Judell – Los Padres Forest Association

State of the Winter, So Far…..

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Bryan Conant

Matilija Canyon Changed Forever, Again – Nov 2017 & Jan 2018

Hello Friends,

This winter has not exactly gone as planned, has it? We were in uncharted waters heading into the rainy season with the largest fire in California history still burning across the southern Los Padres and the already scorched mountains laying helplessly baron, devoid of any vegetation. Our mountains are no strangers to fire but they’ve usually grown a protective five o’clock shadow of at least a few months of post-fire regrowth before the rains kick in. We did not have that luxury with the Thomas Fire. We were all hoping for extended light rain which might fend off the drought while at the same time not causing too much soil erosion. That certainly has not been the case. Rainfall totals are way down for the year, with most of the forest receiving well under 40% of average rainfall totals to date. And all the rain that we have had essentially came in that one horrible storm on January 8. So much for light rain over an extended period of time, we ended up with hard rain all at once; which, as you know, resulted in the tragic Montecito debris flows. As of today, there is no rain in the extended forecast and we’re looking at what might be nearly a whole month in the heart of winter without any rain. It’s really hard to know what to root for from here on out. It might be best to get through the winter with as little rain as possible and sink back into what will be the 7-year drought. Or perhaps we hope for rain and pray that we don’t get a repeat Montecito debris-flow. Then again perhaps we stick to the gameplan and continue to root for light rain spanning the end of winter and into spring. Who knows. We’ve already seen so much destruction below the forest and so much change within it. No matter what outcome we get please be careful. The forest remains closed within the Thomas and Whittier Fire perimeters and should remain that way for quite some time. For those looking to take advantage of the good weather, there are plenty of great trails to explore outside the burn perimeters. It might require a slightly longer drive but there is water in most of the creeks, areas that have not burned and new trails to explore.

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United States Hero & Los Padres’ Own, David Dahlberg

FOREST 411

• In case you missed it, David Dahlberg was recognized earlier this week as part of President Trump’s State of the Union Address. Dahlberg is a Los Padres Fire Prevention Technician and heroically saved the lives of over 60 people stranded at Circle V Ranch near the onset of this summers Whittier Fire. While the Los Padres has been making national news of late, it was special to see David get a well deserved round of applause. David, next rounds on me…..

• Fire Restrictions were lifted on January 19 permitting campfires and target shooting. See attached PDF for more information. Please PLEASE, be careful with your fires and pick up your brass if target shooting.

• Highway 33 remains closed between Ojai and Lockwood Valley Road. It is possible the road will reopen on February 7 but you’ll want to confirm with CalTrans before attempting to drive through.

• The Thomas Fire was officially called 100% contained on January 12 at an astounding 281,893 acres.

• Highway 1 along the Southern Big Sur Coast remains closed at Mud Creek due to the epic landslide from last spring. It remains on schedule to reopen his summer.

• The FS will be implementing annual prescribed burns across the forest as conditions allow.

• As if TOTALITY wasn’t enough, yesterday we had the pleasure of witnessing the SUPER BLUE BLOOD MOON LUNAR ECPLISE, try saying that fast 10 times in a row. It was spectacular. In case you missed it, we will have another blue moon in March, just can’t promise the SUPER or LUNAR ECLIPSE parts.

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The SUPER BLUE BLOOD MOON LUNAR ECLIPSE, from Aliso Canyon, photo Orr

UPCOMING EVENTS

This time of year is supposed to be too rainy for any trail projects….. Not this year and as you’ll see below, there are a lot of upcoming volunteer projects and events across the Los Padres that are taking advantage of the unseasonable weather. We wanted to give you a heads up about one project in particular that popped up late this week:

ROSE VALLEY CLEANUP
Saturday February 3
8:30am at the Ojai Ranger Station

The LPFA is partnering with the Forest Service to arrange a special cleanup around Rose Valley. Rose Valley burned in the Thomas Fire, revealing decades old trash that was buried in the brush. We’ll be caravaning up to Rose Valley from Ojai to help cleanup the trash. Hwy 33 remains closed to the public so it’s important to arrive on time in order to be part of the caravan through the barricades. Once at Rose Valley, we’ll be spreading out, exploring the area and picking up any trash we see along the way. Should be a special opportunity to see the burned area up close and help the forest in the process. For questions you can email INFO@LPForest.org, check the link above and we hope to see you on Saturday at 8:30am sharp.

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Troop 111 from Ventura recently replaced the San Rafael Wilderness sign on the Judell Trail. GREAT WORK!

newly restored trail sign along Davy Brown Trail.
The sign restoration was part of an Eagle Scout project compliments of Orcutt Scout Troop 91.

Working Vacation Update and National Trails Day

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Bryan Conant

Hello Los Padres – hope this finds you well,

The big news this past week was that most of the seasonal gate closures in the Ventura backcountry were opened as of May 1. This includes Dough Flat, Grade Valley, Santa Barbara Canyon (SBCo), Alamo and Pine Mtn amongst others. These gates are closed November 1 and reopened May 1 as part of seasonal gate closures. Unfortunately the closures happen to coincide with the best time for people to recreate behind most of these gates. It would be nice to see the gates opened and closed on a case by case basis based on storm events, conditions and elevation rather than a blanket closure. Hopefully this is something we can work on over the next 6 months so that next years closures won’t be so drastic. For now, the gates are open and now is a great time to get out and enjoy the Forest. Have at it………

Dream Team of Otis, Susie and team……….

