Los Padres is Totality Hot!

Posted on by Bryan Conant
Brrrrr….. A Chilly Mission Pine Basin
– Hello Los Padres –
With the “excessive heat” we’re experiencing around the forest this week we thought it might be nice to share a picture and story of our Los Padres in the snow.  Maybe it will cool you down a little.  This photo was taken around dawn in early March at Mission Pine Basin (5,300′) in the San Rafael Wilderness.  I had backpacked in from Upper Oso, taking two days along the Santa Cruz Trail to get to MPB.  It rained on and off most of the second day and the final 2,000 foot climb up to Mission Pine was like taking a shower each time I rubbed against any of the 7,000,000 manzanita bushes along that 4mile climb.  I was drenched and cold when I saw the campfire at the Basin indicating that my buddy, ‘The Masticator’, had indeed upheld his end of the bargain and backpacked in from Cachuma Saddle.  He had slogged his bike up to McKinley Saddle the previous night and backpacked through mostly snow flurries to the Basin.  We were there to see it snow and knew a storm was forecast that evening.  We spent the night next to a raging fire as 8 inches of snow piled up beside our tents.  The next morning (shown above) was crisp as we explored the Basin, looking between the clouds at the blue Channel, snow curdling off the trees and….. lots of hot coffee.
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The LP Piru Neighborhood
FOREST 411
• We’re hiring!  The LPFA is looking for a forest-loving go-getter to help manage our retail sales and grow the public outreach.  If interested, we’d love to hear from you.  More information at the link RIGHT HERE.

• So a bear walks into Reyes Creek Bar and says to Tony, “I’ll have a pint of beer and a……….. tri-tip sandwich”.  Tony responds, “Why the big pause?”   Wha wha wha…..  Okay, did you hear the one about the bear who stumbled out to Rincon Point on a summer Saturday afternoon…..?  Amazingly that isn’t a joke as a black bear did indeed find its way to the beach two weekends ago.  The photos are hard to believe but tragically the bear was euthanized after it was found to be unhealthy.

• Speaking of bears, this weekend at Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center is a presentation called the Amazing World of Bears by Kelley Swedlow.  It starts at 11am at the Visitor Center, which gives you enough time for a morning on the trailw beforehand or some extra time to sleep in.  It will be interesting to hear what Kelley thinks of the Rincon bear…..

• Do you Piru?  The water agency is charge of the Lake Piru Recreation Area is required to make changes to their recreation management plan for Piru.  They’ve hired an environmental consulting company to assist in the design of that recreation management plan and have released an online recreation survey designed to collect information from the public who use the Lake Piru Recreation Area.  This includes boaters, anglers, hikers, riders, hunters, Condor Trail backpackers, kayakers, campers, etc who use or pass through the Lake Piru Recreation Area.  If that’s you, please take the time and fill out this short online survey.  The surveys asks how often you use the Piru neighborhood, what you do there, what you like about it and what could be improved.  Certainly worth the time if you have an opinion, see link above.

• We’ve heard some questions about accessing the Whittier Fire burn area.  An update was released this week after an infra-red flight showed that some hot spots remain within the fire perimeter.  As a result the fire remains 87% contained and closed to public entry.  It might be a while before the area is reopened to the public.  Stay tuned….

• Last time we mentioned that Cherry Creek Road (6N01) was closed, it has since been opened.

• LPFA is excited to announce that Sunday October 8 will be our 3rd Annual Used Camping Gear Sale at Tucker’s Grove Park in Goleta.  We’ll once again be partnering with Gossamer Gear to provide some incredible deals on great backpacks and camping gear.  We hope you can make it and let us know if you have any camping gear to donate to the sale.  We’ll provide a tax donation receipt and the proceeds go right back to Trail Care.

• Sorry about the bad bear news but we’ve got some great wildlife news to share that might cheer you up.  For the first time since 1985 a wild-born pair of California condors have successfully nested and have a chick of their own.  You can read more about it here.  The nest is located in Southern Monterey County and is an important step showing just how incredible the condor re-population is progressing.  It’s probably not too far off that we’ll be seeing healthy condors on the beaches soon as well.

