A Descent of the West Fork of Piedra Blanca Creek

Amazing.

Jaw dropping.

5 Stars.

A virginal forest of arboreal delights.

I think I'm in love.

Can it get any better than this?

Click any image to enlarge it. I think you should.

This descent has been on my list for quite a while. For years I've not been shy about asserting that the Reyes Ridge hosts the best of our forest. There are beautiful places and hidden gems all over the place, but the high country between Pine Mountain and San Rafael Peak are where my heart lies. Cedars and pines and dark hidden places and moss lined creeks and rocky buttes and blue jays and bears... my kind of paradise.

In an enduring effort to know this region as well as anybody I've been eyeing a number of places that people just don't go, which leads to what went down on this day. Jack Elliott and I left the Sespe/Piedra Blanca trailhead on a crisp and clear sunrise. We burned up the miles through the Piedra Blanca and Twin Forks campsites, downshifted up the grinding climb out of the creek, and crested into Pine Mountain Lodge two and a half hours later. We stopped at the old campsite for a time, steam rising off our backs,  sweat turning to frosty wet in the forty degree air. After a bit of breakfast and some basking in the chill sun we tightened everything down for our real raison d'etre.  I had an inkling what this descent would be like, but in the end my own preconceived ideas fell far short of the gorgeous reality below.

We followed the sandy wash out of Pine Mtn Lodge, headed downstream and west. In short order we were oohing and aahing at the huge trees, shallow pools, and sculpted slabs framing either side of the creek. It seemed that we were instantly transported into a primordial forest of Disney-like character. I was just beaming inside. Oh hell yes. This place was a true beauty. We continued downstream through a subtle turn to the south, sunlight dappling through the forest canopy, water trickling beside us, and soon we reached a small branch coming in from the west. Here the creek was a shallow brook  turning back to the southeast, coursing through grasses, huge cedars, alder and spruce everywhere, massive boulders randomly parked along the stream. Heavenly. All through this uppermost portion of the creek we'd had little trouble, a well worn bear trail guiding the easiest path forward.

 Deeper into the southeast turn of the creek we emerged from this eden into a new iteration, a broad avenue of boulders framed by cedar forested slopes. Electric green moss grew on many of the larger boulders. Birds zipped through the trees. Gravelly sinks lay where water would pool in wetter years. We rock hopped along, pausing frequently to just take it all in. Occasionally a natural dam of deadfall wood presented a worthy obstacle but by and large we just bounced along unhindered. And it just kept going.

We gradually descended into another elevation of forest, a different stretch populated by old growth trees, alder, spruce, and cedar, but more densely spaced than in the previous mile. Again there was water in the creek. This was a magic mile which provoked many more exclamations of goodness. Somewhere in it I rounded a large tree and just 50ft away was a big ole bear (below). I hand signaled Jack and together we watched that bear for a while. He knew we were there and moved up the slope a bit, completely unalarmed by our presence. At one point he turned around to look straight into us for a good 15 seconds before vanishing into the forest. In the creek below, the water was muddied, and big wet paw prints revealed where he'd come from.

Bear.

A bit later we encountered a fractured cliff face which was easy to descend. Water dripped from cracks all along the base of this falls, and lush ferns grew out of the rock on its shady side. In the center of the falls was a deep and mossy grotto. It was early afternoon by this time and we broke for a snack. I observed that this drainage just seemed to go on and on without end. Neither of us were disappointed by this, but we both knew that somewhere below, once we'd descended into the chaparral zone, things were bound to get ugly. An hour later we encountered a 30ft waterfall which was easily bypassed, but that falls seemed to be a message that the beautiful sights and scenes were about to come to an abrupt end. Indeed, soon after we were in a scrum of extraordinary proportions.

Somehow we prevailed over the forces of nature. Undoubtedly the prodigious use of profanity helped grease the way. Suffice it to say that the last hour before popping out at Twin Forks was unpleasant, wet, and tiring. I got garroted by a thorny vine, slapped in the eye by a tree branch, poked in the eye by another, and was totally ensnared in a brush trap which, while fighting out of it, rudely ejected me face first into a pool of water. Good times. A small price to pay however, considering the forested Disneyland we'd beheld.

*The terrain in this drainage is not technically all that difficult, but a good head for solving descent "puzzles" would be helpful in saving time and energy. That being said, this drainage feels long. Hell, it is long. We were both pretty worked by the time we popped back out onto the PB trail. There are consecutive miles of boulder hoping, scrambling, down climbing, up climbing, butt sliding, crab walking, elbow crawling, tree climbing, log walking, and brush fighting involved. Before we even entered the brush zone just the realities of this rocky descent had beaten us up but good. Given the nature of the terrain I would advise following parties to be on guard for that insidious sloppiness that comes with being tired, for there are one million and one ways to injure oneself in an environment such as this. But go, go and leave no trace. The beauty here rivals anything in our forest.

Pine Mountain Lodge for Brunch

I do apologize for taking July "off", but I've got three good excuses for doing so: 1.) My house is undergoing a remodel to about 45% of the livable space, 2.) Everybody but me at my workplace has taken a vacation this month, and 3.) it's just been too damn hot to be anywhere back there. But I get a little nutty if too much time goes by without mountain time. To pacify the incipient insanity I decided on a late breakfast at Pine Mountain Lodge.

Starting at 0700 from the Sespe River trailhead I blazed a good run up Piedra Blanca Creek Canyon, arriving at the forested campsite by 0930. I spent some time wandering a short distance up the adjacent creek while nibbling on my breakfast. This vale is one of those little Los Padres gems I'm always seeking out. The creek is a foot deep channel bordered by tree roots and electric green moss. Overhead a pair of squirrels chattered at each other, hummingbirds chittered and doves cooed. As the sweat cooled I took a nice 20 minutes being a silent observer, simply present in the moment. 

