Tag archives: Los Padres National Forest

Working Vacations with Los Padres Forest Association
By Joanne Calitri   |   December 6, 2022

Coming out of Thanksgiving and heading into the holidays that mark the end of the year – if you are thinking you may want a vacation in 2023, love being outdoors in the wilderness, and want to do something to help our natural forest in California, check out the Los Padres Forest Association website. There […]

Thumbs Up
By Chuck Graham   |   April 5, 2022

After backpacking out of the Sierra Madre Mountains in the Los Padres National Forest, myself and two others hiked out to Hwy 166 to walk and hitchhike to our next water cache 15 miles to the west. It would require brushing up alongside speeding semitrucks, sleepy cows, the arid Cuyama Valley, all the while knowing […]

First Encounter
By Chuck Graham   |   January 4, 2022

I chose a broad sandstone stage, dropped my camera pack, and kicked back on the gritty slab in the Sierra Madre Mountains of the Los Padres National Forest. It was the spring of 1997, and the sun was shining overhead with intermittent puffy clouds drifting north to south. My hands were behind my head and […]

From Fires to Budgets, New LPNF Ranger & LPF Director Dish on Current Obstacles
By Joanne Calitri   |   September 14, 2021

A month into his position as the Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) Santa Barbara District Ranger, Daryl Hodges is now dealing with the statewide Los Padres National Forest closure due to fire prevention and mitigation, with support directed to the Caldor Fire. That, along with decreased staffing and his entire budget focused on fire prevention, […]

Montecito Trails Foundation Goes Ass First into Second Phase of San Ysidro Trail’s Restoration
By Nick Schou   |   October 22, 2020

After an almost monthlong closure aimed at preventing new fires in what is already one of the busiest fire seasons in California history, the National Forest Service reopened the Los Padres National Forest on October 9. At just after 9 am that morning, 13 mules and a horse led by a trio of wranglers hired […]

Through and Through: One day through-hike from the coast to the Matilija Wilderness
By Chuck Graham   |   June 4, 2020

Straddling the coastal spine of the Transverse Range, I hiked (and sometimes ran) the sandstone sea serpent that rises and falls east to west all the way from the idyllic Gaviota Coast to the stunningly breathtaking Matilija Wilderness, a stone’s throw away from Carpinteria. The chaparral-choked Santa Ynez Mountains are one of the main gateways […]