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Chumash cave 1677 eclipse & Madras, Oregon 2017 eclipse, photo AYoung

The eclipse was all the news this past week, you don’t need to hear about that, although some of you may still be stuck in traffic.  A little different twist on the eclipse was visiting a Chumash cave that very same day and seeing their rendition of a solar eclipse that occurred on November 24, 1677.  They didn’t have the benefit of months of advanced notice, nor did they have CNN covering the PATH OF TOTALITY.  It must have been something truly amazing back in 1677…….

FIGUEROA MOUNTAIN GRAN FONDO

Posted on by Bryan Conant

“So what is a Gran Fondo?”  Good question…  Originating in 1970 in Italy, a gran fondo is a long-distance (at least 75 miles) road cycling event in which a large number of riders are racing the distance against the clock.  Think of it like a marathon for cyclists.  Cool, right?  Anyway, this year Carmichael Training Systems and Figueroa Mountain Brewing are partnering to present the inaugural Figueora Mountain Gran Fondo on November 11.  They’ve asked the LPFA to help support the race and we’ll be organizing an aid station at the very top of the race at Ranger Peak along Figueroa Mountain Road.  Should be great!

If you’re a cyclist interested in doing the ride, have at it, sign up.  If you’re not but would like to volunteer to help at the LPFA aid station, we’d love the support!  You can sign up by emailing INFO@LPForest.org.  All volunteers will get a free shirt and lunch/beer at the after party in Santa Ynez.  Come one, come all……

We’re still sorting out the details but imagine we’ll be meeting at Ranger Peak around 8am and heading off the mountain in time for lunch.

INFO@LPForest.org

Figueroa Mountain Gran Fondo

 

 

LPFA Job Announcement: RETAIL SALES & PUBLIC OUTREACH MANAGER

Posted on by Bryan Conant

The Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA – 501c3) has been helping the Los Padres National Forest and supporting the people who use the forest since 1979.  We are based in Goleta but have projects and work sites across the Los Padres from Ojai to Big Sur.  We work in conjunction with the Forest Service with responsibilities that include Visitor Center management, Ranger Station retail sales, forest-user education and trail maintenance with an emphasis on helping people enjoy the Los Padres in a responsible manner.

The LPFA is growing and we’re looking for a forest-lover and outdoor recreationalist to manage our retail sales and public outreach programs while helping elsewhere within the organization as needed.

The position is part-time with much flexibility, working remotely and will require occasional travel in and around the Los Padres Forest.  Individuals applying should be computer and social media savvy, happy, knowledge of nature, creative, energetic, strong ability to write, hard working, attention to detail, honest and excited to be working to support the Los Padres Forest.  Previous experience working with non-profits and grant funding would be great as well.  Compensation, schedule and hours are negotiable.

If the paragraphs above are you, we’d love to hear from you………  INFO@LPForest.org

BIG SURealism

Posted on by Bryan Conant

Pfeiffer Gulch (Canyon) Bridge, photo CalTrans  
Hello Los Padres,

Once again we find ourselves in the dog days of summer, closer to fall than spring but aren’t the dog days supposed to be lethargic and carefree?  That certainly is not the case here, in particular the Big Sur coastal portions of the Monterey Ranger District where the community continues to recover from the 2016 Soberanes Fire and subsequent winter storm damage.  Dog days?  More like a colony of ants, hustling and bustling to get ready for the coming winter…..  There’s a lot going on around these parts and I’m not quite sure where to begin so we’ll start at the heart and work out from there:

