and once more just after passing it. Even with about two centimeters of rain having fallen two days before, a crossing was not difficult.

There are two spur trails going up to 19 Oaks, and only the second one (as you head north) is marked. This latter one is much more heavily eroded, so maybe it would be best to use the first. As noted above, the third crossing of Oso Creek is just beyond the spur trails.

The spring at 19 Oaks is running quite well.

About 80% of the way up, you come across an area where inevitable slides of small bits of shale have buried the trail. You can walk across these piles IF you maintain your balance. Expect to get pebbles in your boots. You do NOT want to slip at this point; it's only for those with good balance. There's a shovel and rake on the trail to clear this debris, but you'll feel like King Canute ordering the tide to go back.

Several kinds of wildflowers are right on or near the trail, including California poppies. If you've ever wanted to see this area in bloom, now is the time.

Had no real problem with any kinds of insects, but this may have been due to the breeze.

Posted: March 24, 2009, 10:59 pm
by: scott

Wife & I hiked Santa Cruz Trail off Jeepway from Upper Oso on 21 MAR. It was ovc but didn't rain, and was pleasant for hiking except that there were no views at elevation. First time we hiked this trail, so don't know landmarks well....About two hrs into hike we passed a grassy clearing on the right side of the trail where some trail maintenance timbers were resting on the ground, and if visibility allowed, there would have been a nice view thru a gap. Anyway, a few more minutes up the trail (.25 mi?), considerable trailwork had been done to control the sliding shale with retaining walls on the upper and lower side of the trail. We easily crossed the first area where the upper retaining wall had been overrun by sliding shale, but the second slide was impassable (for us). There was about 15-20 feet of shale that created a continuous slope across the trail. The footing was somewhat stable for the first 8-10 ft, but then grew dicey and was deeper. At the far end of the slide, the upper and lower retaining walls were barely visible beneath the shale. It didn't pass the risk/reward test for us. It was not possible, without greater risk, to go around the slide in either direction (above or below).

Downbound, we spoke briefly to some ascending cyclists who claimed they crossed the same slide earlier in the week by running across with their bikes on shoulder. More power to 'em...

Posted: March 1, 2009, 10:21 pm
by: BernardMines

Hi all,

Just hiked out to Santa Cruz station via Upper Oso. I went with my compadres Don Jack and Poppy the pug.

The trail to Alexander Saddle is in pretty good shape. I've hiked it 3 times in the past month. Though it gets a lot of Mt. Bike travel and its starting to get rutted out in places, and maybe a little chute like its still a great trail.

Its been 25 years since I last hiked to Santa Cruz Station. And back then I remember the trail from the saddle down as quite easy and smooth sailing. Now I'd say its starting to get in rough shape. The trail has that quality that many of the further inland trails up in Big Sur have. Overgrown and lots of growth on the trail, not many people get out here and it shows. But it is at least as georgous as I remember it to be. So that said if you're looking for an overnighter look no further!!!
But you better be at least a little intrepid.

From Alexander Saddle the trail does a large slowly descending crescent to get you on the 2nd ridgeline over. This section was I'd say moderately overgrown, but nothing terrible. Quite a bit of shale on the ground which can make for a bit of uneven surface but basically farily clean and easily passible. About a mile down is a completely overgrown side trail leading off to the spring. We could see the Picnic table as we descended. About a mile and a half down we crossed a shale silted ravine and began the "40 Mile Wall."

The wall is amazing. The fire has cleared out all the brush so you really get a feeling for elevation and it makes for a terrific view the entire way. You traverse down the ridgeline for about 3 miles. As you get further down the ravine below you gets progressively deeper and the view more magnificent, and is maybe 800 feet below down a steep but not shear ledge at the very bottom. This section is what needs the work. There are washouts and its pretty overgrown.

The big wash outs are on very loose and shalely rock. But easily passible I'd guess to the mildly intrepid. Fortunately the wash outs are towards the top where the distance to the bottom of the ravine is not that far, also the slope is not that steep and the shale would slow and cusion your descent if you were so unluck as to fall or have the ground under foot give out from under you. So my feeling was that even if you fell in the worst place, or the shale gave way which it could you'd be more bummed out then injured. I'd guess your shirt and shoes would be full of the loose shale, and you'd have to climb back up but that would be the worst of it. The shale while adding danger would simultaniously cusion your fall and slow you down so you would not go far. Maybe like sliding down a steep sand dune.

Besides the wash outs the trail is completely overgrown by grasses and annual flowers, and I really mean completely. From about mid calf at the lowest to waist high in places. So this makes for difficult footing, and because the trail surface is obscured it makes you over compensate towards the upward slope. What someone needs to do is walk the trail with two weed wackers, one on either side and a raker and clear it out. The fire has completely blasted this hillside and while there are lots of grasses and flowers no chaparel or shrubery to talk of. This means you really get the sense you are walking along the edge of a cliff and can look all the way to the bottom of the ravine way below you with unobscured vision. But also like I said earlier the slope is not sheer and even if you tripped in most places you would not fall far. Its not really a cliff just a steep steep slope mostly. And the wash outs are way above the steepest areas so its all good. All the grasses while they may be a PIA are all in bloom and are a wall of color. We saw spectacular blooms of poppies. And meteor showers of shooting stars.

When you hang the corner and start up the Santa Cruz drainage you're looking out towards this emense hillside on the other side of the canyon. The entire hill or mt. is fire blasted and devoid of shrubbery its covered in green grasses in places and the rock formations are very visible and sort of outlined by the grasses. This is the sort of view that can make you dizzy, and actually gave me a bit of vertigo. The Eastern side of the canyon did not burn and the trail quickly descends 800 feet or so under oak canopy into Santa Cruz station. In this section the trail is in great shape and reminds me of the way the whole trail was when I last came thru here in Jr. High.

We found Santa Cruz creek to have a heavy flow of muddy water. And as we both use Steri Pens we were looking for other water sources on our way down. As a completley novice river runner I'd guess you could kayak down to Cachuma lake right now. Maybe do a creek survey and you could get a ride on the road. But by the time the roads are passible the water flow won't be adequet so there you have it. But clean water was flowing down the side creek at the foot of the camp. Lots and lots of oak cut and waiting for a fire. We did not have to gather squat, it was all ready to go and cut up in nice sized pieces when we got there. Shared the campground with another group of 3 younger men.

The way out was uneventful, but harder then I remember. The last time the trail was clean, this time it was all overgrown. Poppy got a little hot so I also carried her on top of my pack adding another 20 pounds or so for a mile or 2. Carrying Poppy and pushing thru the grass made the way back as difficult as the asscent from Upper Oso to the Alexander Saddle but for different reasons. The front part is steep so its a slog carying a heavy pack. The back part is a slog because you're pushing thru the grasses the whole way and the footing is uneven. Still there were compensating balances. The view was incredible and also there were the wild flowers. Poppy my pug dog actually had the slope give way under her on the most spectacular of the wash outs. I took off my pack and crawled down 6 feet below the trail and laying on my stomach managed to reach out and grab her and lift her out of the wash out ravine. I alwyas joke on the Wed night hike that no tripping is allowed unless the fall down is going to be amazing, Poppy sure complied.

We found water in several areas between 19 Oaks and Santa Cruz Station. Just before the meadow on the front side is the stock water. I refilled here both ways. About a mile down is a swampy area with water that Poppy appreciated. I wet her down and she drank her fill. So you're never more then about 3 miles from water.

This was a great trip and I'd highly recommend the location. I might even plan a little trail maint project for the parts that need it.

Happy trails,

Bernard

Posted: May 23, 2008, 8:17 pm
by: mdilligan

I hiked from Upper Oso to Santa Cruz 5/16 to 5/18. Even without the ridiculous heat wave it would have been a long hot hike.

The spring at 19 Oaks is barely flowing and I didn't see any water before Santa Cruz (though I didn't check Happy Hollow). The trail to Santa Cruz is OK until the Happy Hollow turnoff though there are faint spots. After Happy Hollow it gets very dubious, there are some very unstable portions and the ground is very loose. It is passable but treacherous (especially on the final long traverse where the canyon is very steep and there is nothing to stop you if you slip), and passage is causing lots of erosion in some spots where the trail is breaking down.

Santa Cruz has lots of downed trees and the river was low, barely deep enough to swim in and with a lot of algae (maybe due to the heat?). The campsites are clear and there is a lot of firewood cut by the ranger (though fires are currently prohibited). I experienced very fierce mosquitos.

A lot of this burned in the Zaca fire, though there is a fair amount of smaller growth since then. I saw lots of toads, snakes (no rattlers), and lizards, as well as some deer. I also saw what looked like fresh bear and large cat tracks on the trail though I didn't encounter any.

Posted: April 15, 2008, 9:56 pm
by: Spudnic

The Santa Cruz trail coming down from little pine back to 19 Oaks wasn't in the best shape, but it is still passable. Little Pine is now all burn't down but my trip in general was very rewarding and enjoyable.

Posted: January 15, 2008, 1:56 am
by: Bryan

This report is from September, sorry I lagged.

A group of Forest Service volunteers drove into Happy Hollow and hiked down to Santa Cruz and up to Flores Flat. The trail down to Santa Cruz was severely washed out in sections, and this was before we received any rain. Its very likely that this trail will be closed for some time in the future. The fire eliminated all the vegetation that would normally hold this trail in one piece.

The trail over to Flores was similarly sliding away along most of the steep sections. Its quite possible that all steep sections of trails within the butn zone are going to be gone come Spring.

Pay attention to trail closures.

Posted: October 22, 2007, 4:51 am
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked to 19 Oaks on 20 / 21 October 2007. Santa Cruz Trail is signed closed 2.5 miles past 19 Oaks; Fire Closure Area. Bring the water that you need. Check on backpack stove use restriction. High winds and Zaca Fire ash, but it is good to get back into our mountains.

Posted: May 13, 2007, 6:03 pm
by: Spudnic

First overnighter w/dog(his 1st also) was awesome. Boring because I was by my self. Myles was a champ the whole trip. The section through the Mustard weed was ridiculous, hard to keep on the trail. Slipped a couple of times, just really ticked me off. The ticks were pretty bad but I sprayed myself(pant legs) and the dog down w/ some flea and tick spray before we left. Myles carried his own gear in his pack(water, food, treats) just need to get him his own mat. Had plenty of water just crappy equipment. Cheap 2-person bivy tent, Coleman mummy bag that didn't fit, 3 day military style pack. (shoulders said,"ouch".) Other than that it was another great adventure. We hiked to happy hollow campground and stayed the night, But after assessing the dog I'm confident he could make it to Santa Cruz campground. Oh well next time.

Posted: January 2, 2007, 12:47 am
by: BSA Troop 42

1 January 2007. Water in Oso Creek is intermittent. The trail east from Nineteen Oaks to the Old Mine Road is easy to follow; as is the Old Mine Road from the mine to Buckhorn Road. Long Pants. Water in the creek near the mine did not look the best.

Posted: December 19, 2006, 1:15 pm
by: gogirlzz

Dawn was sunny and beautiful, but cold.We wore ALL our down stuff.It had warmed up some by the time we reached the trail head (28 from 17 degrees). Trail was in good shape, wet but not clumpy. Scat everywhere, the fauna must be eating well.Frost on the picnic table and ground under 7 of the 19 oaks. We made a fire. Really, the fattest bush wrens I've ever seen came out to visit. No wind and stunningly quiet; we got some super pictures. When the wind did finally kick up, the chill chased us off the mountain. I still think this is the most beautiful time of year to be up here.

Posted: October 15, 2006, 11:01 pm
by: Bryan

10/15/06

Spent last night on Little Pine, trail is great as always. A trail crew cleared the slide sections last week. Busy day on the trail.

Posted: May 31, 2006, 11:19 am
by: Liz

Went to the top of Little Pine on Memorial Day weekend. Absolutely beautiful.
Lots of ticks at the higher elevations.
Some retaining walls weren't retaining.
Patches of the path at the upper meadow require a bit of stomping through overgrown mustard and grasses.
But the trail was always easy to follow.

Posted: January 25, 2006, 9:15 pm
by: Anonymous

A group of 14 riders went last Sunday, January 22nd and the trail was great. We experienced a few muddy patches, but otherwise it was perfect.

Here's a
story and pictures from the ride, including aerial photography with a GPS plot of our path.

Posted: January 17, 2006, 10:57 pm
by: Anonymous

Clear trail, smooth sailing, up to Little Pine! The trail from Alexander Saddle down to SC was worked and cleared in December (12/14/05). The C.R.E.W. were able to clear the trail from the saddle to a point about 3/4 of the way down the "40 miles of hell". From there the trail is very findable but you will have to push through a bush or 70. The switchbacks down to Santa Cruz are in fine shape. LOTS OF TICKS!

Posted: January 9, 2006, 12:30 pm
by: Duane

I camped out at 19 Oaks Saturday Night. The trail is in excellent shape, since I had no troubles navigating it in the dark (although a headlamp helped).

I always get a little turned around on the spur trail heading up to the actual camp (especially at night), but this time the sound of the water gushing out of the piped spring was loud enough to guide me.

I almost chickened out and stayed down at Upper Oso, but the $15.00 gate fee and the ominous sight of all those dirt bikes spurred up my courage, and I made the night trek in about 40 minutes.

It was a deathly quiet moonlit night, thanks in part to all the moisture on the ground. Kinda hard for some tiny rodent to sound like a marauding bear while it crawls through the dry grass when the grass isn't, well, DRY!

Posted: January 8, 2006, 6:27 pm
by: Anonymous

i went from upper oso to nineteen oaks, the trail was in very good condition. Aside from a few obnoxious motorcycles on the bike trail before the actual trailhead, it was a great hike. A few rockslides, but the creek was easily crossed.
No ticks, bear attacks, or terrorist bombings.

Everything is very green right now, i reccomend the hike.

Posted: January 2, 2006, 5:22 am
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked from Upper Oso to 19 Oaks on 1 January 2006; before most of the heavy rain. Creek trail was reasonable; dirt road and upper trail were in great shape.

Posted: May 23, 2005, 11:18 pm
by: Duane

Took a friend of mine backpacking to the 19 Oaks campsite, where we enjoyed a nice lovely walk up to Little Pine Mountain. We had hiked up there last year about this time and wanted to do the hike again before it got too warm out.

The campsite is in great shape, and the spring is literally overflowing -- there is a large U-shaped marsh surrounding the camp because the spring can only spew out so much water.

The flowers were in bloom, big time. Much more than last year. The hike up the face of Little Pine was also much steeper than I remembered it, although the walk through the "mellow meadows" section was well worth it.