WORKING VACATION
– UPPER SISQUOC –

The LPFA just wrapped up a 10-day Working Vacation along the Upper Sisquoc in the San Rafael Wilderness. We had 16 volunteers over that time working the trail and helping supply the project with stock support. Working Vacations are designed to entice volunteers to spend time working the trails in exchange for cooked meals and cold beverages at the end of each hard days work. Led by VWR super hero Mike Smith, we were able to log out over 100 downed trees from the Judell and Sisquoc Trails. By the end of the 10-days, the entire Judell Trail and from Mansfield to Lower Bear was passable to stock. It was a great project and huge accomplishment. Special thanks to the Forest Service for helping support the project, in particular Joe Duran, Pancho Smith and Nate Rezeau. Also Susie and Otis for their expert pack support and Rich Scholl for being a dutch oven magician as our designated cook.

Now that the trail work is done, it’s time to head out and see for yourself. There was plenty of water in the Sisquoc and the trails are in great shape. We’re starting to plan an early summer followup project to log the section of trail from Alamar Saddle down to Lower Bear. We’ll keep you posted and hope to see you next time around……

Crosscut Logging near Mansfield, photo Beckstrand

The Tombstone Oak, you know it’s taken some time when a tree gets a name, photo Burtness

Tread Looking Nice!

Benefits of stock support, photo Burtness

Eat like Kings and Queens

Spectacular Judell Trail, looking better than normal!

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY

Give back to your trails by celebrating National Trails Day with the LPFA. This year we are hosting a 1-2 day project along the Cold Spring Trail in Santa Barbara County. With the help of a grant from the Los Padres Trails Riders, we’ll be base camping at Mono Campground and working the Cold Spring Trail through the Mono Jungle and up to the infamous North Cold Spring Slide. The Slide has been choking the trail for the past 10+ years and preventing most trail users from making it along the trail. We are going to spend our time reestablishing this section of trail and logging downed trees in the Mono Jungle. Here is a quick breakdown on the project logistics:

Friday June 5
– Arrive at Mono Campground in the afternoon or evening
– Setup camp, relax, nearby hot springs

Saturday June 6
– Arrive at Mono Campground
– Trail work will start at 0800
– We’ll break into groups and hike the 2miles to the slide section
– Work the trail……
– Stop work at 1500 and head back to Mono Campground
– BBQ and post-work cold beverages provided by the LPFA and TBA local brewing company
– Relax around camp, enjoy nearby hot springs

Sunday June 7
– Breakfast provided by the LPFA
– 0900, optional continued work on the Slide for those interested
– 1400 stop work and head back to Mono Campground
– Pack up and head home

If you are interested in helping either with trail work or as a camp cook, please email INFO@LPForest.org. For more information check here:

http://www.nationaltrailsday.org/events/north-cold-spring-trail-project/

The Slide, looks better than it actually is…….

List of more upcoming events……….
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May 19-27: Santa Cruz Trail Project
May: Buckhorn Trail Project
June 3-11: Mono Alamar Trail Project
June 5-7: National Trails Day, Mono Campground Trail Weekend
June 27: Big Sur Wilderness Celebration
June: Bear Sisquoc Crosscut
July 10-12: Santa Barbara 100 Endurance Run Support
July: Madulce Trail Crosscut
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Upper Sisquoc Working Vacation

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Bryan Conant

Hello Everyone,We’re very excited to announce that the LPFA is partnering with the Forest Service to host a 10-day trail project along the Upper Sisquoc Trail within the San Rafael Wilderness. The dates are April 17-26. The Cliff Notes version:

While the project is 10 days in total length, we’ll have a variety of entry and exit dates for those who cannot commit to the entire 10 days. Let us know what works for you and we’ll do our best to figure out a solution.
The project will start by driving past the locked FS gates to Santa Barbara Potrero.
We’ll meet the stock horses and mules at SB Potrero and load them up with gear, food, tools and supplies to haul down to Heath Camp.
From there we’ll backpack the 5 miles down to Heath Camp, which will most likely be our basecamp for the week.
Once at Heath along the Sisquoc, we’ll setup camp and do what we do: trail work, campfires, swim, good food, log out trees, explore, hang out with friends and swing tools.
The focus of the project is to work and clear the trail of the 100 reported trees down from Heath up towards Alamar Saddle.

If you’ve not been on a Working Vacation, I can assure you they are a lot of fun. Having stock support means we eat well and usually have cold beverages to look forward to at the end of the day. Hope you can make it and to sign up or for more information email: INFO@LPFOREST.ORG

SISQUOC WORKING VACATION
April 17-26
Heath Camp
San Rafael Wilderness
http://www.hikelospadres.com/sisquoc-trail-south-fork-to-alamar.html

UpperSisquocWV

BearFalls