A bit later I meandered south to "Real" Pine Mountain Lodge, the site where the original camp was located. This can be found by heading back down the trail from PML until reaching a large USFS sign and hanging a right (W) for a few minutes. Real PML rests in a forested bowl surrounded on all sides by rugged formations of weathered sandstone. The campsite here is infinitely nicer and more scenic than the latter camp at the junction of the Gene Marshall and Cedar Creek trails, however there is seldom any water here. In the rocks around the camp are many small caverns and bear hollows, indeed, the whole area is crawling with bear sign. I enjoyed scrambling around the area for a while before crawling under a large overhang for a nice rest in the shade. I stretched out on the cool stone and spent some time feeling, hearing, and watching the breeze swish through the cedars and jeffrey pine. I enjoyed a simple, gorgeous day.

At noon I turned away from the forest and descended back into Piedra Blanca Canyon. I jogged about 50% of the way out and returned to the truck by 2pm. A nice day out was just the prescription. I'm going to focus on some plans I've got in the pipe, but for now I've got these photos to share.

Rolling over the hill, the last few steps up to PML.

"Real" PML Camp

Cedar Peak [SVS], 04/23/13

There's a certain kind of person who is compulsively driven to go where few travel. Several years back, a bloke I'll refer to as KC started collecting particularly remote and troublesome peaks that nobody else in our forest even knew how to approach. This gentleman left his SVS mark on some very unique and challenging peaks, and Cedar is one of four of these summits that I've hit. The first time I encountered one of his registers I saw the SVS thing and thought, "Now, what could this be about?". I've since learned that SVS stands for "Seldom Visited Summit", and when you see these letters on a summit register in the Southern Los Padres it means you worked your ass off to get there. These peaks don't have trails, it's up to you to figure it out... and I think that's great. So KC, if you read this I'm drawing a complete blank in my hunt for the final two (I was certain that there would've been one on Devils Heart) and just a hint would be nice. And I like your taste in peaks.

The most sensible way to reach Cedar Peak is to walk up the beautifully forested Cedar Creek until it's time to leave the trail for the summit. Unfortunately, the trailhead for Cedar Creek lies within the Grade Valley/Mutau part of the SLP, and the USFS seldom opens Grade Valley Rd before Memorial Day. Another way for crazy people (Jiroch, KC) to get here is by traversing the crest northwest from Thorn Point. That route looks entertaining. And then there's the way I went, straight the hell up from the Gene Marshall Trail.

I took off from the Sespe/Piedra Blanca Trailhead at 6am. It was a cool and gusty morning, cold enough for gloves. I crossed the desperately low Sespe and turned up the Gene Marshall, headed into Piedra Blanca rocks as the eastern sky was lightening. An atmospheric haze washed out the morning colors and as I descended the north side of PB rocks and turned upstream I was greeted with a persistent blast of wind that gusted down the Piedra Blanca drainage. I made good time and soon passed Piedra Blanca camp and a couple minutes later I took a time out at Twin Forks to charge up before tackling the gnarly climb up to Pine Mountain Lodge.

I put my head down and paced out the 2,400ft climb out of Twin Forks. I somehow managed to pick a pace which I was able to hold the entire way to Pine Mountain Lodge. Not one stop, not even for a minute. This is a hell of a hill, good training for whatever makes you feel good. Before long I was cooling off in a stiff breeze, enjoying the sounds of the wind in the cedars. As I rolled into Pine Mountain Lodge I breathed in the scent of pine and cedar and purely clean air. I was back in the high country and loving it.

After a nice break at Pine Mountain Lodge I picked up the Cedar Creek Trail and settled in for the next mile of uphill. I hadn't yet walked this portion of the Cedar trail and was curious what I was in for. This mile climbed through a beautifully forested ravine, passing between large sandstone formations while rising to a saddle. The Cedar Creek trail continues east over the saddle and descends into that even prettier drainage. From the saddle I turned SSE, climbing a poorly defined ridge through brush and forest. 

After some initial route finding I picked up a poor excuse for a use trail. The most recent traveller on this "path" was a big bear, the same bear I'd followed up the hill from Pine Mtn Lodge. This path wended through manzanita and deadfalls, cedars and pine. The ridge line dropped a couple times before a last, steep and rocky scramble to a bald summit. I rolled up on the summit and paced a wide circle around the peak, taking in all those familiar landmarks from this new perspective. I enjoyed reading the very brief list familiar names in the SVS summit register. The last visitor had been KC himself, in September of 2010. "Seldom Visited" is right!

Click the image bigger to see Thorn Point Fire Lookout, from Cedar Peak.

After some time on summit I descended back toward PM Lodge, taking time to explore some of the caves and overhangs on the numerous rock formations. Done poking around I finished the walk down to the camp and took a nice, long break in the shade. A half hour later I got going again, certainly not looking forward to the long and punishing down grade back to PB. 

Cool rock formations along the Cedar Creek trail. Reyes Peak in the distance.

This is all the water you get at Pine Mtn Lodge.

I basically blasted out of that place, trotting and jogging the whole way out. Just as I crossed the Sespe I saw a big and beautiful grey fox, kind of the icing on this day's cake.

The Rain Rock at Twin Forks needs a better view.

Here's the way the day went. Starting at 06:00 I reached Pine Mountain Lodge at 09:15, and summited at 11:05 (5:05). Was back at the trailhead at 15:40 for 9:40 on the day. That's not too far off what I thought it would be, considering that there's 5,000 feet of gain and loss on this 16.5 mile day.