If there is one word of warning I could offer, it is this:

Snakes.

No, make that SNAKES!! SNAAAAAAAAAKES!! LONG SLITHERING TOUNGES FLICKERING RATTLERS RATTLING MAKING YOU JUMP OUT OF YOUR SKIN AND REGRET EVERY STEP RAT-BASTARD SONOFABITCHING SNAAAAKES!!!!

Last year, it was bears, this year it was snakes. What'll it be next year? The return of the mexican Jaguar? Just wondering.

ps, Although this was my second time hiking up the mountain, I noticed for the first time last week that there is a spring fed horse trough half way up Little Pine's face. Look for the small sign. Just a note for all you fancy equestrians out there.

Posted: January 30, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

The trail is good shape except for a few small slides which can be easily negotiated. BUT, Paradise Rd was still closed at the first river crossing right before Lower Oso (ranger told me they may open it next weekend). You have to wade the river (about 5 - 10 inches), walk up the road to Upper Oso and then join the trail.

Posted: January 21, 2002, 10:44 am
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:16 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: February 16, 2009, 10:44 am
by: Bryan

Hiked from Little Pine Spring up to Little Pine Mtn mid January 2009. The trail is in pretty bad shape between the fire and the snows from 2007-2008. I marked the trail with flags so one should be able to find their way, but be prepared for route searching and the occasional climb over a fallen branch or limb. Scenically the trail is great, that one large rock outcrop is really neat. Bring loppers.....

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:16 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:17 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 22, 2010, 6:20 am
by: jjgs

May 19. Wanted to report CCC crew working the Lost Valley trail. It's first time I hiked this trail, and conditions are as described by carp_nb. When I got to this camp site under huge oak tree, I lost track of trail due to overgrown vegetation.

Posted: April 8, 2010, 10:02 am
by: carp_nb

Hiked up the Lost Valley Trail as far as the twin oaks camp last weekend. Most of the trail is in pretty good shape... not nearly as nice as during winter '08/'09 when the CCCs had brushed the trail, but it's still pretty easy to follow.

As you get closer to the twin oaks camp (say the last 1/4-1/2 mile), the trail starts to get pretty overgrown and more difficult to follow, but not terrible. There's a few trees, maybe 3 or 4 total, between the LV turnoff from the Manzana Trail and the twin oaks camp, that have fallen and are blocking the trail. Nothing major.

Water in the creek is sporadic. Some sections of the creek have a steady little trickle, others, like by the twin oaks camp have gone underground. The camp itself was in good shape, other than quite a bit of trash piled up in the fire ring. If you pack it in, pack it out!


Wildflowers are blooming and surprisingly, no ticks! Nice time to be out hiking.

Posted: August 3, 2009, 12:16 pm
by: alexjob.sb

I just got back yesterday from a 2 day backpacking trip up the Lost Valley Trail. First of all if you take the trail all the way back to the Hurricane Deck T intersection, where it ends, the hike is more of a ~20 mile round trip. Current conditions, as of 8/1, are VERY dry. Sulfur Creek is empty, with the exception of some small standing pools. The spring mentioned in the hike description trickling and proves quite a pain to get any water from. I took 3 liters of water and drank almost all of it the first day making the hike back down quite dehydrating although the little water I did manage to get from the spring helped despite its sulfuric taste (I used a Katadyn purifying bottle).

The landscape, although showing obvious signs of the Zaca fire, is breath taking. Once you make your way up the crumbling trail that hugs the hills on the way up, you’ll be stoked to find gorgeous vistas of hills, valleys, rock formations and Hurricane Deck. About 8 miles in I spotted bear tracks hardened into the trail. It looked like a medium to large sized bear had been up there when the ground was wet and his tracks had dried in the mud. In addition I found fresh coyote tracks, saw a couple rattle snakes and about a million quail. I did bring a bear can for my food just in case as there are no trees to hang your smelly stuff at the end of the trail where Lost Valley intersects with Hurricane Deck. The trail is pretty easy to follow all the way to the end although one must be aware of little turnoffs that end in a wall of brush.

The Poison Oak is doing quite well right now so I’d take care to keep an eye out for it on either side of the trail as it often hangs over right a shin height. Most of the pine trees have been scorched badly by the Zaca fire but many oaks are making solid headway in producing new growth. If you’re intending to head left on Hurricane Deck toward the Manzana area I’d recommend you plan to get up there while you have at least 3 hours of daylight left. The trail is incredibly difficult to find and almost impossible in the evening.

In conclusion just a couple tips to keep in mind at least during the current weather and seasonal conditions. If you even intend on just going up Lost Valley and back, bring lots of water. Like I said I brought 3 liters and it wasn’t enough. Given I am a 6’3” dude who sweats like nobody’s business but I should have gone with at least a gallon if not a gallon and a half. As far as food I’d recommend going super lightweight with stuff high in carbs and protein. Clif and Luna bars a great with perhaps some boiled eggs and wheat bread. Something I found myself craving too was fruit so maybe throw a couple oranges and apples in you back as well. Nira is a great campground to park in and the creek there had enough water in it to take a blissful dip in after getting back down from the trip. As for the adventure pass I’d recommend getting the year long pass at Big-5 for $30. Road conditions on the way to Nira are adequate and you shouldn’t have much of a problem getting there in any sort of car. Also a great tool is the Bryan Conant map of the San Rafael Wilderness. Lost Valley seemed pretty darn accurate and his topographic indicators are extremely helpful.

Posted: April 26, 2009, 6:53 pm
by: Jade

We attempted the Castle Rock hike for the first time, and didn't end up making it there. I was on the lookout for a campsite, a pool with some water, and fallen pines, and didn't see any of those things - we eventually ended up at the campsite under the oak tree.

We found where the trail continued around the hill after the camp, but it was extremely overgrown, and we had to duck under a lot of vegetation. Then about 1/4 mile after the camp we followed it into a sort of ravine, and lost it completely. We couldn't find it in any direction, and we were getting tired, so we turned back.

Up until the camp by the oak tree, though, the trail is overgrown with weeds, but generally in good shape and not hard to follow. There is still a little water running in parts of Sulfur Creek, but we didn't come across any water sources where you could easily refill your bottles.

I wish I knew where we missed the turnoff!

Posted: December 22, 2008, 7:47 pm
by: carp_nb

The Lost Valley Trail is a bit of an adventure right now if you go past the spring/campground. Up until that point (leaving from the Manzana Trail), the trail is in amazing shape. Almost more like a freeway or a running track; it's perfectly groomed.

It's a totally different story from there up to the junction with the Hurrican Deck Trail. Bring loppers, a saw and some nerves. Sections of the trail are pretty washed out wherever a creek or drainage intersects the old road. Some of these make for very sketchy, very loose scrambles along an exposed edge. The north facing sections of the trail are very grown over. It's like a slalom course weaving in and out brush. The fire left lots of dead sticks to poke and scratch you as you weave your way along the trail. We tried to prune some of the branches but we were running short on time and couldn't be as thorough as we would have liked. More for next time, I guess.

Up near the top of the trail before you hit the Deck there are a couple more sketchy washouts. It's passable on foot but be really careful. A trekking pole or two would help. I don't think you could do it with stock.

Posted: November 6, 2006, 6:26 pm
by: BernardMines

Did a big backcountry hike yesterday. Hiked out of Nira to Castle rock. Its one of those mildly epic back country hikes. Starting at the Manzana River hiking up and then along the Lost Valley trail about 5 miles. Eventually you end up near some rock formations near the top end of the canyon,

You go off the main trail along a creek and find the rough trail. Look for the cairn at the channel of two creeks and folllow up that trail! Its sort of ill defined but don't trust the game trails if you have to get scraped up to continue thru. You are going to the top of the rocks you cannot even see from the trail. From below it does not look that spectacular. The hillside is very steep and loose and you are scrambling thru Spanish swords and chemise. So it’s a sort of painful and sweaty hike to the top.

Abutting the top of the hillside is a large rock formation, its sandstone, but its very coarse and hard. The way its eroded gives the rock very interesting shapes, the lower rocks have some interesting spines. We've named one shark rock for the large fin; another is more like a stegosaurus, for the bone like plate emerging from the top of a boulder. As you get to the upper terraces the rock has soft curves. Among the curves are small pockets of soil with vegetation, grass growing in them and pine trees, a few ferns. So the plant life changes dramatically from very sharp and scratchy to soft and mystical.

The rock platform is about 50 feet wide at the widest and maybe 150 yards long, and its terraced, onto several levels. Eventually you make it to the top platform. From below your view is a rather narrow view of a dry canyon, and a desert like hillside scramble. From the top you realize that the creek you hiked up to get to the canyon has this big reverse delta. Lots of little channels have worn away a rather complicated set of little valleys, which filter into the main creek that you hiked up. The delta has worn away the rock that sort of opens up into a large bowl, maybe a mile or two across. Your view is like that of being on the roof of a 10 story building in the center of it. From below you only see the one narrow canyon, from above you realize there is a warren of them.

You have an enormous sweeping view of mountains and canyons on all sides. The northern edge being Hurricane deck, the lower slopes are rough chaparral and the top is a golden grass meadows. The other slopes are all just chaparral forest. The sunlight is glistening and not a cloud in the sky. Its a perfect late fall warm day where the sunlight is just so intense and so crisp and sparkling, that the view is really unfocused and intangible, very like an impressionist painting, no people and no signs of syphilization to speak of. Though there are Indian pictographs hidden in a few rock caves in this area if you know where to look.

We drank wine on top admiring the view and lay down in a rock bowl contoured enough to be very comfortable and we took a little nap.

Posted: August 9, 2006, 11:55 pm
by: bkraushaar

hiked part of the lost valley trail today. In adequate shape for the first couple miles. Some areas have crumbly shale accompanied by 30+ft drops on the side that are not very safe feeling. Once you begin to cross stream, trail gets very overgrown and semi difficult to follow (Forgot my Loppers). HOT day, so we descided to take it easy and return before we made it to the spring. Fun Hike, but trail could use some maintenance!

Posted: April 27, 2006, 9:33 am
by: bitingspider

Nira to the big rocks for a night 4/22-23 - first ones on the trail so got the pleasure of knocking off hundreds of ticks. Lost Valley trail certainly easy to follow - beyond the streamside campsite though it's pretty overgrown. Fresh bear tracks in the creekbed below 'castle rock'. We got a nice rain that night.

Posted: March 28, 2006, 7:38 pm
by: Bryan

Trail from the special turnoff up to the Hurricane Deck is in pretty bad shape. Since it used to be a road that is now overgrown with trees the hike felt more like a slalom run than a hike. Bobbing and weaving in and out of trees. No crawling but the trail could use lots of clearing. From Manzana to the special turnout is fine and smooth sailing. BRING LOPPERS when you do this - it needs the help!

Posted: January 29, 2006, 7:49 pm
by: Anonymous

Weather was unbeatable -- warm with a good breeze. The last 1/2 mile was pretty tricky, but manageable. Total trip was 8.4 miles (GPS) from Camp Nira.

Posted: January 17, 2006, 1:20 pm
by: Anonymous

Did the Nira-Manzana-Whiteledge-Lost Valley loop. Sections of trail at the top are still pretty washed out and tricky. Lots of ticks on the switchbacks of the old road.
Mileage signs on the loop don't quite seem accurate. The sign at Hurricane Deck/Lost Valley trails said 12 to Nira. The sign at Lost Valley/Manzana trails said 13 to Whiteledge. Anyone know what the actual mileages are?

Posted: July 17, 2005, 12:54 pm
by: Anonymous

No ticks, clear skies and good breeze. Lots of horney toads, turkey vultures, and red-tails out. Good trail and easy to follow along the water.

Posted: June 1, 2005, 6:58 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

30 May 05 – Trail is good. The spring 2.9 miles down Lost Valley Trail from the Hurricane Deck Trail was flowing; Twin Oak Camp had water. No ticks. No rattlesnakes found. Our deepest thanks to those with the energy and initiative required to maintain the trails.

Posted: May 5, 2005, 3:14 pm
by: Anonymous

I heard from Wilderness Ranger Dave that he and a friend worked Lost Valley up to the Hurricane Deck junction. Just cutting the big stuff so you can get through. We went up to Castle Rock this past weekend and the trail looked real good. Just did some minor touch up to Dave's work.

Posted: March 31, 2005, 6:36 pm
by: Anonymous

I did a solo trip from Camp Nira through to Santa Barbara Canyon in late March 2005. Lost Valley Trail is lightly used and very overgrown beyond the junction to those now off-limits archeological sites. The last 300 yds. before the old road begins to switchback up the mountain is completely washed out and trail is hard to find. Keep going to the lovely camp under the two big live oaks, and then cut back sharply to the right to begin the switchbacks. There is a big slip-out about 1/2 mile before the junction with the Hurricane Deck trail. Anybody foolish enough to have pushed a horse this far will find no way to go beyond. Hikers only; wear full clothing for ticks and brush.

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:34 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: April 26, 2010, 7:53 am
by: toejam

I cleared a little brush near Malduce camp. The trail is a little hard to follow for the first quarter mile or so out of camp, but good most of the way up. The trail to Malduce Peak gets lost at the bottom of the switchbacks where it heads up to the ridge - I lost it on the way up and couldn't follow it on the way down. The view from the top is incredible.

Posted: November 16, 2009, 11:32 pm
by: Bryan

IF YOU ARE WONDERING ABOUT DON VICTOR VALLEY:
As part of a VWR trip on November 7, 2009, we worked the DVV trail up from DVV to approx 1.5 miles short of the Madulce Ridge connector. Its no freeway but should keep you on the right track. Now connecting the top to where we left off, you are on your own - please post if you make it.

Posted: October 13, 2009, 6:25 pm
by: Bryan

We worked the Madulce Trail from Buckhorn Rd down to Madulce Camp on Saturday October 10. This was a working trip coordinated by the LPFA and VWR. There were about 20 of us working and the trail is in excellent shape to within 1/4 mile of the camp. At that point there is some slumping that has covered the trail and some heavy brushing that needs to be done. Many trees were removed and miles of tread work completed. Trail should be in good shape for the next few years just watch out for that last 1/4 mile or so.

Posted: March 19, 2007, 11:10 pm
by: Bryan

March 6, 2007

Snow covering upper third of trail. Madulce Trail is in great shape still, other than a few large trees that have fallen over the trail.

Posted: June 28, 2006, 10:21 pm
by: george

Great shape except for one tree to climb over. Horses could probably do a bypass. Steep trail, but really pretty in the pine/fir forest and good views to the north.

