Sespe Gorge Backpack ~ L.A., Ca

[Randi]

After many failed backpacking plans in the fall and winter of 09 I finally got out on a backpacking trip (a test for the knee which was injured summer of 09) a couple of w/e's ago. I had injured my knee in July during a three day canyoneeing descent of the Kaweah river (tore the MCL) and it just took forever to heal. It took a lot longer to than I'd anticipated so I kept making plans thinking 'ok, a few more weeks from now I'll be good to go', but no such luck.

So I had a pretty crappy last half of the year, making plans & having to bail on them due to the lack of knee function. With a regular regimen of hiking, walking and stretching, being careful not to overdo it - I steadily made progress. First weight bearing overnight trip confirmed the functionality is about 80% - I'm good to go for sure!

I'll be testing it out again come June in Zion, followed by some Sierra backpacks this summer! :2thumbs:

I'd never done an L.A. backpack before & it was pretty amazing to me to spend time in such a seemingly remote area so close to the city. I was also amazed at the athleticism of Ryan Hull's new wife Alicia - as this was her first backpack ever! Most of the hike was off trail with lots of boulder scrambling and boulder hopping. Her husband gave her a copy of the route before the trip (guessing she wouldn't really look at - he admitted this too), but he didn't come right out and tell her the hike was over 20 miles. She was great sport though and quite a trooper. I wanna hang out with her again!

I'm posting a few pix - the rest can be viewed via the picasa link:

PS: How do you caption the individual pictures?

[Cirrus2000]

Looks great Randi! Hard to believe that is close to the city. How close is close, though?

I'll send you a note on captions/photos/attachments...

[Sombeech]

PS: How do you caption the individual pictures?

If you add pictures via the "Insert Image" button, rather than the attachments, it will add the images inline.

Great report!

[ststephen]

How close is close, though?

I was curious and looked it up. It's not far from the San Fernando Valley and Lake Castiac. Nearest town is Fillmore, half way between Ventura and I-5 on 126. And it seems it's a condor sanctuary.

Great pics Randi!

[Cirrus2000]

I was curious and looked it up. It's not far from the San Fernando Valley and Lake Castiac. Nearest town is Fillmore, half way between Ventura and I-5 on 126. And it seems it's a condor sanctuary.

Somehow, that doesn't tell me a thing. I kind of googled the area, and came up with 2.5 hours from downtown LA. Does that make sense? Doesn't sound too bad!

[Randi]

Somehow, that doesn't tell me a thing. I kind of googled the area, and came up with 2.5 hours from downtown LA. Does that make sense? Doesn't sound too bad!

According to Chris Brennen's beta it's 60 mi. NW of L.A. - it's right up the road from Filmore.
The thing that really surprised me is that we didn't see another soul until we hit the last bit of trail out to the recovery vehicle.
It's pretty cool to be that close to the city and not see any signs whatsoever of other people - very uncommon for L.A. outdoors.
Usually you see some sign of people in the canyons & along hiking trails.
Granted, most of this was hike was off trail, but still, you would think with the proximity - there'd be more signs of humans.
All we saw were signs of bears! Lots of prints here and there. We surprised a couple of white tailed deer that climbed the side of a near vertical cliff as if they were mountain goats. I'd never seen deer climb like that & had no idea they were so sure-footed! It was an awesome couple of days for sure!

Thanks for the tips on pictures! I'll try that.
And mucho thanks to you Kev for the detailed e-mail!

http://www.dankat.com/swhikes/sespeg.htm

Oh, and yeah Stephen it is a condor sanctuary - sadly, we didn't see any.

[ratagonia]

LA?? You callin' that L.A.? SoCal perhaps, but not L.A. It's in Ventura County, pretty far, at least psychologically, from L.A.

Tom (who used to live in Ventura) to Randi - who lives in the part of L.A. known as Orange County (that's a strange name for a town!).

[Randi]

LA?? You callin' that L.A.? SoCal perhaps, but not L.A. It's in Ventura County, pretty far, at least psychologically, from L.A.

Not 'that' far from Mexico apparently , or Columbia?
1/3 of the way up the exit trail we ran across 4 or 5 Hispanic guys with HUGE backpacks (resting in the shade just off the trail) and they were dressed in camo. God I'm naive! I'm like "oh Hi, are you guys backpacking?" They made some gestures, half smiled and said something in Spanish. Further on up the trail, it dawns on me just as my friends are starting to talk about the 'suspiciousness" of their manner and dress! <roll eyes>
I'm happy we didn't run into any pot farmers in action!

Yeah, technically the Sespe Wilderness is NOT in L.A. - but it's close enough to just lump those inland empires together (for me anyway). I'm coastal.

The OC is no longer a part of L.A. - it's distinctly it's own, but it does reside in L.A.'s outer orbit.

Tom (who used to live in Ventura) to Randi - who lives in the part of L.A. known as Orange County (that's a strange name for a town!).

Really? WOW! I've met a lot of Utahrds who used to live in California!
I may join that club too someday!

[Mooseman70]

Sweet TR on your Sespe trek! I'm a Ventura County native (now a Utahrd translplant) so your photos made me kinda trunky for having the Sespe in my backyard again. I used to live in Fillmore, "Last Best Small Town in Southern California", and my backyard WAS the Sespe. I used to listen to its peaceful gurgle in the summertime, and its fury in the wintertime when the big rains came. Every heard the sound of a boulder the size of a V.W. Beetle being pushed downstream? I have, and it's amazing. I don't miss So Cal really, but I do miss certain things. The sights and sounds of the Sespe are one of them.

And NO - The Sespe is NOT in L.A. It's ALL Ventura County, baby! Thanks for the good memories.