#GivingTuesday for the Ventura Backcountry Trails


Hello Friends, 

Let’s talk a little Ventura Backcountry. Highway 33, which is the primary road used to access the Ventura Backcountry, has been closed since January due to storm damage. Hwy 33 is used to visit many special places including Pine Mountain, Matilija, Rose Valley, Piedra Blanca and large portions of the Sespe Wilderness. The latest update from CalTrans is that Hwy 33 is expected to reopen sometime around the end of the year – that will be great, we can’t wait! 

Unfortunately, so many of the trails accessed from Hwy 33 remain in very bad shape. Not only are there trail-gobbling landslides, washouts and sinkholes resulting from the winter rains but the plants have also been growing like crazy, exploding with trail-guising regrowth. We’ve helped survey many of the trails off Hwy 33 and most of them need a lot of work clearing slides, brushing back the scub oak and helping to once again define where the trail should go.

We’ve started with some of the trail restoration work and have led trail projects this year on the Sespe, Piedra Blanca, Matilija, Chorro Grande, Reyes Peak, Boulder Canyon and Alder Creek Trails but we’ve just scratched the surface of what is truly needed for this amazing network of trails. 

With your support this #GivingTuesday, we’d like to make a huge push over the coming months to get as many of the gnarly sections of trail cleared and back in good shape.

Believe it or not, that is the trail, Kerr Spring Slide,
photo SoniaC

First on our trail priority list would be repairing the Kerr Spring slide along the Sespe River Trail. This section of trail just upstream from Kerr Spring has been a problem for decades but was hit exceptionally hard this past January. Over a hundred yards of trail was buried by a landslide of rock and mud. It’s a disaster and certainly hard to navigate in its current condition. We’d love to organize a combination of volunteers and hired trail professionals to camp at nearby Bear Creek and spend a couple weeks clearing this slide and reopening the Sespe. Please considering helping this #GivingTuesday

We’ll also be continuing our work on the Matilija Trail (come volunteer too!), we’d love to clear Lion Cyn again, work the GMPB up towards Pine Mtn Lodge and hack away at both Potrero John and lower Chorro. No shortage of work to be done, we can’t wait to get out there and do what we do best. 

Your support today goes a long way to helping repair the trails across the Ventura Backcountry. Thanks everyone! See you in the forest and on the trails…..




PROJECT FULL

We’ll be working the Alder Creek Trail in the Sespe Wilderness above Fillmore all of next week as part of a large scale Working Vacation. The project is full but we’re looking to clear the trail from Dough Flat out to Cow Spring and hopefully down a couple miles towards Alder Creek. Should be fun, with us luck! 

PROJECT FULL

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We’ve been chipping away at the Matilija Trail for the past few months and are now up about 2 miles from the lower trailhead. We’ll continue our regularly scheduled Thursday and Saturday volunteer days. The canyon is beautiful and we really appreciate all the hard work from the volunteers. Join the fun! 


SIGN UP HERE!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

This coming Sunday will be the second of many trail days this season pn the Agua Blanca Trail. The ABT is located above Lake Piru in the Sespe Wilderness. Super Volunteer Alan Coles will once again be leading the charge and we’ll hopefully continue pushing up towards the Devil’s Gate. Hope you can make it! 

SIGN UP HERE!


Calling All Los Padres Photographers


Hello Trail & Forest Friends, 

Like it or not, the clock keeps ticking and the calendar pages keep turning. In order to help with this Sisyphean cycle, the LPFA will be once again produce a Los Padres themed wall calendar. Originally conceived by LPFA President Jasonn, the LPFA calendars have become a staple for Los Padres enthusiasts to not only keep track of time but to also have twelve months of Los Padres wall candy to look forward to. This will be at least our 10th year of producing Los Padres calendars and we’re hoping to make 2024 the best to date….. 

CALLING ALL LOS PADRES PHOTOGRAPHERS

We are currently looking for photo submissions for the 2024 Los Padres Calendar. We’re sure most of you have some great Los Padres photos that hopefully you’d like to share. Interested? Here’s the details: 

  • All photos or art (paintings are good too) must be of or from within the Los Padres National Forest 
  • Ideally the images would be from within the past year or two but historic photos are okay too 
  • We’re looking for photos of scenery, mountains, valleys, canyons, trails, local flora & fauna, waterfalls, all forms of recreation and activities from across the forest (action shots are great) and anything else that would be awesome to see within a Los Padres calendar 
  • If you have any photos or images that fit the descriptions above, please email them to INFO@LPForest.org for consideration 
  • If your photo is selected, we’ll credit you for the photo within the calendar and mail you a complimentary 2024 Los Padres calendar sometime in the middle of December 

We see so many great photos on Instagram and Facebook, if you have any to share, please let us know. THANK YOU EVERYONE!