Posted: August 14, 2005, 11:14 pm
by: Duane

My report below is actually for the Santa Barbara Canyon Trail, not the Madulce Trail. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Posted: August 14, 2005, 6:48 pm
by: Duane

I hiked the Madulce Trail yesterday from Santa Barbara Canyon up to Madulce cabin and back.

If the trail was well brushed back in April, then it desperately needs it again. The brush is extremely thick starting about three miles up from SB Canyon all the way up to Madulce Cabin. In fact, in several places, the trail completely disappears underneath a carpet of waist high brush.

It was an extremely difficult trip: Almost 5 hours to hike the seven miles up to Madulce Cabin, and 3.5 to walk back. I lost the trail numerous times along the way. If not for the horse traffic pushing through the worst of the brush, I wouldn't have been able to finish the hike.

That last mile long ascent didn't help matters much, either .

Posted: April 2, 2005, 12:27 pm
by: ByCrout Bill

As of late March, '05, I found this trail is open and well-brushed (thanks volunteers!), except for down timber from the heavy winter. Hikers only, unless you're using stock to pack in the tools to clear the downed tress.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:17 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:18 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: June 7, 2010, 8:04 am
by: TheBeeman

Hiked from Nira to Mission Pine Springs to check on the work of the CCCs who had a spike camp at the Narrows and worked the trail to White Ledge and Big Cone Spruce Camps.

The trail is in GREAT condition, nicely groomed, with some wonderful erosion control rock work.

Now is the time to take a horse or hike this trail to see what great trail maintenance looks like. Lots of water and wildflowers; no ticks, poison oak or snakes. Lots of Lady bugs swarming like honeybees. If the weather stays nice it could be good hiking until mid July.

Pictures posted in Nira to Nira photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Grab your pack and head outdoors!

Posted: February 16, 2010, 11:41 am
by: carp_nb

Hiked out almost all the way to White Ledge for a short overnighter. From NIRA to the Narrows, the trail is in great shape and looks like it's been worked since last spring.

There was a lot of water in the Manzanna, making for some soggy creek crossings in a few places where you couldn't rockhop across. Just about all the creeklets up on Condor Pass and heading towards HHG/White Ledge had running water too.

There's about a dozen spots along the length of the trail where fallen trees have required re-routes of varying degrees. Nothing too serious to negotiate but at least a few could probably stand to be removed.

Posted: September 28, 2009, 5:48 pm
by: boots

hiked round trip, nira to white ledge canyon, 9/25-9/27. water was flowing nicely in the creek at manzana narrows camp and manzana camp, and to about a mile downstream from manzana camp. between there and nira, however, water is only to be found in small shaded and shallow pools, mostly stagnant. a few of these small pools are not far from nira. at manzana narrows camp the waterfall is flowing nicely and that lovely dipping pool is full. there's no water once you get away from manzana creek and hike up toward white ledge, so take a filter and pump what you need before you leave the creek. saw a black bear at manzana narrows camp. trail is in generally good shape and is pretty well marked with ducks and, up toward white ledge, some old marking tape. good job, trail guys!

Posted: July 6, 2009, 12:47 pm
by: Jade

I hiked into Fish Camp and stayed for a few days, with a day hike to Manzana Camp.

There's plenty of water in the Manzana up to Fish Camp. It goes dry just downstream of the camp, and stays dry for maybe 0.5-1 mile, but there's lots and lots of water further upstream on the hike to Manzana. Fish creek itself seems to be dry, but I didn't explore more than 5 or 10 minutes upstream. There is a pool close to the camp that was very nice and refreshing, with lots of little fish in it that like to nibble on your toes.

It was hot! We had plenty of water with us, but a couple people in my group were getting heatstroke on the hike in anyway. I don't think it reached 100 though, so I guess it could have been worse. On the plus side, we only saw one other person on the trail the entire time.

We saw a few deer, a fox, and a red-tailed hawk killing a snake on the road in front of our car (that was a neat experience!). The biggest shock for me was a gartersnake swimming in the pool at fish camp just a foot away from my toes! All in all, an excellent camping trip.

Posted: June 7, 2009, 9:35 am
by: Bryan

June 6, 2009
Still water flowing through the Manzana from the Narrows all the way to Nira.

Posted: April 5, 2009, 5:25 pm
by: Diane

Fortunately I was with a crew that put up lots of flags and ducks in the area. You should be able to follow the way if you stay really alert. The trail gets a little hidden on the mesa past Whiteledge and then again in the boulder field on the way to Lonnie Davis and beyond to South Fork. But our ducks and flags should help.

Posted: April 1, 2009, 1:57 pm
by: Duane

Sisquoc Loop hike (March 28-31, 2009).

The trail from White Ledge down to South Fork is almost completely washed out. Flags and ducks help lead the way, and there is occasionally some trail tread, but the combination of fire and flood has destroyed the majority of the trail. I imagine that it is impassable to stock.

I averaged about a mile an hour as I made my way down.

Posted: March 22, 2009, 1:50 am
by: trinds

Hiked from Nira to Manzana Narrows the weekend of the 14th (March). Hiking was great. Trail was in awesome shape and beautiful. Lots of wildflowers and still some snow visible from Happy Hunting Grounds area.

ONE WARNING: I came within inches of stepping on a good size rattlesnake that was hanging out on a rock about three miles in from the trailhead (1/2 mile or so before I got to Fish Camp hiking out). It was pretty scary. Big Fella. Anyway, be careful in these next couple of months! And yes, in case you were convincing yourself otherwise, there are rattlesnakes there and close to the trail!

Have a great time. Water is flowing at the Manzana Narrows campground.

Posted: January 27, 2009, 10:10 am
by: Wilderness Walker

Just returned from an overnight backpack trip to the top of the switchbacks on Sunday and what a hike! The vegetation is coming in good now almost two years after the Zaca fire destroyed everything. Was worried about the rains we'd been having but all we got was a couple drizzles on Saturday. The night was a bit chilly and foggy but was found some dry wood and built a small fire which kept us warm and dry. On Sunday we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The sun came out all day and we made it back to Nira in half the time. The trail was in good condition and there was plenty of water in the creek. However it is still dry around fish camp.

Posted: December 22, 2008, 7:38 pm
by: carp_nb

I've been out to the Narrows or past them twice in the past month now. The Trail is in great shape all the way to the top of the switchbacks past the Narrows. From the top of the pass down to Happy Hunting Ground is a little tricky in places but not too bad. There's quite a few rock cairns and ribbons to help guide the way.

From Happy Hunting Ground to White Ledge was pretty easy to follow too. White Ledge to Lonnie Davis wasn't bad except for as you near Lonnie Davis. You're basically hiking through a dry creek bed and there aren't many cairns or ribbons. Even it really wasn't too bad.

As of last weekend (12.20), there was plenty of water in the Manzanna all the way past the Narrows (even though the creek dries up substantially around Fish Camp). The creek up along the top of the pass had a steady little flow. White Ledge Creek had plenty of water and so did the South Fork of the Sisquoc at Lonnie Davis.

Nice all around.

Posted: June 26, 2008, 12:47 am
by: rob.guzzon

Backpacked in from Nira to Manzana Campsite over the (hot) weekend of June 20th on the way to San Rafael Mountain. Trail is in very good condition and is easy to follow, with water flowing all the way. Signs of the burn all along the valley, but all of the campsites seem to have been spared. Manzana Campsite is a great spot, right next to a few pools of water and nice small waterfalls for washing.

hiking out:

looking south with manzana campsite right around the corner:

water at manzana:

The next day we attempted to follow Big Cone Spruce Trail up to the McKinley Mountain fire road, and had a tough time of it. I'll post some details on that thread.
More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robguzzon/sets/72157605820500114/

Posted: June 17, 2008, 12:44 pm
by: mikerbaker

I, my buddy, and my 7-year-old daughter took this trail for my daughter's first over-night backpack trip. The good news - she loves it and can't wait to go again. Over all, I'd say we had a great trip. Due to my daughter carrying a backpack for the first time (and I and my buddy being a bit out of shape) we only hiked out to Fish Camp, which we guessed was about 3 miles from the trail head. There was plenty of water to filter and to wade in, but the trail was somewhat difficult for a little girl's first time - it was hot, parts were sandy, and some of the trail was washed out so we had to carry her a couple of times. I probably took us about 4 hours of hiking. The good news is that there were plenty of wildflowers to see in spite of the recent fires, there was a nice stretch of trees in the beginning and trees at and past Fish Camp, and the trail back was light, quick, and downhill. There was actually very little poison oak. Camping was easy - there was level ground under huge oaks and sycamores and a really nice picnic table and it was close to water. We had steak for dinner and bacon and eggs for breakfast so my daughter was quite happy. We left this trail with her wanting to come back again.

Some tips: I scrambled and seasoned the eggs and froze them in a freezer bag - froze all the food in freezer bags before we left. Brought powdered Propel drink which she really enjoyed. Brought plenty of gallon freezer bags for trash (they hold a lot if you sit on them before you seal them). If you bring a kid that's never been, teach them how to lean with the pack when going uphill or downhill, how to dig in heals and sides of feet on loose ground, how to shift weight on loose ground, and how to adjust a backpack every now and then to ease the weight. You might also need to teach them how to poop in the woods. Bring a variety of high-energy snacks (you might want to let them try it before you go and even let them make their own trail mix).

Posted: May 27, 2008, 11:01 am
by: carp_nb

Ended up hiking from Nira to Manzanna Narrows, set up camp and then day hiked out to Happy Hunting Ground and back over the weekend.

Still plenty of water in Manzanna Creek. The trail was in great condition up until the top of the rise between the Narrows and Happy Hunting Ground. From the top down to HHG, the trail became pretty hard to follow in places. Not terrible, but just enough to slow you down and make you think every now and then about the where trail heads to. Ended up following some bear and big cat tracks up a dry creek bed for a little while when the trail temporarily disappeared. We tried to add a few rock cairns for future travellers.

We had hoped to get farther than HHG, but experienced pretty steady rain all day Sunday which made for soggy hiking after a while. It's really beautiful out there now with all the new post fire re-growth and the opened up vistas. Spent a bit of time exploring amongst the rocks and caves too. Fun times!

The camp at HHG looked like it's reverting back to wildness... it got burned out pretty good in the fire and the trail and camp area are largely grown over with meadow grasses, wildflowers and sage. Pretty much just make your own trail and look for an occasional ribbon or cairn. There was still a steady little trickle of water coming out of the creek in HHG.

Posted: March 31, 2008, 2:34 pm
by: Diane

We hiked Manzana to White Ledge. The Zaca fire and winter rains have devastated much of the trail. You can still follow it but it is difficult in some areas. Nevertheless, it's amazingly beautiful with the open vistas and wildflowers. The campsites have all been spared for the most part and the creek is flowing and full of life.

Posted: January 8, 2008, 6:09 pm
by: icangobackintime

Nice mellow walking here with only a couple switchbacks and not very much elevation gain. The scenery is great all year round, but there is basically no water sources past Summer. Twice it is now that I've had a bad experience on this trail, which isn't to say it's a bad trail but rather bad luck. One time my friend got sick once when we set up camp and had to leave almost immediately. When I decided to try and conquer the trail again, this time alone, I awoke in the night to hear several LOUD screams!! I got out of my tent to see what was going on, but that blood curdling scream wasn't heard again. Freaked me out something awful!! Could've been a mountain lion, could have been some kids messing with me, I don't know, but I now have doubts about this being a "safe" trail.

Posted: June 15, 2007, 2:46 pm
by: pennyhutchens

Hiked in trail May 16 2007. Trail to Manzana in good condition. Lots of day and overnight hikers though so be prepared for company. At campsite 5 miles in a camper made us aware of a mountain lion sighting. He said twice in the night the large male cat entered the campsite and made aggressive sounds and gestures. Be on the look out and keep the dogs and kids close.

Posted: May 8, 2007, 1:16 pm
by: dgoodner

Hiked east out of Nira last weekend (April 28th) headed for west Nira the long way around.

First couple days it was very hot, and of course that figures as we had the heaviest packs. Fortunately it cooled off over the next few days, and we hiked in the early morning hours.

Water was plentiful along the Manzana Creek.

There was water at Happy Hunting -- won’t last long though.
White Ledge also had water, as you might expect if Happy Hunting had it.

Water was good at Lonnie Davis, as well as South Fork. Not as high as I would like to see it this time of year, but plenty to drink and cook.

Water was present all along the Sisquoc, but I suspect that this will be a short-lived water year at the lower ends of the river.

Water was also good all along the Sisquoc until about a mile and half before Schoolhouse. Again, day by day, I expect the river will recede.

Water was also present at the east entrance of Schoolhouse on the Manzana creek.

Ticks weren’t to bad -- I’ve seen so much worst.

Lots of beaver activity. Actually sat an watched a beaver do its thing one afternoon. Pretty awesome.

One note: the trail is washed out somewhere near Forester’s Leap. Headed west (out of South Fork) it is treacherous... but we made it. Coming the other way, it would be much more difficult. It may not even be doable. I suggest taking the river through this portion of the trail.

Second note: trail is negligible between Miller and Sycamore. (Nothing new.) Although we made a dent in the thickets, and tried to replace ducks as we went.

Third note: Wizard cave painting seems to be showing its age. It wasn’t due to vandalism -- thankfully -- it’s just been ravaged by the elements.

We have such a spectacular refuge here in the San Rafael and Dick Smith, and I wish I could get out there more often for longer periods.

Posted: April 19, 2007, 10:05 pm
by: goletasteve

Hiked out of Southfork/whiteledge to Nyra on March 25 after a five day shuttle from Judell Trail . This trail is in great shape. The only thing to report was an AMAZING number of ticks the half mile after Whitelege that follows the creek. I was also amazed and pleasantly surprised to find the piece of driftwood I had burned "WHITELEDGE 04" onto 3 years at Whiteledge camp. Somebody had tied it up to the oak tree there. Pretty cool.

Posted: October 21, 2006, 4:29 pm
by: coyotetrack

Hello to all,

I did a quick 3 day backpack from Nira to South Fork and back starting on October 18. After arriving at Nira after dark I camped in my truck and then got an early start the next morning. Since my aim was to hike about 32 miles in 3 days I wanted to get as far as Happy Hunting Ground the first night, which is about 12 miles from TH. Unfortunately, I started to feel ill and by the time I made it to Manzana Narrows I was ready to stop for the day. The only thing that kept me going was the flies. As long as I kept moving they were'net bothering me too bad. I knew that there would be a slim chance of any water at HHG so I filled up at MN. By the time I made it to HHG I simply collapsed on the ground and slept about 12 hours.

The next morning I awoke feeling a bit better but that didn't last too long. My goal was to make it to South Fork and then back to Manzana Narrows. I left most of my gear sitting at HHG knowing that I would be back later that day.

