Lost In The Los Padres

I make mention of being Lost In the Los Padres quite a bit, though most the time I never truly feel "lost" at least not in the true sense of the word. Maybe through a series of mishaps on this trip I got my first real taste of not knowing where I was. Feels like it but I'll let you be the judge. Here's briefly how it went down.

Big Bad Cobblestone Mountain

The plan for the day was mainly to explore and poke around a new portion of the Los Padres backcountry. Take some nice pictures, see some wildlife, maybe find a rock art site, explore new drainages, you know basic stuff.

Couple of the many deer we encountered 

We got started around 7am and almost immediately were greeted by a family of deer. That didn't take long to put a check mark in the wildlife box. We were instantly feeling good and the weather was perfect, which allowed for some really nice shots of Cobblestone, White Mountain and Whitaker Peak. I could even clearly make out the Fire Tower on Slide Mountain. 

Great Rock Formations

Before long the miles were really starting to fall off. We were chasing rock formations like kids in a candy store, bouncing from one to another without a care in the world. Many new overhangs and caves were thoroughly looked over. There was one particular Rock Formation I really enjoyed, the long face had multiple caves and water dripped from the top into a small pool. There was evidence of a  makeshift rock fire ring though it looked to be out of use for many decades. The only campers using this spot anymore were the bears as piles of scat were all around and I can see why it would be a perfect spot for a drink and shelter from bad weather. (See photos below).

Along with countless rock formations many new drainages were travelled. Sometimes the brush was so thick it was is just easier to navigate straight down the middle of one, (even if it meant getting wet). Out here the drainage is your friend, make use of it.

Staying dry proved to be challenging

We were having so much fun I completely lost track of time, with no set destination I wasn't paying attention to my GPS whatsoever. When I did pull it out finally to have a look the batteries were dead. Ah Crap I meant to charge those last night. Where is that map at ? Dammit I left it on the passenger front seat what an idiot. Rookie mistake, at least I remembered to tie my shoes this morning oh and behold I do have the compass. (Better than nothing) From that moment on I made it a point to keep a closer watch on where we were heading especially since we were so far off trail. In my head it felt like somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 miles, a discussion ensued, just a little farther and we should turnaround was the conclusion. Low and behold shortly ahead the drainage we were on would come to a dead end, well actually about a 200 foot drop with no way to even go any further. The photos below became our forced turnaround point. 

The Top of the falls

Those mature trees were nowhere near reaching the top

Breathtaking spot for lunch 

This anomaly was massive click photos above to see me in relation to the size and scale.

Not sure what I'm seeing here, almost looks like a big hole was scooped out of the rocks wall. 

I was sure I ate lunch last week at the nicest spot to date however I think this just took the cake. Something special went on here, it was hard to leave but we had to go especially if we were gonna get out before dark. Using the compass and tracking our footprints (where possible) we were able to scratch and claw our way back to the car. It took a long time, a ton of energy, lots of cussing and brute force through some heavy chaparral. Luckily we came out with only minor battle wounds. All in all a fine day Lost In The Los Padres. 

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