Spring has sprung or is springing across the Los Padres…
The grass is green, the big mountains are covered in snow, the creeks and rivers are flowing strong and the mountains should be calling ~ we hope you are answering….
Prime backcountry season is now!
LPFA SPRING TRAIL WORK UPDATE
A big focus of the LPFA these past couple months has been working to clear and maintain trail access within the San Rafael Wilderness, specifically out of NIRA. The LPFA Trail Crew has been hammering on the upper reaches of the Manzana Trail while we’ve simultaneously led multiple volunteer projects on sections closer to the trailhead. While most of our work has been along the Manzana Trail, we’ve also been working the Potrero Trail and along the Hurricane Deck Trail between Potrero and the Schoolhouse.
Our goals in the San Rafael for this season are to finish restoring the Sweetwater Trail, open up the Potrero – Western Hurricane Deck – Lower Manzana lollipop and maintain the Manzana Trail from NIRA to as close to South Fork as we can.
Lots to do, lots of fun to be had, lots of opportunities for you to answer the call and help on an upcoming volunteer project….
We hope to see you out there!
Manzana Trail Working Vacation
Happy Hunting Ground Camp ~ April 6-14
Join us at Happy Hunting Ground Camp within the San Rafael Wilderness as we restore the Manzana Trail. Happy Hunting Ground is a backcountry camp nestled between pines, oaks and rock outcrops along the eastern edge of the Hurricane Deck formation. This will be a typical LPFA Working Vacation complete with pack support and all food and tools will be provided. Happy Hunting Ground is located 10.7 miles upstream from the NIRA Trailhead along the Manzana Trail. Each volunteer will have to backpack in all their own personal gear while the mules will bring in the kitchen setup, food and tools for the week. We’ll be focused on restoring the Manzana Trail from Happy Hunting Ground down towards South Fork Station. The trail work will include crosscutting downed trees, tread repair, some rockwork and brushing. We could also use help with cooking and campground maintenance too, if that’s more to your liking. While we’d love to have you for all 10 days, there are absolutely options for shorter stays. If you’d like to join, please email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org or click the link below. We’ll be sharing details over the coming weeks. Happy Hunting Ground is an amazing place! It will be fantastic spending time at camp, helping the forest and hanging out with friends. Hope to see you there….
Potrero Trail: March 22-24
Join us as we continue work along the spectacular Potrero Trail within the San Rafael Wilderness. We’ll be camping three days at Potrero Camp and working up from there. Feel free to help all three days or come for a day! It’s all good. To sign up or with questions please email or click here.
St. Patty’s on the Manzana: SUNDAY
We’ll be out on the Manzana this Sunday on St. Patricks Day working to make the first mile of the trail stock passable. Should be a fantastic day! We’ll be meeting at NIRA at 0900 and should be off the trail by mid-afternoon. Please RSVP via email. Oh, and don’t forget to wear green!
And while we have you… a few more volunteer events!
Frontcountry Volunteer Days
We have regular volunteer days scheduled across both the SB and Ojai frontcountry trails. We’ve been working every Thursday and Saturday in Ojai and have a Trailwork Tuesday project on Rattlesnake Canyon in SB scheduled for Tuesday March 19. To signup or learn more please email or click here.
Forest 411
• Highway 33 has reopened providing access into the heart of the Ventura Backcountry, the Sespe Wilderness and most importantly the Wheeler Gorge Visitor Center. Quick heads up that we’ll be hosting our annual Wheeler Gorge Open House on Saturday May 11. Get it on your calendar!
• Due to a significant landslide near Barlow Camp, the Pine Ridge Trail may be impassable to Sykes dependent on water levels. Please contact the Monterey Ranger District or the Big Sur Station with questions.
• The Forest Service is accepting public comments through March 31 on the Piru Creek Wild & Scenic River Comprehensive River Management Plan. Check it out here.
• The Santa Barbara Ranger District has extended the campfire ban across the Santa Barbara Frontcountry. To learn more click here.
• The Forest Service has revised the 2023 Storm Damage Recovery closures. Some trails have reopened, some remain closed. Click here to see the order and full list of closures.
• Earlier this month the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Forest Service’s planned Tecuya Ridge Shaded Fuelbreak Project. You can read information about the project here and about the recent ruling here.
• The Forest Service is set to receive nearly $38,000,000 as part of the Thomas Fire recovery settlement. The funds should be used to “repair roads, trails, bridges and recreation sites damaged by the fire, as well as ecological recovery activities such as native plant restoration and invasive plant treatments.” For more information click here.
• The Forest Service is planning a series of prescribed burns along Camino Cielo above Santa Barbara starting in March. Information can be found here and here.
• Camping will be temporarily banned at San Carpoforo Beach along northern SLO County. More information – click here.
• What a wonderful winter of rain we’ve had this year and two years in a row! Most of the forest has received well over normal rainfall totals and we should be looking at a nice summer with plenty of pools for cooling off. Great news! Enjoy the spring everyone and don’t forget to sign up to volunteer on some of the upcoming trail projects.