So I hiked down, took a look at a Chumash rockart site, past White Ledge (still no water) and then finally to South Fork Station.

Plenty of water at SFS being that it's right along the Sisquoc.

I wasn't feeling to bed but I knew that I had a climb back up to HHG and then even further up and over to MN.

I stopped and picked up my gear at HHG and then walked slowly up to the crest around 4000 feet. It was then a 1000 feet down to MN which turned out to be the worst with quivering thighes and a knotted stomach. Total of about 13 miles.

Again I collapsed on a picnic bench for another 12 hours and awoke for the 7 miles out to Nira.

With my sob story put aside, the hike was nice with warm days and cool nights. The trails are in good condition and I did my part with my hand pruner to clear away some encroaching branches. There is plenty of poison oak but not bad enough to matter. I saw plenty of birds, two fox and a bobcat that was walking down the trail in the same direction and didn't notice me for about 100 yards then jumped into the brush.

This was my first trip on these trails and I found it odd that several camps had picnic tables and even latrines. In my opinion, they shouldn't be there but I realize that sometime it's better to provide these amenities at heavily used sites.

All-in-all it was a great walk.

Posted: August 21, 2006, 12:59 pm
by: Adam

My wife and I did this as the last leg of the Manzana-Sisquoc-Manzana loop on August 20. There was plenty of water down at South Fork, but by the time we got up to White Ledge camp and the Hurricane Deck junction, all that remained were some small, stagnant pools. From there, no water until Manzana Creek. The trail is in good shape and easy to follow, but also hot and exposed to the sun. The berry-filled scat we found indicates that the bears are well-fed. There were also a lot of ticks attempting to make themselves well-fed on our dogs and ourselves. The Lonnie Davis, White Ledge, and Happy Hunting Ground camps were all in good shape, though I didn't see any water at Happy Hunting Ground.
Manzana Narrows had very recent evidence of yahoos. Trash, cig butts, and food were scattered over one campsite and I had to put out a fire smoldering a good 6 feet away from the fire ring. In some dry oak leaves. Good thing we happened to get there probably only an hour or two after they left. The trail between the Narrows and Nira doesn't follow the river as closely as the maps indicate, so expect it to be drier and more sun-baked than a nice shady canyon stroll. It is well-used and easily to follow, though. Manzana is dry in a couple places, but most of it has plenty of water.

Posted: August 14, 2006, 8:26 pm
by: BernardMines

08/13/06

Hiked out of Nira to the top of Whiteledge Cyn as a day trip.

The trail is in great shape. We had deceptively cool weather the night before, it got warmer thruought the day. Drank 5+ liters of water. It was a cool 88 F at the top so it must have been over 100 going up the switchbacks above the Narrows. This is really beautiful country. Saw 5 people 2 groups, one was packing back from the Narrows, another hiked just to the narrows. There is a reason for this destination the narrows has a really nice swimming hole with 2 waterfalls feeding it.

Also saw a Bobcat. We think he was stalking birds. Lots of hunters, these guys seemed like yobos, one of them even had face paint on, but they all congregated on the road, so the deer even a little ways out were probably safe. I suspect the Forrest service signs fared a worse fate.

Highlights of the trip
1. The view at the top of Whiteledge Cyn.
2. The swimming hole at the Narrows
3. bobcat sighting.
4. beer in the ice chest at the end of a long day.

There were 5 of us on the trip, We originally planned to hike the loop, but after reading about the 5 miles between Whiteledge camp and the Lost Valley trail were dissuaded, as we were only hiking this as a day hike.

I think we'll do the loop in early October so we can hike the deck in the full moon, making it a 2-day trip. It should be fairly easy to do as a 2-day trip. Maybe we can explore some of those rock caves and Pinnacles better. I agree with Diane that the area around Whiteledge seems sacred. Its amazing laying there in the shade listening to the wind whistle thru the pines amid these incredible rock formations. I wonder who came up with the name "Happy Hunting Ground" I wonder if the Chumash attached special sacred significance to this area.

Posted: May 22, 2006, 12:47 pm
by: RR

B.P.'d Nira to the Narrows May 18-21. Second day out went to Big Cone Spruce Camp. Back to the Narrows third day. Trail becoming overgrown in some spots. Tall grass etc. Plenty of ticks- saw several snakes. 3 smaller rattlers. Water X-ings all passable. Some more difficult than others. Narrows camp in great shape. BCS camp has a run-off stream of some sort running thru the back half of camp and a lot of branches down. Newer camp spot with new table located less than 100 yds further down the trail tucked in behind a grassy clearing (not near the stream). Trail to BCS easy to follow considering it had been overgrown for many years. Worth checking out. Cooler temps. and fewer bugs at BCS.

Posted: April 24, 2006, 10:16 am
by: jrsdthird

Did Nira to Narrows on 4/22-23. Trail is great. Be prepared to get wet through the stream crossings!

Posted: March 28, 2006, 7:56 pm
by: Bryan

Trail is in great shape. Sorry nothing else to report.

Posted: February 27, 2006, 3:27 pm
by: Anonymous

Went from Nira to Manzana Narrows the weekend of 2/25. No snow, plenty of ticks, no snakes. Water is plentiful, while creek crossings are still managable. Didn't know about the porta-potty at Manzana until the last day of our visit-- it's worth hunting for, simply because of its great view of Hurricane Deck!

Posted: February 20, 2006, 2:05 pm
by: Anonymous

Just back in from the Narrows and getting a full 3 inches of snow! Trail still in great shape though.

Posted: January 24, 2006, 4:31 pm
by: Anonymous

Forget about the upper trail heading downriver from the Potrero junction. Despite the valiant efforts of the USFS, the trail no longer exists. Coyotes still use it, however, so the tick population is plenty healthy.

Posted: January 17, 2006, 1:54 pm
by: Anonymous

Did the Nira-Manzana-Whiteledge-Lost Valley loop. Pretty clear trail on this section. Water was low if there at all even with the downpour we hiked through. Wish we could have seen the narrows on a clear day. Campsites seemed immaculate compared to other trails I've been on. Beautiful view from the top. As a note, Happy Hunting ground is a mile or so past the highest point on this part of the hike.
Mileage signs on the loop don't quite seem accurate. It was a pretty long 4 miles from Big Cone Spruce trail to Happy Hunting Ground. See loop trail post for more.

Posted: November 14, 2005, 3:36 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked Manzana Creek from Big Cone Spruce Camp to NIRA on 13 November 2005. The trail is cleared and well marked. Flowing Creek through Big Cone Spruce to past Oasis Camp; then it comes and goes. Flowing at NIRA. 21 Creek crossings, including the now dry ones at and just above Fish Creek Camp. Up Creek water tastes better than lower.

Posted: November 8, 2005, 9:27 pm
by: Anonymous

A friend and I just did an overnight at Manzana Schoolhouse--on the night of November 6. There was plenty of water most of the way down, but it stopped short about a mile away from the schoolhouse campgrounds. I didn't check for water at the confluence of the Sisquoc and Manzana. There might be, but if you're staying the night anytime soon at Schoolhouse fill up with water a mile or two before the campsite. Also, we pulled in just as it was getting dark and set up our tent. When we awoke the next morning we discovered the ground was riddled with horse dung, so watch where you pitch. The trip was amazing--the sycamore leaves were turning nicely and the temperature was pleasantly cool in the evening and warm (75-ish) during the day.

Posted: September 20, 2005, 12:06 am
by: Anonymous

Talked to two guys who came off White Ledge yesterday and said there are only a few stagnant pools between the Narrows and White Ledge. Still lots of water at the Narrows.[/b]

Posted: July 15, 2005, 9:50 am
by: Anonymous

Camped out at Nira July 12, 2005. There is still a ton of water out there. Water levels are like mid Spring yet the water temperatures are like mid July. A swimmers paradise. All of a sudden Nira is a summer time destination. Lots of flies and it was very hot. Read in the register of a guy who was out in the San Rafael for a 12 day trip in July!!!! This year that trip is doable.

Posted: June 1, 2005, 7:02 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

28 – 29 May 05 – NIRA to White Ledge Camp. Trail is excellent. Manzana Creek was rock hop-able. White Ledge Creek started surface flow about one football field above Happy Hunting Ground Camp. Few ticks and no rattlesnakes encountered. Our deepest thanks to those with the energy and initiative required to maintain the trails.

Posted: April 11, 2005, 5:47 am
by: Anonymous

Off of Sunset Valley Road just before the road plunges into Sunset Valley. 19 Creek crossings to Fish Creek Falls. Old trail segments along Creek.

Posted: March 29, 2005, 1:59 pm
by: Anonymous

Hiked to Manzana from NIra. Trail was in good shape, given the numerous showers we have had. It rained all weekend, but the rivers did not swell significantly.

Crossing at Nira was knee-deep -- both right outside the camp, and a little ways up where it is wider.

Other crossings: Fish Creek, just past Fish Creek, and some of the later ones required rock hopping and water-tight boots. Trekking poles came in really handy.

I am looking forward to some summer trip with the possibility that there will be some water out there late into the summer, maybe even the fall.

Oh, and the ticks and poison oak are coming into their own... be advised.

Posted: February 20, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

19/20 February 2005 - Backpacked NIRA Campground to Manzana Camp. Trail good overall; some erosion. When the Manzana Creek trail crossing above NIRA looks dangerous, like now, a better place to cross is reached by hiking upcreek until you run out of something to walk on and cross there; where the Creek is wider. This point will get you "above" the Wilderness Entry sign on the other side of the Creek.

Posted: February 3, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Nira is open. Felt sorry for the dude hiking in from Happy Canyon as I drove by. Oh well!

Hiked in to Fish Creek. Trail is washed out in sections but in fine hiking shape.

Happy Cyn looks to be closed for quite some time so get used to the drive up past Figueroa.

Its nice when Lost Valley is flowing like Manzana usually does. Lots of water. First crossing at Manzana was about knee deep, Fish Creek crossing was rock hoppable.

Posted: January 21, 2002, 10:50 am
by: Diane

Post your updates here.

Posted: June 1, 2010, 11:28 am
by: carp_nb

My girlfriend, our dog and I completed a quick overnighter to the Schoolhouse over Memorial Day weekend. The weather was beautiful: sunny and clear, upper 80s or low 90s and a slight breeze. Plenty of water in Manzana Creek, about knee deep at most crossings, which felt great to cool off in every few minutes, since there's always another creek crossing just around the corner on this hike.

Most of the trail was in great shape and easy to follow. Once you get onto the private in-holding just past Dabney Cabin and you leave the road for a little bit, the trail gets a little overgrown in places but all in all, it's easy enough to follow along.

Was fearing mass crowds at the Schoolhouse based on the number of cars at the trailhead, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found ourselves alone with the entire campground. All the campsites were in excellent shape with tables, firerings, shovels, etc.

Typical for spring, it was pretty buggy with swarms of lady bugs and flys all over the place and lots of skeeters around camp in the late afternoon/early evening. Picked a few ticks off the dog, but not bad and only came across one small garter snake.

One word of caution, on the road sections of the hike, there are a TON of sand spurs, thistles, fox tail and similar prickly, sticky brush that wreaks havoc on the poor dog's paws. Some of those little doggie booties might not be a bad idea. Hiking sandals probably wouldn't be too pleasant to hike in through this stuff even though they'd be nice for all the creek crossings. A pair of low gaiters saved my socks/feet from any abuse from all of the stickers.

Oh yeah, lots of wild turkey roaming around the Schoolhouse camp too. Saw about 4 or 5, including one huge one that almost looked by a small ostrich! Could hear them into the night and early the next morning and follow their tracks along the road.

All in all, it was a perfect late spring/early summer trip.

Posted: March 22, 2009, 1:02 am
by: cowboy curry

Left the trailhead on Thursday. Set up camp at the little no name site next to creek past Cold Water (I call it HorseShoe Bend). The creeks are still high and be prepared to get your feet wet. When we got to camp we set up and took a dip in the creek. Water is high and felt great.
On Friday we set out from camp on a day hike to the Shoolhouse up the Manzana trail. CCC crew has been working on the Manzana trail and has done some good work to fix the really bad spots. The creek crossings take up alot of time to either find a route on the rocks or take you boots off. Road gets bad by Cody's cabin. Its almost been washed away. you can still make out the trail and there are a few ducks set up in the bad spots. Got to the Schoolhouse in time for lunch. The river is flowing good and looks to have a few good swimming holes. after a few hours exploring the area we headed back to camp on the Manzana trail. Got to camp and took another dip in the creek before dinner. It got pretty cold that night and wild picked up a bit.
Saturday we hiked back to the trail head on the Manzana. Saw some bear scat along the way. Also I noticed some big cat tracks at several of the creek crossings. It was a good trip and we are already planning on hiking to the schoolhouse over the Deck and spending a few nights there.

Posted: July 5, 2008, 3:58 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked down to the Schoolhouse from Nira on 4th of July weekend. Water is still flowing along Manzana all the way to the Schoolhouse. Its pretty slimy towards the bottom and I wouldn't expect water to be flowing at the Schoolhouse for long. Sisquoc was dry. There's lot of water along the other sections of the trail. The trail is in great shape, maybe the best I've ever seen it. Crossings are easy. Did not see a single person, sort of weird for a holiday weekend. Did I miss the memo or something?

Posted: May 30, 2008, 8:49 am
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked from NIRA west to camp at Horseshoe Bend on 24 / 25 MAY 08. Eight Manzana Creek crossings, one-way. Three inches of waterproof shoe will let you rock hop with dry feet. Foxtails are starting to stick.

Posted: April 18, 2008, 6:53 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked to Schoolhouse from NIRA west on 17 / 18 April 2008. Zaca Fire damage not noticeable until the Horseshoe Bend area; and then most burned area is on the upper mountain slopes. The “EF” tree, Dabney Cabin, Cody’s, and the Schoolhouse areas are all fine. At this time, plan on wet feet when crossing Manzana Creek. Now, 5 crossings from NIRA to Coldwater Camp; 17 crossings from Coldwater Camp to the Sulphur Spring Trail Junction; 4 crossings from there to Dabney Cabin; and then 8 more crossings to get to Schoolhouse Camp. Great to Good trail sections. Thank You to those who have cleared them and made the trails safe.

Posted: February 11, 2007, 6:53 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked with Troop 41 from lower NIRA to Horseshoe Bend on 10 / 11 February 2007. The Manzana Creek is rock hop able, but some of the rocks are now covered with water.

