Snowy OHV (19W04) Lower Re-route Part 1

Snow on the Peaks around Hungry Valley and a view toward the Smith Fork

Snowy OHV (19W04) is a well known Off Highway Vehicle route that connects from Kings Campground to Alamo Mountain. Normally I do not pay much attention to OHV Routes however this particular one has some sites along it that are of interest to me. The Old Baker Cabin (Burned down in the 2006 Day Fire) and Seven Pines Trail Camp (abandoned and no longer recognized on current forest service maps). One day I was looking at my 1978 Los Padres visitors map and I noticed the original Snowy OHV took off out of Hungry Valley and not Kings Campground as it now currently does today. Instantly this peaked my interest even more. I'm a sucker for wanting to visit Abandoned camps and no longer maintained trails. I guess it's just my thing.

1978 Los Padres Map with old Snowy route pictured above

Immediately I started to do some digging to find out why the Lower portion of Snowy was rerouted away from Hungry Valley. I came up with 3 possible reasons that might be the culprit. Endangered species particularly the Arroyo Toad, Fiscal budget cuts to trail maintenance or possibly the existence of a historical site maybe an ancient Chumash Village. I'm not 100 percent sure what the exact reason was (even if I was as far as the blog is concerned I would probably just leave it as a mystery). That being said I devised a grand plan to find and follow the old section on what would have been about a 15 mile day hike from Hungry Valley south to Baker Cabin and on to Seven Pines trail camp then back to the car. Unfortunately my grand plan did not play out as expected. Hints my title for this write up being lower reroute part 1. I had some obstacles working against me this morning the biggest being I have never stepped foot in Hungry Valley OHV Park and burned up a lot of time scouting. Also I woke up a bit later than expected. However I did in the end find the old OHV trail and got in almost 6 miles for the day. With my new perspective of the area, the next time around I know exactly how to get it done. Below are the details of today's events.

Aliklik Campground

I ended up starting at Aliklik Campground located inside the Hungry Valley Park. I wasted a lot of time looking for a self pay kiosk (there is none) it is 5 dollars for day parking here. After eventually talking to a park ranger I  found out that if no one is working the front entrance Kiosk it is okay to just drive in and not pay. If someone is at the kiosk on your way out you can pay then. It turned out no one was there for either so my day was free. I offered to pay the park employee that I found driving toward the Gorman side entrance but he said he could only take my money if he was inside the actual kiosk. Basically I take it people drive in and out of this place all day long for free. The park should really come up with a better pay option they are losing out on lots of cash that could go toward keeping the trails and park better maintained. Aliklik Has Pit toilets and plenty of Camp spaces with picnic tables and fire rings. I had the place all to myself today.

Just me at Aliklik

Weather was cold and crisp with lots of snow on the surrounding peaks. I really enjoyed the views and peacefulness of it all. I imagine in the summer this place would be hot, and dusty but as of now its perfect. 

Snow on all the peaks

To keep this post easy to follow I have included a map below to see my route. Also included under the map is my downloadable GPS track for the garmin and KMZ file for google earth. Basically there are a few locked gates on the outskirts of Aliklik where motorized vehicles are now off limits. The easiest but longer route to follow is from locked gate #2(see map). Which is still a well defined yet becoming overgrown in some places OHV trail. 

Locked gate 2 looking back toward Aliklik

From What I call locked gate 2 the route heads west around the mountain range and then south along the Smith Fork to Upper Piru Creek and to the eventual Snowy OHV trail that is now in use currently after the reroute. Scouting the area for a short cut and a direct route over the The Smith Fork Mountain range I ended up starting from Locked gate number 1 (see map). Following it up the hill off trail and down the backside into the Smith Fork creek drainage and on to the same Trail that leaves from from gate 2. This helped to cut some distance which will be needed later when I return for the full gauntlet. I did however return out from the longer gate 2 exit point just So I could thoroughly explore the whole lower section. Again looking at the map will help this Gibberish make sense.

Old Snowy OHV Trail and Upper Piru Creek

My final destination was where Piru Creek and the Smith Fork meet. Here the area opens up to a wide flat. Water in upper Piru was flowing nicely. I imagine many years ago this made for a good OHV camping spot and today would serve as a great little backpack gorilla site. There are a few different trails and or animal paths which branch out from this flat area. One of which leads you to the Parts graveyard.

Flat area at Piru Creek and Smith Fork

 Piles of old rusted parts

 Shortly past this flat where the old Snowy would have crossed Piru Creek, might have been rough on some vehicles hints the above photos. This was not a long day but it was a good one. The area is very secluded, I don't figure many hikers come this way too often as all the outskirts are OHV. I did not see a single sole after I left from Aliklik Campground. The cool air was so refreshing and seeing the snow all around made me happy. Looking forward to heading back in to finish up what I started.

Great views heading Back toward locked gate 2

Download GPS Track (GPS Units)

Download KMZ File (Google Earth)