  • Access along Highway 1 has improved but remains closed at both Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and Mud Creek.
    • Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is located just south of Big Sur Station and was famously demolished earlier this year after it was discovered structurally unsound.  Great progress has been made rebuilding the bridge and it is on schedule to reopen by October.
    • Also famously (recurring theme), a bypass trail was built around the failed bridge so that workers and residents could pass from one side to the other.  This bypass trail was initially only open for residents and workers but was opened to the public on July 1.  The public can now park near either side of the bridge and walk around to the other side.  Shuttle services are available to help usher tourists to and from the bypass trail.
    • Mud Creek, which again famously demolished a 1/3 mile chunk of Hwy 1 in May 2017, remains closed and won’t be reopened until sometime in 2018.  CalTrans is working on a plan to rebuild the new road over the slide.
    • The other major slide named Paul’s Slide has been reopened with a single lane allowing vehicles to pass 24hrs a day 7 days a week.
    • Pfeiffer Beach access remains closed due to both Sycamore Canyon Road damage as well as the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge closure.
  • All said, you can now drive north from SLO all the way to Salmon Creek Guard Station.  You can drive south from Monterey as far as Big Sur Station.  You can also drive over Nacimiento-Fergusson Road from Hunter-Liggett to access Hwy 1 and from there head north as far as the Big Sur Taphouse and south as far as Mud Creek.  Confusing, isn’t it.  Here’s a map that might help.

The newly minted Bypass Trail (aka Taphouse Trail), a shining example of community’ism.

  • All State Parks and Los Padres Campgrounds / Dayuse areas along Hwy 1 are open.  Now that being said, there are certain parts of the parks and campgrounds that remain closed due to winter damage.  If you are heading out that way to camp, BE SURE TO HAVE RESERVATIONS (note the new State Parks reservation service).
  • One rather large issue in recent years has been campers coming to Big Sur without reservations and having no place to camp or stay.  As a result many of these campers are ‘forced’ to camp illegally along roads or in turnouts.  The road most heavily impacted by the illegal camping has been Nacimiento-Ferguson Road.  It’s been well documented that illegal campers have left trash-piles, campfires and make-shift toilets along the sides of Nacimiento-Ferguson Road and as a result the Forest Service responded today by prohibiting dispersed camping along Nacimiento-Ferguson.

Doesn’t sound very dog days’ish does it…?  The Big Sur Coast is the most highly visited portion of the Los Padres Forest and for good reason – it is absolutely spectacular.  It’s unfortunate that not everyone cares for Big Sur the way most locals do.  And it’s equally important to step back and put yourself in the shoes of the people who come to visit Big Sur.  There is a great saying: come with solutions not problems.  Progress is being made.

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West Cuesta View
FOREST 411
• In case you can’t get enough LPFA through these emails or Facebook, we are now on Instagram as well: Los_Padres_Forest_Association
• West Cuesta Ridge Rd (aka TV Tower) in San Luis Obispo has reopened after being closed for nearly a year.  Great mountain biking!

• Cherry Creek Road off Hwy 33 in Ventura County is usually opened seasonally on August 1 but due to gate damage has not yet opened this year.  We’ll keep you posted.

• Once again, A-Zone South general hunting season starts August 12 and lasts through September 24.  A-Zone includes most of the Los Padres.  For those of you new to hunting season, expect more people camping around the trailheads and more activity both at sunrise and sunset.

• Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center is hosting a talk on August 12 on the geology of caves, volcanos, mountains and more.  Show starts at 11am, this is a great event for the kids and adults alike.

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IMBA‘s Chris Orr teaches trail design at a Patagonia sponsored Trail Summit hosted by the OVLC

Fires, Hunting Season, Volunteer Opportunities, 411

Posted on by Bryan Conant
 Whittier’s Final Gasp
FIRE FOREST & RESTRICTIONS

It’s been a fiery few weeks around the Los Padres.  It seems like wildfires are popping up just about every day but thanks to the excellent fire crews most of them haven’t developed into much.  That being said, we’ve had quite a few significant fires that have grown large enough to garner incident names and/or attention:

  • We had Hudson, in the eastern Cuyama, that didn’t get onto the Los Padres but burned just over 1,000 acres.
  • There were a series of seven fires in Santa Paula Canyon that burned 35 acres and has caused the closure of the popular Santa Paula Canyon Trail.
  • The biggest has been the Alamo Fire, which burned over 28,000 acres.  It also didn’t get onto LP soil but came really really close and caused multiple forest access closures.
  • And of course the Whittier Fire, which has burned over 18,000 acres, mostly within the Los Padres and remains 87% contained.  Tragically, 16 residences were destroyed at the hands of Whittier and a Forest Closure remains enforced across the Western Santa Ynez Mountains.