Posted: August 21, 2006, 1:37 pm
by: Adam

My wife and I began the Manzana-Sisquoc-Manzana loop with this section on August 16. Within the first mile I got rattled at by an average sized rattlesnake. It was actually the first time I had ever heard a rattler, but there was no doubt in my mind what it was. As we walked on, some outgoing backpackers told us they saw some bear prints. I missed these, but there was a fair amount of scat, too. Potrero and Coldwater camps looked to be in good shape, and we camped at Manzana Schoolhouse campground. I wish that every toilet could have such a great view as the outhouse on the Sisquoc there. Up until about a mile from the confluence of the Manzana and Sisquoc, there was enough water for drinking and a little wading, but not so much that you couldn't rock hop and keep dry. From there, we headed up the Sisquoc, which was pretty wild and overgrown. And apparently closed due to fire danger, according to the ranger we talked to later. Someone had torn down the posted signs.
Don't forget to check for ticks, we had a ton of them all over us and our dogs.

Posted: July 4, 2006, 7:30 am
by: Bryan

June 25:

Backpacked from Nira downstream Manzana. It was very hot with temperatures consistently in the low 100's but still lots of water and plenty of pools to cool off in. There was interesting weather that weekend with afternoon thunder showers and at times quite heavy showers. Anytime you experience "weather" in June in our mountains its a special treat. Still lots of water, lots of ticks, and lots of fish in the Manzana this year.

Posted: April 10, 2006, 11:13 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked from School House to Sulphur Spring Trail on 9 April 2006. The Manzana Creek was flowing by School House Campground; one foot deep and 50’ wide. Staff tripod method of Creek crossing worked well for upstream crossings to the Sulphur Spring Trail junction.

Posted: September 16, 2005, 5:28 pm
by: Anonymous

Just got back from a great trip to Schoolhouse. Water flows in the Manzana Creek until about ¾ of a mile upstream from Schoolhouse.

The usual watering hole, west of the campsites is still there, but will probably not last more than another few weeks.

The mighty Sisquoc is bone dry.

Day-hiked almost to Water Canyon and did not see a drip of water.

Posted: August 3, 2005, 10:33 am
by: Anonymous

just got back from the schoolhose, plenty of water and flies. Hiked early to avoid overheating, and cooled off in the pools during the afternoon. Had the place to ourselves the whole time.

Posted: July 24, 2005, 6:21 pm
by: Anonymous

continuation of last posting........no rattlesnakes, lots of flies, and saw bear scat on trail by coldwater camp. it was hot enough to keep creek water warm for swimming even in the shade. this site is always very helpful, so thank you.

Posted: July 24, 2005, 3:34 pm
by: Anonymous

hiked into schoolhouse from Nira. Trail was in great shape. Stone formations helped show the way when zig zagging across creek. Water levels were great and lots of baby fish. Schoolhouse campsite sucked because literally every 2 feet there was a pile horse manure, which can be bad in 90 degree weather.

Posted: July 18, 2005, 11:52 pm
by: Anonymous

Much water still left, near all river crossings are wet. Unbelievable given a year ago when everything was bone dry except a single watering hole 1.5 mi b4 the schoolhouse! Most memorable summer. About a year ago Chris (?) saved me from dehydration back there, and I can only hope him and his friends are enjoying this great weather as much as I.

ed

Posted: July 18, 2005, 11:44 pm
by: Anonymous

Very hot as of July 17th but still lots of water left in Manzana Creek. Be prepared for 100 degree afternoons.

Don't attempt Hurricane Deck.

ed

Posted: April 26, 2005, 10:43 am
by: Anonymous

Hiked to the schoolhouse on April 24 and 25. Lots of poison oak and ticks but hike was great. Water about half calf most of the time with some nice swimming holes along the way. Took about six hours each way for us novice hikers and two dogs. Temps still mild.

Posted: January 27, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Made it into the Schoolhouse this past week. Crossings were knee deep and the water was moving pretty fast but overall it was pretty easy getting across. Lots of erosion along the trail, trees across the road, water everywhere, awesome!

Posted: January 21, 2002, 10:50 am
by: Diane

Post your updates here.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:19 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: June 24, 2010, 7:57 pm
by: santiar

Yesterday I hiked from Cachuma Saddle up McKinley Mountain Road and camped at McKinley Spring. Like most fire-road hikes, this one is exposed for the most part and it was quite hot when the breeze died down. The faucet at the Spring tank is working, but it's quite hot refilling your backpack bladder as there is no shade. McKinley Spring camp is cool - no views as it is surrounded by trees so you have to go up to the peak for the vista booty. A word of caution - the horse water trough from the spring is a mosquito factory, so cover up at dawn and dusk...I brought a mosquito net for my head which I think was a live-saver. Swarming! The spring at McKinley Spring is clean and full.
Got up early this morning to greet the sun on McKinley Mountain peak. From McKinley saddle to the summit requires a little meandering but if you look, you can see where other people have made their way up. Wow! What a view!
San Rafael looked so temping right next door (what's another 1.7 miles if you are already up there?) So I headed East after breakfast on the Mission Pine Trail to San Rafael Mountain peak. The trail is in good condition with wildflowers still present. This is a great hike! It sneaks along the northwest side of San Rafael Mountain with amazing views of the San Rafael wilderness to the northwest, and then bang! You are at the peak and the top of Santa Barbara county! Amazing 360 degree views. There is only one sketchy part on a steep/gravely/incline that you must use extra caution as to not go tumbling down the hill (with a 30lb pack on.) Returned to camp and then hiked back to my car at Cachuma saddle.
Keep well hydrated as this one is a hot hike for the summer. If you don't mind the flies and 'squitos, enjoy!

Posted: January 2, 2010, 6:16 pm
by: TheBeeman

A day after Thanksgiving day (Nov.27) I hooked a ride up to McKinley Saddle on a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger trip to hike to Mission Pine Springs and Basin. The road was littered with the usual rocks sloughed off from the upslopes with the exception of one large boulder that almost prevented us going on this trip. Fortunately 3 strong men with a rock bar chipped and moved a large chunk to allow our truck to pass. The road is open all the way to the San Rafael wilderness boundary. Lots of water at McKinley springs. The trough needs some leak fixing. Time to think about hiking the road in a full moo; just missed doing it under the recent blue moon. I have posted pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron. Happy Trails.

Posted: October 5, 2009, 8:14 pm
by: Glen

I was overnight at McKinley Spring last night and found lots of water there. Temp was 45 when I arrived in the early afternoon, dropping to 35 overnight!

Posted: May 23, 2009, 8:20 pm
by: george

Rode the mountain bike up to just before Hell's Half Acre today, then hiked up to McKinley and San Rafael Peaks. The road looks like it hasn't been driven at all since the fire and has tall grass in parts. Plenty of footprints and some big bear tracks, but I didn't see anyone all day until the way down. Some fine flowers still on display, and the blue-flowered ceanothus was fragrant. You don't encounter any sign of the Zaca Fire until up near McKinley Springs or thereabouts; and the camp/spring area itself is intact with a nice cold (1-liter per minute) flow. The Mission Pine Springs trail enters the burn after about a mile, but crews have made a fire break next to it down low. The fire improved the view from the peak quite a bit!
The cut up to McKinley Peak is wider than before, and sadly, they cut down the couple of small oaks on top that used to make it a prettier spot. (We camped up there once.) The views are still great!

Posted: December 28, 2008, 7:32 pm
by: mcstonehousesb

We got a later then expected start and only made it to Hell's Half Acre . . . Heavenly day , , no wind, clear skies, above 40 in the shade, and toasty on the south slopes. A small bit of snow here and there. Very little mud.
This was a great way to get outa that too-much-in-the-house celebration mode.

Nira had one serious camper,as did D.Brown, other then that the back side was empty.... probably because the Figuora gate above the Saddle was closed again (no notice sign either).

mcsb

Posted: December 26, 2008, 5:39 pm
by: Chris Chirgwin

My Chesapeake retriever (Casey) and I hiked up to McKinley Springs today. We left early in the morning and the ground was frozen all the way from Cachuma Saddle to the Springs - which is better then hiking in the mud! I am guessing the temperature at the Springs was in the high 20's and the wind was blowing pretty hard. There was about a foot of snow at the spot where we turned around. All in all, it was a great day for a winter hike.

Posted: January 4, 2007, 1:20 pm
by: bkraushaar

My brother and I biked to McKinley Peak on new years eve. Encountered a deer, and caught a glimpse of a mountain lion. (Very cool experience) About 3" base of snow for the last 3 miles of the trip. Great trip. Took 3 and a half hours to get up, and 1 and a half to come down! Gotta love that downhill section!

Posted: April 16, 2006, 10:25 pm
by: Chris Chirgwin

Hiked from Cachuma Saddle to McKinley Peak on Saturday, April 15. There are still some patches of snow around McKinley Springs. Although certain parts of the road are still pretty muddy, it was a beautiful day for a hike.

Posted: March 26, 2006, 6:39 pm
by: Jeff

Dayhiked to McKinley Springs yesterday in the rain. The campground is completely buried in snow still (1-2' in parts). Snow on the road from just past the Big Cone Spruce junction on through to San Rafael where the snow is deeper. If the current weather pattern holds, there will be snow on the north-facing slopes for at least two more weeks. Go hike and build a snowman!

Posted: March 5, 2006, 9:10 pm
by: Anonymous

Saturday, 4 March 2006, I day hiked to San Rafael Peak. The snow line was just below 5000 ft, so that would be just after Hells Half Acre, which means 10 miles in the snow. It was really nice though, clear skies and great views. Quite amusing to play in the snow in Santa Barbara County. Trail conditions past McKinley Saddle are fine and water available at McKinley Springs (pretty much year round I think).

Posted: November 15, 2005, 1:10 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Cachuma Saddle to McKinley Peak on 11 November 2005. Great graded road and now a cleared and marked trail to the top of McKinley Peak. There is stock and people tank water by the table near the spring 3.9 miles in. McKinley Spring Camp ( Cold Spring ) has superior tasting water for stock and people with a reservoir replenishment spring flow of about ¼ inches in diameter.

Posted: June 17, 2005, 9:48 am
by: Anonymous

the trail is really nice right now. I would definately suggest lots of bug spray and water, it gets hot up there!! It is a great escape from june gloom...clear skies as soon as you get into santa ynez! Watch out for cows and little road squirrels on the drive into the trail!!

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:35 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:19 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: June 7, 2010, 8:54 am
by: TheBeeman

The Mission Pine Springs trail is becoming my favorite hike in the San Rafael Wilderness. It gives hikers a Sierra experience and is the beginning of the "Santa Barbara High Route" that crosses the range from McKinley Saddle to Big Pine Mountain.

With the work completed from Nira to McKinley Road by a group of CCC's, this 16 mile section can easily be hiked with lightweight packs from Nira in one day. Part of the route includes the 1.2 steep "heartbreak hill" section above Big Cone Spruce.

It was nice to revisit the tree work that we had done on the previous hike. We cleared a few downed pines near Mission Pine Basin. The last 1/4 mile section before MPB has been a problem since the Zaca Fire. We removed flagging that rerouted the trail to the campsite and spent some time reopening the original trail into the basin for stock and hikers.

Since there was no water at the Mission Pine Basin, we found a small stream that crossed the trail 1/4 mile east of the big pine tree junction. During drier years, water can be found in the willows 100 yards off the trail.

Pictures in the Nira to Nira loop photo Album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Happy Trails.

Posted: May 10, 2010, 11:39 pm
by: TheBeeman

As a followup to my trip along the MPS trail, I returned to MPS camp with crosscut sawyer Mickey McTigue, goat packer, Mike Smith, Titus and Matt. We cut the downed trees and reestablished the original tread. We estimate that two of the large downed trees we cut sections out were over 200 years old; the largest one measured 40" in diameter.

It was a great trip, the weather was perfect. Tread is in good condition from the McKinley Saddle wilderness boundary to the MPS campsite. Water at MPS flowing nicely out of the pipe.

Pictures of our trip:

http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron/MissionPineSpringsTreeCuttingProject#

***A weekend trip recommendation is to hike from Nira via Big Cone Spruce to MPS and return to Nira. If you go, check out how the CCCs have buffed out this section of trail and thank your forest personnel for allocating funds to maintain the trails.

Posted: January 2, 2010, 6:41 pm
by: TheBeeman

To exercise off a large turkey meal, I teamed up with fellow Volunteer Wilderness Ranger (VWR) Litehiker, Rik, to hike this trail from the wilderness boundary sign to Mission Pine Basin on a recon to check for downed trees.

I hiked this same trail right after the Zaca fire; check out some before pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron/Recon3MissionPinesFallTrail#

Nice to see that the vegetation is slowly returning. Sad to see a lot of the pines are dead. The trail is passable except at a few places where number of large pines have now fallen across the trail, making for a bit of a scramble to get around them.

The MPS camp is still intact. The spring was flowing very nicely and water was also available in the creek below the camp around the bend.

A couple BIG trees are 1/4 mile from MPS camp; after that it is clear hiking until about a 1/2 mile before MPB camp at which point the trail was hard to follow. Several markers indicated a new route but I recommend not following them and look for signs of the original trail.

A large pine has destroyed the stock corral at MPB camp. Fire rings and wooden plank seats made for a nice campsite. It is going to take sometime for vegetation around this camp to rejuvenate. The Zaca Fire really toasted this area.

The following morning, we were surprised by 6" of snow; our Thanksgiving hike turned into an early Christmas.

IMO this trail is a special trail. It gives a Sierra experience and marks the beginning of the Santa Barbara "High Route" that continues all the way to West Big Pine and Big Pine Mountains.

Check out some pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/beemancron/2009MissionPineBasin#

Happy Trails

Posted: July 8, 2009, 9:33 am
by: mstiles

Hiked from Cachuma Saddle to Mission Pine Basin around the spring equinox of 2009. The trail is generally in good shape, except hard to follow on the north facing area just before San Rafael Peak, but that was due to snow cover--and the steepness of the hillside.

Past Mission Pine Springs (I assume that's Windy Gap) will need some work soon. The amount of regrowth after the Zaca fire is amazing, and soon the trail will be overgrown.

It snowed most of the night before our walk out, and REALLY made the trail hard to find.


Mike

Posted: June 26, 2008, 1:07 am
by: rob.guzzon

Last leg of our journey from Nira up to San Rafael. Trail is in pretty good condition considering the burn. Some parts though burn area are a little lost in loose rock/soil, but all in all looks great. Looking back down the valley towards BCS:


More pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robguzzon/sets/72157605820500114/

Posted: November 27, 2006, 8:41 pm
by: Bryan

11/18/06

Hiked from McKinley Saddle to about 2 miles past MPSpring. I cleared what I could from the trail but really the trail is quite good. Its all pine and manzanita on the ridge, which doesn't get too overgrown. It might be hard to follow the trail when snow is on the ground.