Used Outdoor Gear Sale: Sunday Oct 22

The LPFA Used Outdoor Gear Sale is this Sunday October 22 at 11am, Tucker’s Grove Site #2. This event is a great way for LPFA members and supporters to pick up some really sweet deals on lightly used outdoor gear from Gossamer Gear and others including backpacks, tents, sleeping systems and all the fixings you might need for your fall journeys here in the Los Padres. See you there…. 

Manzana Schoolhouse Working Vacation

We are now just over a week away from the Manzana Schoolhouse Working Vacation! We’ll be out at the Schoolhouse from Nov 1-6 working to restore the roof at the Schoolhouse and maintain the nearby trails. If you are interested in helping, there is still time to sign up. If you’ve not been on a Working Vacation before, they are A TON OF FUN! Please email Volunteer@LPForest.org for more information…..

D13 Hunting Season

D13 general deer season has started in the southeastern Los Padres and will last through November 12. This is the second busiest hunting season in the LP. Click here to see a map of Zone D13 but it’s basically the Ventura Backcountry north of the Sespe Creek, east of Hwy 33 and west of I5 including most of the Mt Pinos Ranger District. If you are headed into D13 over the next couple weeks, expect to see quite a few hunters and busier trailheads than normal. Stay safe everyone and enjoy the fall colors!

Speaking of fall colors, they are starting to show in many of the higher parts of the forest AND there is still a lot of great water out there as well. Good time of year to get out and explore! Remember that www.HikeLospadres.com remains a great resource for learning the trails and camps across the Los Padres. You can always email us as well, we’re always happy to answer questions too. Get out there, have some fun and stay safe!

LPFA Working Vacation Season is Here!

Still mostly Grass Mountain, March 24, 2023

Hello Friends,

Heading into 2023, the LPFA Program of Work was going to feature large scale trail projects on quite a few of the more remote trails located deep within the Los Padres backcountry. We had Working Vacations scheduled to work on trails including the Puerta Suela (Dick Smith), Sweetwater, Bucksnort, Hurricane Deck and what was sure to be an epic two-week Working Vacation based at South Fork Station restoring the Sisquoc Trail. Alas, the best laid plans often go awry and Mother Nature had other plans. Due to this years substantial storm damage it’s looking very unlikely that we’ll be able to make it out this season to these more remote locations. Bummer… but those trails aren’t going anywhere and we’ll get there eventually….

As a result of the storm damage, we have pivoted our Program of Work to focus on trails a little closer to home. We’re still finalizing dates and details but we’re hoping to host larger scale projects this season on the Manzana, the Sespe, Santa Barbara Canyon, Santa Cruz, Blue Canyon, Alder Creek (Sespe), Tinta and the trails located off the back of Figueroa Mountain. While we certainly love the backpacking style Working Vacations that come with pack support, the fancy gravity water filter and wetting canvas manties to keep the coolers cold; it’s looking that at least through April most of our Working Vacations will be more along the lines of car-camping. Car-camping is great too, don’t get us wrong and it’s much easier driving in coolers of ice as compared to packing them in on mules.

All that being said, our first larger scale trail project of the season is set for April 5-9 at NIRA working up and down the Manzana Trail. We are still finalizing details but we’re hoping to drive in to NIRA on Wednesday April 5, setup camp and work the next 5 days clearing slides, downed trees and brush. While we’d love each of you to come for the entire 5 days, we know that life sometimes gets in the way of trail projects and there will be opportunities for people to come for shorter periods of time as well. If you are interested in signing up or to learn more, click the link below and get on the email list – we’ll provide updates as soon as we can. Hope you can make it!

Exuberant Trail Volunteers  – Indian Creek Working Vacation, Spring 2022
SIGN UP NIRA WORKING VACATION HERE!

Downed Trees Everywhere!!!

So many trees have fallen this month due to a combination of super saturated soil, wind and snow load. if you come across a downed tree or any other obstacle along the trails or roads, PLEASE take a photo of the trail impediment, try to position an object or person in the photo for scale, record the location and share on HikeLosPadres, with the Forest Service or send directly to us: INFO@LPForest.org      Thanks….

Forest Hiring Opportunities

It’s certainly harder to get around the forest at the moment, but that just makes the rewards greater for those who do – photo Wayne Pooper
  • FOREST SERVICE: The LP Forest Service is looking for candidates who have an interest and passion for outdoor recreation and public service! Click Here
  • LPFA TRAIL CREW: The LPFA is currently hiring for our spring-summer Trail Crew. If you like spending time in the forest and working on trails, check it out! Click Here

So nice to see so much water flowing just about everywhere across the forest. It’s going to be a great spring. Photo Tommy