In response to the increase in fire activity, the Los Padres National Forest went into Level III Fire Restrictions effective July 17.  You can read all about it here.  The largest change in this order is the banning of target shooting across the Los Padres.

Summer is a tough time in the Los Padres.  Temperatures are really high across most of the forest and water is becoming scarce.  If you’ve got the itch to get into the forest please be careful and plan on doing most of your moving either early or late……..

A-ZONE SOUTH: August 12
Now, that being said, early August is also one of the busiest times in the Los Padres as A-Zone South deer (rifle) season kicks off.  This years general season goes from August 12 – September 24.  You can see on the map that A-Zone South includes just about all of the Los Padres.  If you are a hunter, have at it, be safe and responsible.  If you are not a hunter, you may want to pick your forest endeavors carefully, especially on weekends.  Be prepared to see more activity than usual along forest roads and at campgrounds and leave your antler hat at home.  If you have any questions, please contact your local Ranger District.
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Four Fingers View, Channel Islands, Madulce Trail

MADULCE TRAIL PROJECT: August 4-6

In case you need a Los Padres Fix for your NDD or more likely your TWDD (Trail Work Deficit Disorder), the LPFA will be squeezing in a trail project August 4-6 along the Madulce Trail in the Dick Smith Wilderness.  Led by Mike Smith, we’ll be working the top mile of the trail from the Buckhorn Road out to the junction with the Madulce Peak Lookout Trail.  Most of the focus will be fixing tread and broken cribwalls on the north slope of the ridge, which in conjunction with the 5,500ft elevation should mean cooler temperatures.  We’ll be driving in from Santa Barbara Canyon and base-camping at nearby Alamar Camp.  If you’ve never been to Alamar or this part of the forest, it is spectacular and a real treat to be able to drive in 2 hours what normally takes 2 days to backpack.  As usual all food and tools will be provided for the volunteers.  If you have any questions or would like to sign-up, please let us know: INFO@LPForest.org

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Colorful History, Mono Debris Dam

FOREST 411

• Got plans this weekend?  If not, throw the kids in the family roadster and head out tomorrow to Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center to see the Humane Society of Ventura County give a presentation at 11am.  The coolest thing about the Humane Society is that you never quite know what animals they’ll show up with.  They might have a blind corn snake?  They might come with dogs performing tricks?  Maybe a goat?  You never know….  But one thing for sure is that your kids will love it and spend the entire drive home begging you to adopt a cat or a mouse or an iguana.  No thanks needed.  See you tomorrow!

• Were you around 25 years ago?  Does June 19, 1992 mean anything?  It should, that was the day the Los Padres Condor and River Protection Act was signed adding more than 400,000 acres of wilderness and 80 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers to the Los Padres National Forest.  This included the creation of the Silver Peak, Sespe, Matilija, Garcia and Chumash Wildernesses as well as additional land added to both the San Rafael and Ventana Wildernesses.  That was quite a day, cheers to June 19!

• This week also marks the one-year anniversary of the Soberanes Fire, which burned from July 22, 2016 well into the winter months.  Soberanes consumed over 130,000 acres, destroyed dozens of homes and took the life of a dozer operator working on the fire.  Even a year later, we’re still reeling from Soberanes with road closures and forest closures continuing to impact life in and around Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness.  More updates next time around….

• A press release was issued earlier this month about the continued closure of Hi Mountain Road in SLO County.  Hi Mtn Rd is an unpaved road that connects Arroyo Grande with Pozo going through both SLO County and Los Padres land.  It leads to a variety of recreational activities and campgrounds but remains closed as SLO and the LP work out an agreement on road maintenance.  The attached PDF tells the story better than we can.  Note that Hi Valley Road remains closed from the first gate down next to the creek coming up from Arroyo Grande out to Pozo.