I crossed paths with a trail crew that worked their way from Windy Gap to the Basin. They said the trail was quite brushy on the Big Pine side of the Basin. There was also water in the springs down the Fall Cyn Trail.

Posted: November 27, 2005, 7:51 pm
by: Diane

A bit brushy between Windy Gap and Mission Pine Basin but the views are amazing. Lots of bear and mountain lion tracks.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:20 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: May 17, 2009, 10:41 pm
by: Bryan

3/28/09

Hiked from Mono TH up and over to Indian Creek. Trail is okay to Ogilvy, then gets worse once in the burn zone. You can see the tread but expect to walk through brush and grasses while following the bits and pieces that are left. Look for cairns and flags.

The old camp at Upper Mono was washed away, its gone. But there is a new and improved camp (IMO) just on the other side of the Loma Pelona drainage about 100' above Mono Creek.

From Upper Mono Camp to Indian is more of the same. Washouts, some tread, lots of overgrowth, downed trees - essentially not much of a trail. But if you've gone this far you'll know what to expect - lots of time looking for the trail, some time just walking not knowing where the trail is, and some time hopefully improving what you think is the trail.

I would expect the same on the junction to the Tin Shack. No sign whatsoever of the Caracole Trail.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:21 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: January 2, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

1 January 2005 hike from Sunset Valley to White Rock Trail. Thank you for the recent great trail work. Is there a story about the large trash area above the last stream crossing?

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:34 am
by: Diane

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Posted: December 31, 2007, 12:54 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Perkins Road is still gated closed south of the Burger Barn in New Cuyama. The old parking area for Rocky Ridge Trail and Newsome Trail south of gas processing Plant 10 is now signed private property, no parking.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:22 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: December 31, 2007, 1:03 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Perkins Road is still gated closed south of the Burger Barn in New Cuyama. The old parking area for Rocky Ridge Trail and Newsome Trail south of gas processing Plant 10 is now signed private property, no parking.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:22 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:38 pm
by: george

This is a pleasant up-and-down hike along a little used ridgetop jeep trail. I hiked it 2 months ago after finding access from the west. I heard motorcycles as I hiked from its west end Forest boundary east over to the Bear Canyon trail, but I never saw any the entire day. Looped around the somewhat overgrown Bear canyon trails and returned to my car via this trail. A long day, actually, but I enjoyed it.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:24 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 14, 2010, 4:31 pm
by: Bryan

Buckhorn Road was graded and cleared this week from Upper Oso to Santa Barbara Potrero.

Posted: March 28, 2006, 8:01 pm
by: Bryan

Its a fire road. Steep and long. But the views are spectacular. Snow covering the road on 3/26/06

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:24 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:25 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:26 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: February 21, 2006, 2:58 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

We hiked to the Nature Trail area on 19 February 2006. The gate off of Figueroa Mountain Road to Pino Alto and Figueroa Peak was closed; probably due to the recent snow; about 6” on and near Figueroa Peak. An Adventure Pass was required for camping at Figueroa Camp; no water. The outer gate post / concrete footing had been pulled free to open the gate just west of Ranger Peak on Figueroa Mountain Road.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:26 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: December 31, 2009, 1:22 pm
by: carp_nb

Just hiked Potrero Trail yesterday in the light rain. Perfect temps for the uphill climb towards the deck.

The trail was still in great shape all the way to the meadow near the top... can't say what it was like any farther up since this was our turn-around.

Manzana trail was in excellent shape too. The creek had plenty of water and was looking good.

Posted: January 5, 2009, 11:13 pm
by: Bryan

December 22, 2008

Potrero trail is in great shape, best I've seen it. Thanks go out to the Forest Service for organizing the troops.

Posted: March 31, 2008, 2:37 pm
by: Diane

We hiked the Potrero trail from Hurricane Deck down to Potrero camp. The lower half of Potrero trail is untouched by the fire. The upper half is almost completely devastated with the exception of the Oak meadow which is as pretty as ever. By devastated I mean that the trail where it traverses laterally is scary going and much of the area burned so hot that nothing survived, not even spring flowers. The little reliable water source near the Oak meadow is silted in. No water was available there.

Posted: April 1, 2007, 8:24 pm
by: badoix

Hiked the Potrero trail from the Manzana trailhead to Hurricane deck yesterday. The Potrero trail (from the Potrero back-country camp near the Manzana creek) is completely sun-exposed and there's absolutely no shade except for the little grassy patch just after 3 mi. from the start. So if you must do it on a sunny day - carry lots of water! The trail is quite overgrown at several locations, but can still be followed. The end-point is indistinct; the trail joins Hurricane Deck trail at about 4.6 miles, but to get really awesome 360 degree views of the back-country you have to continue past one or two crests to get to an exposed spot on a narrow ridge at around 6 miles. It's a really long day hike, but the wild, remote back-country experience and the oasis-in-the-desert grass meadow (the potrero) halfway there are what make this trail worth it. We saw a couple of rattlesnakes (one gave a loud rattle every time we went past it) and deer near Davy Brown campground on the return. I'd have liked to spend some more time on the meadow exploring the caves nearby but we couldn't.

Posted: November 26, 2006, 2:04 pm
by: BernardMines

Yesterday we, some of the Wednesday night crowd, hiked the Potrero trail in the backcountry. This is one of those kind of locals only trails. Its on the map but only a few intrepid hikers ever go on it. Just a quarter mile before you hit Nira camp there is a turn off parking area. This is where you'd park if you were going to hike down to the Manzana School house. So you hike down the Manzana trail about a mile until you reach Potrero Camp. If you continue down the river you'd reach Manzana School house in 5 miles or so. There is also the Hurricane Deck trail that runs parallel to the Manzana Trail but due north a couple miles. Hurricane Deck is this mountain range that lies between the Sisqoc River and the Manzana River. The Hurricane Deck trail runs for about 20 miles or so, along the ridge of hurricane deck. The ridgeline is at an elevation of 4-5000 feet, and the rivers are closer to 1000, so it is a fairly high mountain. This is one of those stunningly beautiful areas. One can access Hurricane Deck from several points. The Hidden Valley trail is one of them. The Potrero trail is another one of the access points.



From the Manzana river the trail rises steeply up the flank of a tributary creek. The trail eventually rises up to a ridge line and follows the ridge on up with a gain of about 3000 feet or so over about 3 miles, to eventually hit the top of the deck. We are not going quite that far. Instead we are heading to the rocks that are maybe 4-5ths of the way there.



The landscape is sort of hard to define. In general it has this sort of sun blasted Southern California look. By the creek are pines and small meadows intermixed with arctostpholis and chemise. Medusa grass seems to grow right along the trail. You have to watch your fingers or it will pierce the skin and the needle thin thorn will break off. As you rise up above the river the landscape turns into the sort of standard chaparral scrub. So you hike steeply up this trail, eventually you reach a few interesting large rocks near the top.



There is a sort of hidden meadow up here and oak trees. This is I think a continuation of the same strata of rock that forms Castle rock and the Condor Caves, only about 6 miles or so due West. And like the Condor Caves there are a few well known Chumash cave paintings out here.


So as we reach the meadow area the trail descends slightly and the area changes from that sort of sun blasted chaparral to a more sun dappled meadow with oaks and rocks. We go maybe 100 yards further before we have to hit a sort of hidden trail. Look sharp to your right. The hidden trail runs along this small dry drainage. You can look out a half-mile or so and see all these large rocks. The largest are the size of a small house. Watch the trail it goes up and down. It’s easy to get a little lost as the trail crosses several drainages, and the trail is also sort of overgrown. The first drainage crossing had us a little lost, as I followed the drainage down to what could not possibly be the correct way, it took us merely a minute or so before I turned around and headed back up the creek. The trail in fact crosses back over the creek but its sort of hard to spot. There are several small drainages that we cross as the trail meanders towards the rocks. Our real destination is not yet visible from the trail. We come over another low rise and from there you can see where we are going its a large flatish rock about 20 feet high or so and about the size of a large house. You know you're at the right place when you see the metal log box on a pole. So we have our lunch in the mouth of a small cave on this large rock. There are numerous caves to explore. Some of the best are little tiny caves.


I think Steve was a bit pleasantly surprised at our destination. Steve wanted to go to the backcountry and having not done too much hiking back here is more liable to choose a destination based on the images conjured up by the name. liked the lilt of the sound of "Fish Camp" on his lips. Having been there I find this camp site maybe one of the least desirable places to camp. (I remember one time a boy scout, wishing me an unenthusiastic good luck crossing the creek there are fish camp, this sort of heavy overloaded pack, like unenthusiasm will always remind me of fish camp) The caves are in fact where I wanted to go, but I sort of had to convince Steve that it was worth seeing. Steve sort of reluctantly agreed. But was more than pleasently surprised at the destination.

At about 3:15 or so we started back. The hike down was very peaceful and quiet. The bright sunlight losing some of its intensity, and the chill sort of nipping in the air as the shadows started to grow. We make it to Potrero camp at the intersection of the Potrero trail and the Manzana trail at about 4:40. The sunlight is rapidly fading, so I wish the rest of the crew a pleasant evening, they are camping but I've got dogs to feed and walk at home so I can not spend the night out here.



The walk along the trail above the river is just exactly perfect. As is very often the case when I walk this way I feel like my soul has been cleansed and I feel happy, alive and centered. I make it to the trailhead at exactly 5:04pm. This is perfect timing as the sun has already fallen behind the hills and it is dusk.



The drive back takes only an hour and ten minutes. The dogs are joyous at my return. I prepare a dinner of roast chicken with onions, mashed potatoes and corn. I have a couple beers, walk the dogs and eat an enjoyable dinner all by myself in the house. The smells of the roasting onions, and chicken combined with the chilly temperatures outside make it seem particularly cozy. I think of the boys out there at Potrero camp rolling around on the hard ground in their sleeping bags for warmth as I sit on the couch eating a delicious dinner, the dogs unsuccessfully begging at my feet. But I know too that if I was out there none of it would seem like hardship. Instead the challange to find comfort would seem like adventure. And the morning coffee out in the wilderness, even if its instant, is better then the best blue Mt. beans in town. As you sit warming youselves in the morning sunlight.

Posted: April 23, 2006, 9:41 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked the Potrero trail as far as Negus Meadow this weekend Someone has done some great work on that trail over the past three years (THANK YOU!). I lopped the stray bushes and branches that reached for my pack. Trail is in fine shape.

Saw a BIG bear at the far east end of the meadow. The bear was the biggest I've seen in our backcountry and extremely black. Those encounter experiences are magical when they occur.

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:37 pm
by: Diane

Post your updates here.

Posted: November 12, 2009, 8:37 pm
by: Diane

Went on a work trip with Bryan to clear the Don Victor trail. We headed in from the road from Potrero Seco. The trail is indistinct at the south end. There is orange tape to show you the way. Once you get going, the trail appears and is very clear up to a junction with two canyons. We added ducks and tape to try to make it clear you head up the left canyon.

After this the trail follows the creek. Sometimes the trail is easy to find above the creek and sometimes the trail is not visible and it's easier to walk in the creek. We added orange tape and cut the brush to make it easier to find the trail.

We were only able to get about 4 miles up the canyon before we ran out of daylight. Hopefully we can work the upper portion of this trail. Some people working on the Condor Trail are hoping the Don Victor trail can serve as one of the connectors.

Posted: March 20, 2007, 3:27 pm
by: Duane

Helped Ray Ford's group clear out the first third of a mile or so from an intersection (the one a half mile from Madulce) to the point where the trail disappears down into a canyon. I think they were planning on doing some more work in the area, but I'm not 100% sure.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:26 pm
by: Diane

Post your update here or from Bryan's Interactive Backcountry Map.

Posted: December 31, 2007, 12:40 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Perkins Road is still gated closed south of the Burger Barn in New Cuyama. The old parking area for Rocky Ridge Trail and Newsome Trail south of gas processing Plant 10 is now signed private property, no parking.

Posted: March 18, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Rocky Ridge trail still in pretty good shape. A small waterfall running off painted rock. Lion Canyon stream flowing. Called F.S. proposed connection is dead at the moment, ,not enough demand I guess.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:40 am
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:28 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:28 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: April 26, 2010, 8:07 am
by: toejam

This trail is currently doable, but will need some attention before the summer is over. Lots of brush on the upper half. The last steep mile before the top has had someone make an attempt at re-routing. The proposed route tries to maintain an ADA grade and switches back nonsensically all over the mountain. It's too frustrating to follow and will be unmaintainable when the brush starts growing in earnest. The ditch in the old road bed is still the way to go.

Posted: March 20, 2007, 3:38 pm
by: Duane

I went out with Ray Ford's group and helped clear the trail up to the base of the hill. The trail is in much better shape up to that point. We did a little work on the hill portion, and I believe more was done for that portion after I left.

Posted: March 19, 2007, 10:47 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked Santa Barbara Canyon the weekend of March 6, 2007. The trail was slightly overgrown but really not that bad, I expected worse. There is some brush and it gets worse the further up the trail you go. Starting at Chokecherry Canyon the trail begins to deteriorate until you reach the Half Mile of Hell, at which point the trail gets more overgrown with the at times waste deep ruts. Waterbars sure would be nice. The trail stays brushy until you drop down to the old guard station. There was not much water in the creek but a lot of snow. 2007 is shaping up to be one of the driest years - the spring was not looking too appetizing either.

I heard a rumor that a group was going to clear this trail by late March 2007 so it most likely will be in better shape now than it was 2 weeks ago.

Posted: June 28, 2006, 10:17 pm
by: george

Pretty and generally pleasant this late June, but with an annoying growth of wild rose across the trail in the second half. Wear long sleeves and pants! We found it easy to follow.
The last 1/2 mile is of course nasty steep, narrowly rutted with some brush as well. Without the cabin at Madulce, I don't think it's much of a destination anymore. We went on by it up the steep but beautiful Madulce Trail to the road, and then on over to the Sisquoc trial to camp down at Bear Camp.

Posted: August 17, 2005, 10:18 pm
by: Duane

The trail is clear and easy to follow for the first 2.5 miles from the trailhead (heading south towards Madulce from the trailhead on SB Cyn Road).

The trail then turns right, and for the next mile, trail is relatively easy to follow, but surrounded on both sides by thick brush, mostly a mix of wild rose and oak with poison oak near the creek beds. The trail is washed out at creek crossings and can be difficult to spot.

