Rails Around the USA:
Summer, 2005

Santa Paula Area, California

June 28 - July 3, 2005

Laurence Krieg

Tuesday June 28

Morning

Catching up on sleep
Drop off prescriptions at Walmart
Sight-seeing at Point Mugu and Santa Monica mountains - no camera, since I thought we were just going to Walmart and didn't bother to bring it :-(

Afternoon and Evening

Lunch at soup and salad buffet
Relaxed afternoon and evening at Carol's home
Leftovers for supper
After supper, looking at photos (Carols and mine) and reading aloud from Lord of the Rings "In the House of Elrond"

Wednesday June 29

Morning

Filmore and Western Railway locomotive 1: "Sespe"

Breakfast and email in early morning
Short trip to Fillmore later in the morning
Fillmore and Western historic excursion and film-set railroad
Santa Paula murals

Afternoon and Evening

Santa Paula oil history mural

Familia Diaz restaurant for lunch
Afternoon at home: journals, pictures and email. Carol prepares backpacks for the camping trip.
Supper: more leftovers
Reading "The Council of Elrond"

Thursday June 30

07:00

Left the house about 7 and drove west to Ojai, where we had a hearty breakfast at a restaurant and bought deli sandwiches for our lunch.

Unloading Carol's Jeep and getting the packs ready

Drove north over the mountain on CA-33, then up the Lockwood Valley to the Mutau road. South through Grade Valley to the Fishbowls trailhead.

11:10

Hiking begins at 11:10. Up the Piru Creek valley, open country. The insects are numerous, persistent, and voracious.

I've decided to use my camera very little today so as not to run down the battery. It's built-in, so I can't replace it, and I have nowhere to plug the camera in to recharge.

Lunch by the trail: deli beef sandwiches. Juicy!

16:00

Camping arrangements at Fishbowls Campground

Reached Fishbowls lower campground about 4 PM; set up screen tent and rested.

17:00

Up to the actual fishbowls for a dip (literally) in-and-out of the icy water. Tried to purify water, but had trouble with Carol's UV device. We'll be boiling water from now on.

18:00

Carol and I have supper at Fishbowls Campground

Back at camp with fresh water, which Carol boils over a gas-fired camp stove to make wild rice soup and chicken curry, rehydrated with hot water in its own foil pack.

19:00

Fishbowls "library" - a book left on a rock turns out to be a grade C western with the title pages ripped out. We read a couple of stories under the screen tent; though the author was listed, I don't remember his name and don't really need to. The stories have the flavor of the 1950s; white men not exactly heroic, but Indians definitely vilified. Prose very over-ripe.

21:00

Under an approach path to LAX

We lay out our sleeping bags, Carol under the netting and me under the trees a few yards away. The stars through the trees are bright, and there's a continuous stream of airplanes at about 10,000 feet in their landing pattern for Los Angeles International Airport. At first the air is warm, and the constant whine of mosquitoes is very annoying as they come to within about an inch to check out my insect repellent. After about half an hour, a cool downdraft flows down between the rocks, and the mosquitoes head for their beds. Before long, it feels quite cold on my head, and I drift off into sleep. I have to get up once during the night to use the bushes, with the aid of a very effective head-mounted LED lamp of Carol's.

Friday July 1

06:00

Up early so we can challenge the Pine Mountain climb while it's cool. Carol makes oatmeal.

08:00

Bear track - about 6 inchs or 10 cm

Steep southward climb out of Piru Creek valley, along a ridge. I notice my camera's battery is beginning to get a bit low in spite of my sparing use yesterday; I decide the battery will run down over time whether I use it or not, so take pictures with happy abandon.

A bear has obligingly left a very clear footprint on the path, but we see no other sign of her.

11:00

Looking west from the crest of the trail

We reach the crest of the path over Pine Mountain about 11, hot and ready for a rest. We have the first half of our power-bar lunch, with almonds and dried pineapple.

Carol tells me stories from her hiking and ranger friends of meth labs hidden in remote valleys in these mountains. One ranger was hiking a trail when he noticed a thin wire stretched across. He quietly hunkered down and hid, but noticed a man lounging around with a gun rather obviously displayed. Guessing he'd reached the guarded perimeter of a drug lab, he was fortunate to be able to make a quiet call on his cell phone (most of the area is out of range) without being discovered, and got reinforcements. I decide it's more important to look for wires than bears.

12:00

Down the south side of Pine Mountain

Down a very steep slope on the north side of Pine Mountain. Trail very rough, with washed-out spots on steep slopes. I have difficulty with traction on the sandy surface, but Carol doesn't so much - her hiking boots have much better tread than my sneakers.

14:00

Pine Mountain Lodge campground has a picnic table!

About 2 PM we reach Pine Mountain Lodge campground. There used to be a hunting lodge here, but no sign of it remains. The campground is actually several areas where camping is possible, and Carol heads for one she knows with a picnic table.