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Taking it Easy, LPFA Flume Chute Aid Station, SBER 2017

Fires! Fires on the Mountains

Posted on by Bryan Conant
 Alamo Fire, Engulfing Pismo, photo Toejam
WHITTIER & ALAMO FIRES
Yes, it is that time of year again….  While we were hoping for an ‘off year’ from wildfires, especially after last year, the Los Padres is off and running again with what is looking like another busy fire season.  While there have been a few smaller fires here and there around the LP, the first two major fires erupted this past week in Santa Barbara County: Alamo & Whittier
Alamo & Whittier Fires 
First was the Alamo Fire, which started the afternoon of July 6 east of Santa Maria, near the border of SLO and SB Counties, close to Twitchell Reservoir.  The fire has burned nearly 30,000 acres and is currently 45% contained.  While Alamo has not yet entered the Los Padres, it is really close and has been knocking on the door the past few days just across Tepusquet Canyon.  Fire crews have made great progress on Alamo in recent days, lets hope for containment soon before the next heat wave hits this weekend.

MORE INFORMATION:

  • Click here for the full list of closures.  Access to the Los Padres is closed along Hwy 166 between 101 and New Cuyama, including Tepusquet Canyon, Rock Front, Sierra Madres and Colson Canyon.
  • Twitter is always a great resource for following crowd-sourced information.
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Painting the Forest Red, SY Mtns Above Goleta
Then came the Whittier Fire, which started dramatically on Saturday July 8 just off Hwy 154 across from Lake Cachuma.  Fueled by 100˚ heat and afternoon winds, the Whittier Fire, named after nearby Whittier Camp, took off like a rocket burning south up the Santa Ynez Mountains through terrain that had not burned since the 1955 Refugio Fire (62 years).  It quickly consumed Rancho Alegre Outdoor School and temporarily trapped 80 students at Circle V Camp.  By that evening the flames had crossed West Camino Cielo and were headed down towards the ocean.  Evacuations were ordered for Paradise Road, West Camino, Kinevan and even western Goleta.  Fortunately, the weather changed starting Sunday bringing two days of tropical flow followed by a thicker marine layer and cooler temps.  The combination of the change in weather along with the great work from the fire crews has slowed the progress of the Whittier Fire.  Whittier has currently burned around 11,000 acres and is 25% contained.  It’s still very active both with smoke plumes as well as air attacks from the tankers that have been hammering it the past day or so.

MORE INFORMATION:

  • Click here for the full list of closures.  Access to the Los Padres is closed along Hwy 154 between Cathedral Oaks and Hwy 246, including West Camino Cielo.
  • Tequepis Trail burned.
  • Twitter is always a great resource for following crowd-sourced information.
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Whittier Fire-Camp Morning Briefing, July 11

It’s devastating seeing the destruction these wildfires bring.  If you are reading this, chances are you’ve either been affected by a recent wildfire or know someone who has.  If you’re able, please reach out and find ways you can help as fire victims rebuild their lives.  And of course, huge praise needs to go to all the fire crews and fire support teams that work day and night fighting these fires.  Their efforts literally saved 80 children.  Not to mention all the other lives and property saved that we’ll never hear about because they stopped it before it happened.  They are absolutely amazing.

Santa Barbara 100 Endurance Race: LPFA AID STATION

Posted on by Bryan Conant

The 2016 LPFA Aid Station, lit up for the night!

For the fifth running (get it?) year, the LPFA will be hosting an aid station at the Santa Barbara 100 Endurance Race this coming weekend July 14-15.  This year we’ll be setup at the northern trailhead for the Franklin Trail near Jameson Lake under the flume.  We’ll be driving in to our “Flume Chute” aid station on Friday around 6pm, spending the night Friday night under the flume and then heading home Saturday evening around 7pm after the racers have come through our station.