From about mile 3.5 to mile 6.0 (approximately), brush is very thick, and it is mostly wild rose. Very thorny. I lost sight of the trail several times because of the heavy brush, and at one point became disoriented in a large waist high thicket.

At mile 6.0 the trail begins to climb a hill. The trail passes a small spring, which proved to be a life saver. The trail is easy to follow at that point, but at some places the trail is more of a flood channel than a trail, and near the summit the wild rose once again crowds the trail with thorny branches reaching over your head.

The descent down to Madulce was a piece of cake. I'd never been more happy to see a dilapidated tin shack in my life.

Posted: August 14, 2005, 11:33 pm
by: Duane

ps. Lots of water, from the trailhead all the way up. Water also at Madulce Cabin.

Posted: August 14, 2005, 11:25 pm
by: Duane

I hiked the SB Canyon Trail yesterday from the trailhead at Willow Camp up to Madulce cabin and back. 14 miles round trip. Total time: 9 hours.

Hiking the upper half of this trail was a very painful experience. The brush is extremely thick starting about three miles up from the trailhead all the way to Madulce Cabin, and it is mostly a very thorny wild rose. That's FOUR MILES OF NEARLY CONSTANT BRUSH, if you're keeping score. In fact, in several places, the trail completely disappears underneath a carpet of waist high brush.

Unfortunately, I had chosen to wear shorts and a tee shirt on this hike, and both my legs from the knees down ended up seriously lacerated (I'm better now!).

It was an extremely difficult trip: Almost 5 hours to hike the seven miles up to Madulce Cabin, and 3.5 to walk back. I lost the trail numerous times along the way. If not for the horse traffic pushing through the worst of the brush, I wouldn't have been able to finish the hike.

That last mile long ascent didn't help matters much, either.

Posted: April 2, 2005, 12:37 pm
by: ByCrout Bill

Hiked this from old Madulce Station camp-site to the trailhead as last leg of a Nira to S.B. Cyn. thru-hike in late March '05. Much mountain lion and bear sign around Madulce Station. The upper third of the trail is brushy, very steep, and badly eroded. In places, the "trail" is a 3' deep gully straight down the slope. No water bars left at all. Middle third of the trail is merely over-grown, with some tricky creek crossings as long as the water is still so high. Bottom third is a lovely stroll along a beautiful canyon.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:28 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:38 pm
by: george

This is a pleasant up-and-down hike along a little used ridgetop jeep trail. I hiked it 2 months ago after finding access from the west. I heard motorcycles as I hiked from its west end Forest boundary east over to the Bear Canyon trail, but I never saw any the entire day. Looped around the somewhat overgrown Bear canyon trails and returned to my car via this trail. A long day, actually, but I enjoyed it.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:24 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: January 15, 2008, 1:58 am
by: Bryan

September Update

The jeepway route to Santa Cruz station was drivable. Once the trails reopen in early summer this may be the only passable option for hiking into Santa Cruz Station as the trail down from Little Pine has endured serious damage.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:29 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:30 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: April 10, 2006, 11:31 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Drove the Sierra Madre Road to McPherson Peak on 1 April 2006. Low clearance - two wheel drive vehicle made it. Some small rocks needed to be moved off of the road The hike on the dirt road to Painted Rock Camp was easy.

Posted: November 10, 2005, 12:02 am
by: woodman40

The first part up from Hwy 166 is ok until you are past Miranda Pine on to about Timber Peak. Rutted but not bad. After that it is 4WD, low range rock crawling because there is no road surface left.It's 4WD becuse you need to pull the front wheels up one rock and down another. If you just have to get into McPhearson Peak come in by way of Bates Canyon past the old White Oak Ranger Station. Make sure the USFS gate is open above Bates Camp.

Do not apptempt this road past say Miranda Pine with anything other than a high clearance 4WD vehicle. Anybody planning a trip that includes a pick up at McPhearson should just plan to go on through to Aliso Park for pickup.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:31 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: April 5, 2009, 5:31 pm
by: Diane

I think you may have gotten off the trail a bit, Duane. I just hiked that area and the trail from South Fork to Cliff was mostly in great shape.

The trail leaves the water past the first creek crossing after you pass the sign at South Fork. It goes up high and has been freshly worked. When it drops low to the water it's obscure again, but mostly it's easy enough to follow most of the way to Sycamore.

If you are diligent, you may be able to find where the trail goes up high again below Cain, the prominent red montain. Along this section the trail has been freshly worked and is spectacular. Then it drops down again and from then on, it's pretty bad until you can find your way up to the mesa just before Manzana.

We followed blue tape and huge ducks at first. Duckman soon fell down on the job and blue tape man pretty much gave up before Cliff camp. Then there was nothing. It's especially bad around Abel and beyond. We put up some orange tape after Abel, but we may have put some bad markers up in a couple of spots.

Posted: April 1, 2009, 1:52 pm
by: Duane

Hiked the Sisquoc Loop this past weekend (Saturday, 03/28/2009 through Tuesday, 03/31/2009). Trail bed from South Fork to Sycamore is overgrown, but followable if you pay attention. There are two washouts above the river; be very careful. I had no problem navigating them, but it would be difficult to get stock up and over them.

The trail bed is almost nonexistent from Sycamore to Water Camps. There were some ducks and flags, and occasional human footprints, to lead the way, but very little in actual trail. I found that the best way to navigate this section was to make my way to the flattest surface I could find and walk as far as I was able to.

A big thank you, by the way, to those who ducked and flagged the trail. Trail conditions were far worse than I expected, and I was expecting difficult conditions.

Expect to take a full day to hike from Sycamore to Water.

There is a maintained, mile long upper trail near Abel (or Cliff) camp on the left hand side of the river. It was a nice break.

Posted: May 9, 2007, 11:35 am
by: Duane

I cut and pasted the below update from the Manzana section. It was written by dgoodner, not me. I meant to enter that in the last entry. Credit where credit is due!!

Posted: May 9, 2007, 11:27 am
by: Duane

Hiked east out of Nira last weekend (April 28th) headed for west Nira the long way around.

First couple days it was very hot, and of course that figures as we had the heaviest packs. Fortunately it cooled off over the next few days, and we hiked in the early morning hours.

Water was plentiful along the Manzana Creek.

There was water at Happy Hunting -- won’t last long though.
White Ledge also had water, as you might expect if Happy Hunting had it.

Water was good at Lonnie Davis, as well as South Fork. Not as high as I would like to see it this time of year, but plenty to drink and cook.

Water was present all along the Sisquoc, but I suspect that this will be a short-lived water year at the lower ends of the river.

Water was also good all along the Sisquoc until about a mile and half before Schoolhouse. Again, day by day, I expect the river will recede.

Water was also present at the east entrance of Schoolhouse on the Manzana creek.

Ticks weren’t to bad -- I’ve seen so much worst.

Lots of beaver activity. Actually sat an watched a beaver do its thing one afternoon. Pretty awesome.

One note: the trail is washed out somewhere near Forester’s Leap. Headed west (out of South Fork) it is treacherous... but we made it. Coming the other way, it would be much more difficult. It may not even be doable. I suggest taking the river through this portion of the trail.

Second note: trail is negligible between Miller and Sycamore. (Nothing new.) Although we made a dent in the thickets, and tried to replace ducks as we went.

Third note: Wizard cave painting seems to be showing its age. It wasn’t due to vandalism -- thankfully -- it’s just been ravaged by the elements.

We have such a spectacular refuge here in the San Rafael and Dick Smith, and I wish I could get out there more often for longer periods.

Posted: August 21, 2006, 2:22 pm
by: Adam

We used this trail as part of the Manzana-Sisquoc-Manzana loop. For the first couple miles, it is easy to follow, but is soon lost. We ended up just following near the river until we regained it at Water Canyon. The trail then disappeared again sometime after Mormon Camp. This basic pattern continued all the way to Sycamore. Over half the time, we weren't on the trail at all. The rest of the time, we weren't really sure that we were on it, because it wasn't really that much better than most of the game trails. One good thing is that the camps were all pretty easy to find, being near the river. It was very remote and we only saw two other people the whole time we were back there. It took us two days to cover the ~14 miles to Sycamore from Schoolhouse, mainly because of losing the trail and having to bushwhack through parts around a bend near the middle (took us 2 hours to go a mile and a half). It turns out there's a good reason for all this: this part of the wilderness is actually closed right now. People have cut up/taken down signs, but on our way out, a ranger told us that because of fires, it has been closed since July. It might have been easier to hike the opposite direction, since it seemed like the cairns were strategically placed for coming from the other direction. They didn't do us much good, though.
In any case, it was beautiful and remote and a good challenging hike. Bring maps, and check for ticks frequently.

Posted: April 10, 2006, 11:04 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Backpacked from Sycamore Camp to School House during 3 – 9 April 2006. Much hill climbing to get around fast / high Sisquoc River crossings. After two days and nights of rain, the River was brown with silt for two days and it dropped about one foot per day during the rest of our trip. Many ducks and Willow ribbons to help find the trail a lot of the way.

Posted: April 6, 2005, 10:40 pm
by: Anonymous

Hiked from the Schoolhouse downstream to a bit beyond Horse Canyon in mid-March. The trail does not exist for the first .75 miles or so, and the Sisquoc was running impressively high with long,fast moving, knee-deep crossings required. We camped on the beach on an island not to far from Horse.
The trail up Horse is not too hard to follow. It's a lovely canyon with some spectacular meadows a mile or so up full of goldfields. It had a fine flow of water as well. It would be interesting to follow the Sisquoc all the way down to Tepusquet road. I wonder if it would be legal?

Posted: March 29, 2005, 10:14 pm
by: Anonymous

Hiked last year from Manzana School House to Mormon Capsite. Trail is tricky and difficult to follow along the Sisquoc. Dry but pretty.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:31 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 14, 2010, 11:18 pm
by: Bryan

June 5, 2010

Hiked from Alamar Saddle to Heath Camp. Trail through the Bear Camps is great. Below Lower Bear the trail is very followable until you get about 0.5 miles upstream from Big Pine Canyon. At that point the trail gets significantly worse and stay that way until Heath Camp. There are flags marking the way, but expect to wade through grass and spend some time looking for the next flag. From Heath to Mansfield is great!

Posted: June 3, 2010, 12:06 pm
by: Coyote Dave

Hiked from South Fork up to Heath Camp over Memorial Day Weekend (2010). Trail was well flagged and easy to follow. Aside from Skunk Camp which has been destroyed from the Zaca Fire, the other camps along the stretch were in good shape.

Posted: April 26, 2010, 8:30 am
by: toejam

I hiked down from the top until the trail was lost in fallen trees a little below Lower Bear Camp. Still in great shape above that.

Posted: July 21, 2009, 4:11 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked down to Lower Bear along the Sisquoc Trail from Alamar Saddle. That trail is in fantastic shape right now, best I’ve ever seen it. Kudos to the LPFA and VWR volunteers and whomever else cleared the trees and treaded the trail. Great work! The Devils Slide section is the best I've seen it in over 10 years. Not sure how the trail is downstream from Lower Bear but there has been confirmed rumors that people are working on that as well.

Every little bit helps.

Posted: June 19, 2009, 10:47 am
by: ConiferKevin

Dropped down into the Bear Camps almost 2 years ago. Bummer about all those pines and the burnt out table at mid Bear Camp. I'm sure the vegetation is coming back strong, but we need to talk the LPFA into getting a new table back there.

Posted: June 2, 2008, 8:49 am
by: Bryan

May 24, 2008

I hiked from Alamar Saddle down to Heath Camp over the Memorial Day weekend. The trail is pretty worked over with fallen trees and the occasional washout. Its as beautiful as ever but be prepared to crawl or climb through the dozens of fallen trees, and practice your trail finding skills.

Posted: April 19, 2007, 9:53 pm
by: goletasteve

Spent a few days on the upper sisquoc as part of a Judell Trail - Upper Sisquoc -- Whiteledge -- Nyra shuttle March 21-25. Ahh, that's how I recharge. Beautiful. The upper sisquoc is in decent shape, a little bit bushy at times. In a few spots I was doing the "highstep tiptoe" through the poison oak, which at the higher elevations still had no leaves. Ticks were expected, and they did not disappoint. Water was flowing fine and VERY cold. Swimming was limited to in and out. Brr!

Posted: August 21, 2006, 2:37 pm
by: Adam

Used the Upper Sisquoc Trail as part of the Manzana-Sisquoc-Manzana loop. Compared to the lower Sisquoc, this trail was a pleasure. It looks like a very hard trail to maintain, but someone is doing a great job with it. Some of the ledge parts had some loose rock piles on it, but nothing too scary. We covered ground quickly on it (7 miles before lunch, whereas it took us a whole day to do 6 miles in the Lower Sisquoc). It is away from the water for a good deal of it, but went down to the Sisquoc, which has plenty of water, a few times. Unfortunately, we later found out that this area was closed due to fire danger, but posted signs had been ripped down or cut up. Saw some deer across the canyon from the trail, too. Near South Fork there was some very fresh bear scat. Overall, a great trail, and I'd be interested to check out the trail further up sometime.

Posted: June 28, 2006, 10:09 pm
by: george

We hiked this twice last week, in each direction, turning around at South Fork because of the fire in the Sierra Madres. The trail is in surprisingly good shape the entire way, with just a bit of poison oak to look out for, and also paying attention occasionally, down low, at crossings so to not loose the trail. We were able to keep our feet dry the whole time, and enjoyed camping at Bear (Meadow), S.Fork, Cottonwood and Heath camps. Fine pools are easily accessed near the latter three. We also hiked the short trail to Rattlesnake Falls (don't miss it!) and boulder-hopped up Fall Canyon to the spectacular Sisquoc Falls, perhaps the highest fall anywhere in SoCal? Well worth the 40-minute scramble, with great shade and pools the whole way!

Posted: April 2, 2005, 12:20 pm
by: ByCrout Bill

I solo hiked from South Fork to the Alamar Camp in late March '05. There are about 25 river crossings from South Fork to Heath Camp, most of them thigh-deep with the heavy winter and still-raining skies. Did not find Skunk Camp, only a sign post lying on the ground. Cottonwood Camp was marshy, except a site on the south side. Most river crossings are thoroughly washed out. There's a narrow, tricky spot high above the river just below Rattlesnake Cyn.
Trail up the switchbacks from Lower Bear Camp is almost gone, just a narrow lip across the talus. But the falls and cascades were almost Yosemite-like! Much down timber in lovely Bear Basin area, including a large white fir that took out the posted Bear Camp. But, there's a much nicer campsite (with picnic table!) 180 degrees across the meadow in the sun.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:32 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 19, 2009, 12:24 am
by: JenPB

The wildflowers are beginning to pop. Some are already spent. The bay groves are wonderfully cool and the views from the top are as spectacular as ever. The castle could use a cleanup - partiers and others have left loads of trash up there. Anyone up for a cleanup effort?

