Chief Peak via Horn Canyon, 10/28/2011

Above: Ojai, from above Horn Canyon

Below: Chief Peak from the east

I've taken myself off the DL. Back to the dirt. I chose my trail with a wry touch of trepidation. Just about any real day hike in the Southern Los Padres is going to be steep and tough, but Horn Canyon Trail's first four miles are a doozy even by the standards of it's sister trails. I've always leaned toward the school of "go big or don't go" and since I figured myself to be pretty out of shape after months of not having fun, what better way to test myself than a burly 15 mile round trip?

I started up Horn at dawn. I moved through the low forest of beech and oak, enjoying the quiet murmur of the creek, listening to the waking birds. It was crisp, cold really, so I moved fast in order to warm up. Soon I was feeling pretty good and as the trail got steep I was in fine form. I gotta say I felt mustard. I think I was on a pretty good buzz just being out on a trail alone. I didn't even notice the steeps until I realized I was already walking into The Pines Camp.

The Pines is a sweet little campsite tucked in a fold of the great big hill that looms above Thatcher School. The camp is nicely shaded with several species of pine, and a few of the trees have probably been planted there as seedlings. Several of these trees have bear markings on them. A spring box is tucked in the brush on the west side of the camp and is mostly used for horses. The horses, which I've never encountered, have their own picket posts and a bit of grass to crop. Within the past several months somebody has gone to a great deal of effort, crafting log benches for the site. It's pretty nice but the best features of the camp are the wind protection and the sunrise. The mornings here are golden and warm, but I kept on walkin'.

In a little less than 4 hours I was on the summit. Not bad time-wise. I lingered on the top for over an hour. It was too nice a day to just sign in and bail. A long lunch and a cat-nap later I was scrambling down to the fire road.

Above: Ojai, Ventura, and the Channel Islands form Chief's summit

Below: The Sespe. Nuf said.

So here I am, feeling pretty good about my over-all fitness and very happy with my cardio. Smiles all the way around right? Telling myself that I'm a super great guy in super great shape until...I tried to get outa bed the next morning. What the hell did I do with that god damn oil can?!? And where's my Motrin?! And glucosamine?! Hell, bring me a dead shark and I'll eat it's raw cartilage! I had aches that I didn't never have, ever. This, in a word, sucks. So I have a ways to go to get back to the type of shape these hills require.

Below: I saw the tracks of many deer. Guess the deer of D-13 have had an easy hunting season so far. Also, I saw a very large red tail hawk, and from about fifteen feet away I spooked a pretty Coopers hawk with a lizard in it's mouth.

Below: The Pines Camp

Chief Peak, 12/06/10

Just another gorgeous SoCal day. I decided to make a run up Chief Peak, mostly because the approach via Horn Canyon is long, steep, and unpleasant (which is where my head's been at lately). I'm glad I've put some miles down these last few weeks because it's looking like I'm going to be working overtime for the foreseeable future as a result of a co-worker's two herniated cervical neck disks (and the surgery to fix them). Which just sucks all the way around.
It's good to be specialized in the workplace unless there's not enough other people qualified to do your job, in which case, you're hosed, especially if you're very selfish with your free time, as I am. It appears that I'll be seeing a lot less blue sky for a while and that makes me sad.

I got going a bit later than I usually would, which may have been a good thing because just minutes into the walk I found myself following a very (as in, still warm) pair of mama and baby bear tracks. I decided to stay alert and unconcerned. I never did see the bears and shortly before The Pines Camp (below) the tracks left the trail (note: bear clawed tree in foreground).
Up on the ridge, I had traded "bear country" for "grand vista country". Unlike my last trip up Chief, which started and ended in the rain, the rain had come through the night before leaving behind endless miles of crystal clear views.
Another difference between this and the prior outing was the approach to the summit, which I'll call the SSE Ridge. This is actually the most direct way to the summit from the Horn Canyon approach. Pretty simple really, follow the obvious cat-track at the SSE flank of the peak until it ends, ascend the rocky ridge to the summit.

Below: Hines & Topa from the west

I had a great day, didn't see another soul all day, got some good mileage (15), and generally enjoyed being by myself. See, most of the time I am my own best company.

Below: Horn Canyon

So, I suspect there will be fewer posts for the next however long it takes to get some replacement help for my injured colleague, which makes me the second-most bummed person in that equation. Maybe I'll just have to write a few essays I've been storing away.