We’ll be marking (flags) the route on Friday from Divide Peak OHV to the Flume Chute and then waking up early Saturday to mark the route up the Franklin Trail as far as Alder Creek Camp.  We’ll then setup our aid station and the first runners should come through around noon on Saturday.  Our job at the aid station is to count the runners, assist them with whatever they need, get them water and some food, a little encouragement and then set them off on their way as they continue their 60 mile run across the Santa Ynez Mountain.  These aid stations are a lot of fun.  It’s great providing encouragement and we always head home feeling motivated after witnessing what these great athletes are able to accomplish.  Empowering.  The final runners will come through around 6pm, after that we’ll pack up and head home.

If you’re interested in volunteering, please let us know:

INFO@LPForest.org

The Flume at the base of Alder Canyon

2016 Race Start, on your marks, get set, go run 60 miles in 90˚ heat!

LP FIRE RESTRICTIONS: LEVEL II

Posted on by Bryan Conant

Hi Everyone,

In case you haven’t heard, the Los Padres went into Level II fire restrictions earlier this month.  Among other things, this means no campfires outside of designated Campfire Use Sites, see link below for list of those sites:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd546968.pdf

The full order is attached in this email or check the link here from the Forest Service site.  Fire season is here, please be careful!

Manzana Schoolhouse Weekend Trail Project & Zaca Fire Anniversary

Posted on by Bryan Conant
National Trails Day 2017, Santa Cruz Trail

Good Afternoon Everyone – Hope you are doing well!

The Los Padres enjoyed a great weekend of National Trails Day projects across the Los padres.  Reports are still trickling in from the various projects and we hope to share photos and updates in the coming week or so.  It certainly was hot out there this past weekend!  While National Trails Day in June might work for the rest of the country, it’s a hot time of year in the LP.  Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend, if you have photos from wherever you were, please share, we’d love to see them!

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MANZANA SCHOOLHOUSE
TRAIL PROJECT
June 9-11

The LPFA is going to squeeze in one more long-weekend project before the backcountry gets too hot. Join us June 9-11 at Manzana Schoolhouse as we do some work on the Lower Manzana Trail, clear some downed trees from the Lower Sisquoc and clean up Manzana Schoolhouse Camp. 

The plan is to meet at the Lower Manzana Trailhead on Friday June 9 at 8am. We’ll load our camping gear into trucks that will drive out to the Schoolhouse while we spend the day hiking, clearing trees and a few strategic slides along the Manzana Trail. We’ll get to the Schoolhouse with enough time to cool down in the Sisquoc, get some dinner, enjoy happy hour and watch the full moon creep over Castle Rock. 

Saturday will be spent clearing the downed trees along the Lower Sisquoc, working on the lowest section of the Manzana Trail and fixing a few odds and ends around Manzana Schoolhouse Camp.

We’ll pack up Sunday, the trucks will once again carry our camping gear back to NIRA while we hike up-stream and fine-tune any remaining issues along the Manzana Trail.

As always, meals Friday night – Sunday will be provided for the volunteers. The hike in to the Schoolhouse is about 9 miles. If you can’t make it in on Friday morning, you’re still welcome to attend, we’d just like you to get to the Schoolhouse in enough time to volunteer on Saturday. Please RSVP.  Should be a great time and a special final weekend of volunteering in the backcountry this season. Hope you can make it and email (INFO@LPForest.org) for more information or to sign up!

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One of the endless Zaca plumes, photo Ray Ford
ZACA FIRE ANNIVERSARY TALK
July 4, 2007, the day the Zaca Fire started and a few weeks before it really went.  Can you believe it’s been almost 10 years since the Zaca Fire burned most of the Santa Barbara Backcountry!??!  Join us Thursday June 15 at 6:30pm at the Santa Barbara Library as Ray Ford takes us down memory lane recounting the progress and history of the once-in-a-lifetime conflagration known as the Zaca Fire.  He’ll go over just about every acre of the over 240,000 acres that burned between its start July 4 and sometime in early December when it finally went out.  The talk is FREE, get it on your calendar and we hope to see you there!  More details and information to come…..

