Los Padres Shoulder Season

The waterfalls are oh so nice at the moment……

Hello Friends,

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase ‘shoulder season’ ? Within the outdoor community, the shoulder season is most commonly used to describe the period of time between ‘peak-season’ and what would be considered the ‘off-season’. Peak-season is certainly subjective, a personal preference. What do you think is peak Los Padres season? Some might say the Los Padres peak-season corresponds to when the wildflowers are at their height. Others may say peak LP is mid-winter when the creeks are at their fullest and the grass the greenest. Or maybe you prefer our stunning yet brief fall season with its piercing colors and crisp frozen nights. Regardless of when the forest might be “peaking”, shoulder seasons are defined by change. Changes in weather and the corresponding impacts that result from that change in weather. At the moment, we are definitely at the peak of change here in the Los Padres. The snow has mostly melted, many of the once green hillsides are tanning and the deciduous trees are filling in and blocking out. Amongst all the change and even with the temperatures getting warm, there is still much to see and explore across the forest and so many wonderful swimming holes. No matter how you define the seasons here in the Los Padres, we’re saying it’s a shoulder season right now! With that in mind, pick a trail, grab your pack, throw it over your shoulder and there you go – shoulder season is here. Be safe and choose wisely…..


Before and After. Some great LPFA volunteer work on the Davy Brown Trail, Fig Mountain. 75 downed trees cleared and counting! We’ll be back out there this weekend…..

VOLUNTEER  TRAIL  WORK

We’ve been busy working a variety of trails across the Los Padres and have much more scheduled over the coming couple weeks. Listed below are a few upcoming projects to hopefully whet your trail work appetite. We hope you can make one or even better, all of them. Please sign up either via email VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org or online at www.LPForest.org

HORN CANYON
Saturday May 20
The LPFA will be putting our finishing touches on Ojai’s famous Horn Canyon Trail this Saturday. Come join the fun! Click here for more details…..
SANTA CRUZ TRAIL
Monday May 22 & more…
The LPFA will be continuing work on the beloved Santa Cruz Trail opening up the trail to 19 Oaks. So nice out there. Click here for more details…..
SANTA BARBARA CYN
May 26 – 29
We’re hosting our third backpacking project on SB Cyn within the Dick Smith. This is a Mike Smith project supported by his famous Greatest Of All Times. Click here…..

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY: June 3 & 10

June 3: Santa Paula Canyon Trail
The LPFA & Forest Service are hosting a trail restoration project on the popular Santa Paula Canyon as part of National Trails Day on Saturday 6/3. Details are still taking shape, click below to sign up. Help reopen this currently closed trail……
Email: VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org
June 10: Santa Barbara, Trail TBD
National Trails Day in SB will be Saturday June 10. We are collectively sorting out details as to which lucky trail will be the focus of NTD 2023. If you are interested in helping or learning more, please sign up and we’ll keep you posted. Click below……
VOLUNTEER@LPForest.org

Thanks to our anonymous friends for sending in this epic waterfall photo. No doubt a hard journey to get there but so worth it. Great work!

Santa Barbara Canyon Oak Clearing

The LPFA scouted Santa Barbara Canyon Trail in March and found this rather large and complicated oak tree blocking the trail.  There was a passable reroute around the tree that both hikers and equestrians were using but it wasn’t right so we scheduled a weekend to get out there and clear the tree.

Using a five foot felling crosscut saw it took two sawyers over 5 hours, spanning parts of two days in order to clear the trail.  The tree required 24 cuts and some crafty levering and rolling to maneuver the heavy cut rounds off the trail.

The end result is a cleared trail and some great satisfaction for a job well done.  Lets just hope that rootball doesn’t fall anytime soon.

If any of you come across large downed trees in your travels across the Los Padres, let us know and we’ll see if we can lineup a sawyer team to help out.

How Bout Them Noodles?