We find the picnic table under a tall, old ponderosa pine. Fascinating bark. We set up the screen tent and have the second half of our lunch. I take a nap while Carol walks around; then she takes a nap while I explore a bit. It's very warm. "Fox tails" from rye grass get in my shoes and socks, which take nearly an hour of patient work to extract.

18:00

By the time the foxtails are gone, it's time for beef stroganoff, rehydrated like last night's curry. No five-star restaurant could make stroganoff more appetizing than a mountain hike and fresh air.

19:00

After supper, we relax under the screen tent, tell stories, and sing songs until dark. We've left the "Fishbowls Library" book at last night's campground, and don't miss it.

21:00

Time for star-gazing. We scramble up the rocky slope to a broad area with a good view west, and try to distinguish between bright planets and incoming aircraft. Finally, we return to camp and set up the same sleeping arrangements, but it's a bit warmer tonight and the mosquitoes whine for my blood longer. In fact, some of them seem to forget that I've put fresh insect repellent on and keep me slapping. At last the breeze cools down and wafts the mosquitoes away. I sleep through the night without getting up.

Saturday July 2

Morning

Up at about six again, and off by shortly after seven. We have to climb north back up to the crest we crossed yesterday, but for some reason we have a harder time following the trail and make a couple of wrong turns. By the time we reach the crest a couple of hours later, it's quite hot and I go behind a rock to change into shorts.

California King Snake

Down the other side halfway to Fishbowls, and we branch off to on the Cedar Creek trail. We spot a California King snake (not venomous, fortunately) on the trail.

Cedar Creek trail is much steeper and more challenging, even though it's all downhill. There are switchbacks most of the way, along steep slopes of sedimentary rock and loose sand. Most of the trail is about one foot wide, but there are washed out spots where it narrows down to three or four inches, or nothing at all. I have to go very slowly and carefully there, because the treads on my sneakers don't help much. It's not exactly a cliff, but if I slide down it would be a long way with a difficult or impossible scramble back to the trail.

Halfway down, about 10:15, we take a rest in the shade of ponderosa pine and black oak, on a little promontory with an overlook view. After a few minutes, we're startled to hear voices, and a troop a boy scouts comes up the trail. They're the first human beings we've seen in forty-five hours. (And California is the most populous state in the USA.)

Cedar Creek falls

With the scouts on their way to Fishbowls for the night, we head on down to Cedar Creek campground, about 30 minutes hike, all downhill. The trail passes by a little waterfall on the creek, and enters the campground, which is like a spacious hall roofed and pillared with cedars, douglas fir, and ponderosa pine. We have the first half of our lunch there, and replenish our water supply from Cedar Creek.

Afternoon

There's another two and a half miles before we get to the road, and another three quarters of a mile to the car, so we head east down the creek. This is relatively level country, though we have to step, jump, or wade across the creek several times.

Matilaja poppies growing out of rock by State Route 33

When we reach the road, we're ready for a long drink, and the second half of lunch. The walk along the road is easy, and since it's a Forest Service road there's very little traffic - we encounter only two vehicles, one of which is a young couple and the other a Forest Ranger. We're hot, thirsty, and tired by the time we get back to Carol's Jeep, about 2 PM.

Civilization

We drive back the way we came, and stop to relax in Ojai: hamburgers and specialty ice cream. Delicious, much appreciated, but not in the same way as we appreciated the rehydrated dinners in the wilderness.

Back at Carol's house, delicious showers, some email, and our last session of "The Council of Elrond".

Sunday July 3

Morning

Horses on Morehouse Ranch

We breakfast and drive to Scheffer Park, about three quarters of the way from Carol's house to Thomas Aquinas College; from the park, we walk up to the college for 9 AM Mass. The way leads through three ranches, where we pass goats, horses, a mule, the rancher and his wife, and four steers. These are ambitious steers who have pushed their way into Thomas Aquinas College grounds, perhaps hoping to be admitted. But Mr. Morehouse, the rancher, and his dogs, herd them heartlessly away from any higher education opportunities.

Afternoon

Oasis bridge with Carol

After Mass, we enjoy a brunch with several families in the college dining hall. Carol then takes me, at my request, to the ponds and garden - an oasis of lush beauty in this semi-arid country. This is the sort of setting I could use as my "happy place" (apparently a pop psychology fad these days) and naturally I keep my camera busy.

On the way back through the three ranches, we see more of the same animals. This time, some bees from a set of hives by the track take exception to my passing and sting me in several places. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to them and bear them no grudges.

Car washed down Santa Paula Creek and crushed in January, still there in July.

In January and February Ventura County was especially hard hit by rainstorms that caused serious flooding. The Ojai - Santa Paula highway was washed out in several places; Carol had to walk to work for a week through mud. Vehicles and some buildings were damaged along Santa Paula Creek, as well as other places.

Lunch is unnecessary after the brunch, so I'm able to pack in a leisurely fashion in plenty of time to go with Carol to Oxnard and catch the train to Los Angeles. My stay with Carol has been a wonderful highlight of my trip.