Today, our girls, now ages 6 and 8, and I had a wonderful trek from bottom to top and back again. The girls have each been carried up this trail as infants and toddlers, but this was the first time they tackled the trek under their own power. We took three breaks on the way up, two to watch mountain bikers pass, bells ringing, one just for the shaded rest and a snack.

It was EASILY 80 degrees today, making for miserable ascents on the sunny slopes where we were protected from the wind. BE SURE TO BRING LOTS OF HYDRATION! Three pairs of mountain bikers came upon us on their way downhill today. All were friendly, polite, slowed (nearly stopped) for us and were having a great time sharing the trail which shows signs of heavy use not ONLY by cyclists, but horses, hikers and at least one bear of considerable size - FANTASTIC tracks today!

FYI - I'm also the JB who posted here July 16, 2005. TIME FLIES!

Posted: January 2, 2009, 7:41 am
by: sue

I did the Snyder trail on New Year's day and was shocked to see the amount of damage to the trail by bikes. I am not against mountain bikes on trails but what I am opposed to are bikers making new trails off of existing trails, creating jumps, and turning banks. This is the worst trail damage I have seen in the past 20 years of hiking.

Posted: December 18, 2005, 3:10 pm
by: Anonymous

This was one of the best-maintained back country trails I've been on. Everything looked fairly freshly groomed. And there were more than a dozen mountain bikers taking advantage of it.
Not much signage, though. You sort of have to know where you're going or just hope you don't wander too far in the wrong direction.

Posted: July 17, 2005, 12:13 am
by: Anonymous

Hiked up this trail from its lower trailhead with my 2 year old and 5 year old. Two year old lasted about 100 feet before she asked to be loaded into the carrier. Five year old HAD to see the "castle," so even after the first (relatively...to a 5-year-old) grueling mile, she was rarin' to go. Trail was in good condition, rutted in some areas, loose rocks and occassional marble-like gravel added to the challenge. The castle is clearly a party place that's getting trashed. LOTS of broken glass, casings, random trash. Too bad.

Posted: March 23, 2005, 8:31 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: June 1, 2010, 9:49 am
by: santiar

Tried to hike Sulpher Springs trail from the southern trailhead north to Manzana Schoolhouse on May 10th, 2010. The trail is severely overgrown and nearly impossible to follow unless you are already familiar. The rains of this past winter have also washed three parts of the southern trail out. It is passable, but a bit on the dangerous side with a heavy pack on your back. I had a late start and only made it to the first intersection of the jeep trail. I could not see where the trail continued once reaching the jeep trail. I could have just followed the jeep trail but was nervous with the extra miles and the lack of daylight left. I had no gps and it was my first time hiking that trail. I was very behind schedule with sunlight so I decided to turn around and go back up the hill and try another day....most likely with a machete.

Posted: April 10, 2006, 11:16 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked up Sulphur Spring Trail on 9 April 2006. The Trail has been beautifully cleared and groomed. Thank you to those who worked on the Trail. Flowing water near the trail for most of the bottom three sections.

Posted: April 6, 2005, 10:26 pm
by: Anonymous

We hiked down the trail from Cedros Saddle in mid-March. The frist leg to the road junction is fine, but the trail gets worse and worse as you descend. Very washed out after the 3rd (?) road crossing to the point of being unhikable. The trail had become a flood drainage, and was a deep gully full of tree roots! In fact, we decided it would be easier to hike down the road the rest of the way to Manzana, which it was.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:32 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: February 20, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Nice, 500' elevation change trail, only 3.1 miles round trip, and not too steep. The middle of the trail has a slide remnant that was a little slippery, but overall the trail was very wide and easy to see, for San Rafael. I'd recommend it.

Posted: January 2, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

1 January 2005 hike from Davy Brown Camp to Sunset Valley. Brush near Munch Creek crossing.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:46 am
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:33 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: December 16, 2007, 7:00 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked from Bradbury Dam Overlook. Very good trail; leafless Poison Oak stalks are not a problem. Cachuma Burgers still great.

Posted: April 5, 2005, 7:55 am
by: Anonymous

Took a group of 11 through Sweetwater...still nice and clear. Only saw one eagle this time.

Greg and Quynh

Posted: March 6, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Nice hike, though our GPS marked the hike at 3.25 miles one way. The trail starts at the Cove and winds around the lake inlets among lots of lizards and flowers. Halfway through the hike is Sweetwater campground, a primative camp site. With water in the lake, makes for a pretty 2 hr round trip hike.

- Greg

Posted: February 7, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

A 6 February 2005 hike found the trail in great shape; cleared wide with no Poison Oak problems. The Oak Canyon and Mohawk Mesa Loop Trails are also green and flowered. The Nature Center was a great stop during our hike.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:47 am
by: Diane

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Posted: June 3, 2010, 12:15 pm
by: Coyote Dave

There is nothing sweet about this trail nor is there any water. Trail should be renamed to the High-Dry Steep Trail. Hiked this trail down from Pine Corral Portrero over Memorial Day Weekend. Tread is in good shape and the views were pretty spectacular. With a heavy pack this trail will do a number on your joints. You couldn't pay me to hike up this trail.

Posted: May 13, 2009, 10:30 am
by: Cowboy Clark

Sweet Water trail is in great shape - we just took horses down it on 4/28/09. good tread, brush is burned out - and the wild flowers were amazing!

Posted: June 2, 2008, 8:51 am
by: Bryan

May 24, 2008

Sweetwater is wide open and ready to be hiked, horsed, or moonwalked. I strongly recommend hiking down this trail only. Its a solid 7miles of uphill along a south facing slope.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:35 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: July 11, 2010, 8:08 am
by: sbdolphin62

Great trail, great hike! Nice and wide trail very clean. I would recommmend doing it in the early morning lots of trail in sun but there is shady spots too.And once at the top an awesome view both ways! Enjoy the trail I would do it again too!

Posted: June 1, 2009, 12:01 pm
by: water

Trail is open, We went yesterday, no kidding about the uphill hike, but definitely worth every inch. We started late in the afternoon, go a very clear view throughout, but would recommend an earlier start.

Posted: May 26, 2009, 12:45 pm
by: train

does anyone have any idea if this trail is open right now? how can I get there from Santa Ynez. new to the area, and am looking for good back country hiking trails.
thanks,

Train

Posted: July 5, 2008, 8:19 pm
by: eric_h

We were cut short today on this hike. The winds shifted a bit and caused Gap Fire smoke to head up and over the ridge and we turned back at about 1 mile from the top, bummed to not get the view from the top, although views of Cachuma were great.

It's worth noting that not far from the camp, the road bends uphill to the right and goes through a gate, but the trail actually goes left. My wife and I got lost at this point on our first trip up Tequepis last year.

Also, not to scare anyone, but we saw a mama black bear and her little cub today. They were definitely more scared of us than we were of them, but worth noting for sure.

Posted: April 13, 2008, 8:08 pm
by: rar

I found the length, from the parking lot at St V camp, to the moment you can see Goleta from the top of the ridge to actually be 4.1 miles as measured by my GPS. Which would make the total length 8.2 instead of the 6 miles listed. Quite a difficult hike at my fitness level!

Here is a picture of the trail from Google Earth: Tequepis Trail

Posted: October 8, 2007, 12:19 am
by: elisabeth

Trail in great shape (perhaps the best condition of any I've seen in SB); also about two hours up, 1.5 down -- didn't leave enough light to make it out to the car, and if it weren't for a small flashlight, we would have been stranded (saw only one other person as he was hiking out)... it gets very, very dark back there. All in all, a very nice hike, an excellent trail, lovely weather (and plenty of shade), and one lesson learned.

Posted: December 3, 2006, 10:43 pm
by: dsandrs

My first hike in SB. 2:06 on the way up. Trails were clear, weather beautiful, views unbelievable.

1:30 on the way down.

Recommend this trail.

Posted: November 12, 2006, 11:12 pm
by: Anonymous

Hiked this on Nov. 12. There was a pile of wood blocking the trail with an arrow pointing off to the left about .75 miles from the boy scout camp. That is definitely the WRONG WAY. We encountered many trucks and decided to turn around when we were heading very north (trail should go south) and heard weird techno music being blasted from a grove of trees up ahead. All the private property signs kind of gave us a clue too.

So, early on when you reach a junction where there are some rusted metal tanks to your left and some piles of wood and scrap metal on your right, take the right-veering path. Even if the pile of wood with the left-pointing arrow is still there, just step over it. You know you're on the correct trail if it's too small for a car to drive on.

Posted: January 29, 2006, 6:04 pm
by: BSA Troop 42

Hiked to Tequepis Canyon Falls on 29 January 2006; the falls are up canyon past the signed left turn off up to Camino Cielo. To the falls from Rancho Alegre and returned through Old Camp Drake. Trails are reasonable. The Creek is rock hoppable. Falls good with full pool below.

Posted: October 5, 2005, 9:27 am
by: Anonymous

October 4, 2005

I hiked Tequepis yesterday afternoon. It took me about 2 hours to get up to the ridge and 1.25 on the way back down. First off I have to say that this trail is perhaps my favorite on the front range. There are never any people on the trail! and its got the best views of Cachuma, the San Rafaels, and eventually the Gaviota Coast and Channel Islands. Blah blah blah..... Unfortunately I forgot my loppers yesterday. The trail is very followable but there are a few sections on the top third of the trail where the brush is starting to impede on the trail. The tread is great but if you plan on doing this hike and are looking for some karma bring some loppers.

Posted: February 20, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Revisited this trail with some friends...a recent slide closed a portion of this trail, but it's since been reopened by an alt route. Cachuma Lake finally looks like a lake again. Good trail.

- Greg

Posted: January 21, 2002, 10:45 am
by: Diane

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Posted: June 14, 2010, 4:31 pm
by: Bryan

Buckhorn Road was graded and cleared this week from Upper Oso to Santa Barbara Potrero.

Posted: March 28, 2006, 8:01 pm
by: Bryan

Its a fire road. Steep and long. But the views are spectacular. Snow covering the road on 3/26/06

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:24 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:36 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: February 16, 2009, 10:40 am
by: Bryan

The trail takes a hard left turn up about 1/4 mile into the hike. It seems that the trail would continue straight up the creek and there is a "trail" continuing straight, but the real trail goes hard to the left up the canyon wall. I was out there early January 2009 and marked the fork with flags. Once on the correct trail and out of the creek, there is very little chance of getting lost. This trail is slightly overgrown but mostly by small sage bushes. Its a tough climb up to the mine, actually one of the harder pushes for such a short hike. Once at the mine there are multiple caves and holes to check out. BE CAREFUL, a misstep here or there and you're falling a long way from help. I saw more ticks on this trail than anywhere else EVER. No water once away from the creek, don't let the short distance fool you - its a tough hike.

Posted: July 6, 2008, 12:23 pm
by: thornslegacy2001

I don't believe I am an idiot or anything similar, but I for one lost this trail. It started off fine near Wagon Flat camp, and we began the hike excited, to be on such an easy trail. But less than a mile into it, the whole trail just disappeared! *poof!* gone! It is overgrown, by my best guess, or we lost it. But I'm betting overgrown.

I don't want that mine to be lost to civilization for ever, would someone more experienced be willing to check it out?

That'd be cool.

-Nick Skaggs

Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:24 pm
by: george

We hiked one hot January day a few years ago. It was in pretty good shape- only a little bit brushy- with a surprising number of ticks. The ridgetop mine was interesting and there were fine views.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:36 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: January 1, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

1 January 2005 hike from Munch Canyon Trail junction to East Pinery. Another great trail with recent trailwork; Thank you. Snow on the north side of San Rafael Mountain.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:50 am
by: Diane

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Posted: July 28, 2006, 1:32 pm
by: Bryan

Hiked Willow Spring on 7/26/06 from the Catway across to Davy Brown, up to Fig Rd then back around to the start. Trail is slowly becoming overgrown again, Mostly with Poison Oak. The trail is very findable BUT the PO is creeping, and in some places is unavoidable. Lots of summer flies, awesome views, and still plenty of water flowing down Davy Brown.

Posted: April 17, 2005, 8:19 am
by: BSA Troop 42

16 April 2005 - First switchback off of Catway Road cuts through the largest flower field. Great cleared trail. Little Poison Oak; eaisily gotten around. Major tree fall on Davy Brown Trail just downstream of the Ranger Monument.

Posted: February 21, 2005, 1:01 am
by: Anonymous

Feb 20, 2005 - Hiked the Willows Springs trail to the connector with Dave Brown Trail. The trail has been cleared and is easy to follow. LOTS of water in the creek at the junction.

Posted: January 24, 2002, 9:51 am
by: Diane

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Please note this trail is not the same as the Willow Spring Trail. This trail is near Davy Brown. Willow Spring (without an 's') trail is near Pine Canyon Ranger Station and Highway 166.

Posted: April 14, 2007, 4:02 pm
by: george

Oops! I meant go EAST from the shooting area. You'll see a trail from the shooting area heading up the grassy swale. The flagged section begins shortly past the saddle, as the slowly trail contours upwards.

Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:21 pm
by: george

This is a lovely trail to hike in late winter and spring. It takes some careful topo study to find the trailhead. You park by a closed shooting range on 166 that is a tiny piece of Forest adjacent to the highway. Heading west to an obvious saddle up a cow trail, you then can begin to find a decent little flagged trail through the fine grasslands and deciduous oak forest, taking you all the way to the top of a high ridge where a big portrero awaits, along with interesting explorations in any of three directions (albeit some on private ranchland). Great views the whole way up this trail. Not too far after Willow Spring itself, the trail disappears down a brushy ridge.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:38 pm
by: Diane

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Please note this trail is not the same as the Willow Springs Trail. The Willow Springs trail is near Davy Brown. This trail is near Pine Canyon Ranger Station and Highway 166.

Posted: April 13, 2007, 9:31 pm
by: george

Some one has recently clipped the first half mile or so of this trail, a section which used to have some heavy ceanothus and manzanita encroaching. It doesn't go up the peak, but it's not too hard to find a good route up the peak along the west ridge or from the northeast side. A worthy objective. The trail continues in quite good shape overall down to Zaca Lake. One can continue west along interesting Zaca Ridge out to Lookout Mountain, but it's a bit challenging at times. With a bit of map study, one can make at least two different pleasant loop hikes out of this trail.

Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:38 pm
by: Diane

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Posted: March 26, 2005, 7:39 pm
by: Diane

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