National Trails Day 2017: SANTA CRUZ TRAIL

Posted on by Bryan Conant

Come join us on National Trails Day (Saturday, June 3) as we begin work on bringing the Santa Cruz Trail back to life!

• We’ll meet at First Crossing (34.545955, -119.779028 – about 30mins from Santa Barbara) at 8am on June 3.  From there we’ll caravan across the river and through locked gates (locked at Lower Oso) to Upper Oso.  We’ll park the cars at Upper Oso and walk the 0.7 miles to the start of the Santa Cruz Trail singletrack.  Parking is FREE!

• If you are running late, we a second caravan leaving First Crossing at 8:30am.

• Once at the Santa Cruz Trail, we’ll do a safety talk, explain the plan for the day and break into teams to start work.  All of the work will be along the 1.3 miles up to 19 Oaks Camp.

• We’ll have hard hats, gloves and provide all the tools for the day.  Please wear long pants, sturdy boots, eye protection (sunglasses are fine) and you might want to bring a helmet (bike helmet is fine), personal gloves and a favorite trail tool if you have one.

• You’ll also need to bring any water and food needed to get you from 8am until 5pm.

• It’s predicted to be sunny with high temperatures in the low 80’s.  There should be a light breeze by mid-morning that will hopefully help keep things cool as well. It will be warm for sure, but not hot by Los Padres standards.  There is plenty of water in the creek and enough shade here and there to cool down during rest breaks.  Take as many breaks as needed!

• Most of the work will be clearing rocks, burned slough and ravel from the trail bed, plan on getting dirty! Everyone likes getting dirty, right?

• We’ll work with our teams until the early afternoon and have two departure times from Upper Oso out through the locked gate at Lower Oso.  The first departure time will be around 12:30pm and the final one will be at 2:30pm.

As you probably know, this portion of the Santa Cruz Trail was burned in the August 2016 Rey Fire and this project will be the first official work to clean up the damage from the fire.  The trail is in bad shape but all things considered it could have been much worse.  The trail is certainly not dead, it just needs a little love.  It will be very rewarding hiking out and seeing all the work that was accomplished out there!  You’ll feel great…..

• Once we’re out past the Lower Oso gate you are free to head home, take a swim in the river or drive up to Rancho Oso for the evening.

• Camping is FREE at Rancho Oso for the trail volunteers.  We’ve reserved the Lower Tent Sites down by Arroyo Burro Road.  If you drive into Rancho Oso, tell the front kiosk you are with the LPFA and they’ll point you in the right direction.  Feel free to setup your camp, take a swim in the pool (shower first of course) and then eventually head over to the Screened Pavilion and Chuck Wagon for the REI Chill Zone and some much deserved ice cold beer compliments of Hollister Brewing.

• BBQ dinner will be served between 4-5pm.  If you’re not staying the night, let the front kiosk know you are just there for dinner and they’ll guide you to the dayuse parking.

• REI will have some games and prizes setup around the Chill Zone and a raffle sometime after dinner.

• After that, we’ll switch to camping mode and retreat to the Lower Tent Sites for a campfire and some needed rest.  There are tables at the Lower Tent Sites as well as a nearby bathroom/shower.

• Feel free to bring your favorite musical instrument or nighttime activity, just know that quiet hours start at 10pm, or is it 11pm?

• Dogs are welcome for camping but need to be leashed.  We do ask that you don’t bring your dog on the trail work portion.  We’ve seen that sharp metallic swinging tools and dogs are a bad combination.

• NOTE: There is nothing planned for Sunday.  No trail work.  No food.  Bring what you need and plan whatever you’d like to do!

And that’s the plan man.  What did we forget…..?

We hope you can make it and please email an RSVP if you plan on coming so we can make sure we have enough food and camping spaces reserved: INFO@LPForest.org

Special thanks to the following for supporting this great trail project:

– Rancho Oso

– REI

– Sierra Club

– Hollister Brewing

– Los Padres National Forest