Sheep Camp (Chumash Wilderness)

My Girls at Sheep Camp

Sheep Camp is the highest elevation trail Camp in Ventura County and quite possibly may be the highest in the entire Los Padres National Forest. The Camp lies in the Northeastern section of the Chumash wilderness on the southern slopes of Sawmill Mtn and was once used by San Joaquin Valley Ranchers. On our recent camp survey for the Mt Pinos Ranger District my Family and I Identified 4 main sites with the largest site sitting at over 8200 Feet elevation and the most northern site reaching over 8300. With cooler temperatures found amongst the higher ground Sheep makes for an excellent summer day hike and or backpacking getaway that the whole family can enjoy. (click on any photo to enlarge).

Newly installed Trailhead sign along Cerro Noroeste Rd

Chumash Wilderness boundary sign

There are multiple ways to access Sheep Camp we choose the shortest route along the Mt-Pinos/Tumamait trail (21W03) starting from the top of Mount Abel along Cerro Noroeste Rd. Mark Subbotin and crew recently installed the trailhead sign pictured above which marks the small parking turnout. Parking Coordinates: N34° 49' 42.4" W119° 12' 06.9". The eastern terminus of this trail starting from Mt Pinos side would be another option to consider as would starting from the bottom of the North Fork Lockwood (22W02) at BSA Camp Three Falls.  

That's our Lacy girl

Haylee got off to a rough start however once she got going there was no stopping her.

Such a beautiful Forest

Lacy Dog led the way as we began the steep half mile descent into the wilderness to the junction with the Mesa Springs Trail (22W21). The abundance of Jeffrey Pine and White Fur brought back many childhood memories from my wife's Mammoth trips. Hands down this is one of my favorite sections of the Los Padres. The junction sign marking Mesa Springs has currently been destroyed by a fallen tree however there are plans in the works for a new sign to be installed soon. 

Lot's of Wildflowers 

North Fork Trail Junction leading into Sheep Camp

I believe these are Snow Plants

Around 900 feet elevation gain over the next 1.7 miles brings you to the junction with the North Fork Lockwood trail. Wildflowers are abundant along this stretch with those little snow plants taking center stage. Hang a right or south here onto the North Fork and it's another short maybe 1/2 mile or less decent before reaching the northernmost Sheep Campsite.

Well would you look at that

Sheep Camp Northernmost Site #4

Waypoint gathering & site inspection

I will briefly describe the sites here starting from what I labeled site #4 which would be the first arrival from the top of the North fork trail. As shown pictured above with the cool twisted tree Haylee found. Site 4 has a rock fire ring with steel cooking grate and a few makeshift benches. I would consider this the smallest of the bunch and rather close to site #3 which actually would work out perfect for a group to just snag both.

Haylee supervising the scope of our work while Lacy sniffs around

Sheep Camp Site #3

The Larger site #3 pictured above offers the same amenities as 4 but with more shade and additional seating. This is a lovely spot and you can thank Craig R Carey and his top notch scouts for bucking that path you see through the fallen tree pictured above. All sites at Sheep draw water from the year around spring bubbling up through the granite which sits adjacent to Site #2 and the New camp sign, approximately 330 feet as the crow flies from site #3.

Spring box lid was intact and should be kept closed to avoid animal contamination.

I think we can give credit to Craig's Scouts for this sign as well.

Haylee snaking the outlet pipe

Arriving at the spring our first order of business was to check the flow rate coming from the outlet pipe. Initial flow was 35 seconds per liter, which is good. After Haylee snaked out some buildup in the pipe and everything settled we had a flow rate of 30 seconds per liter. The PVC/Galvanized combination pipe can benefit from occasional cleaning as corrosion and buildup can reduce water flow. 50 feet west of the spring is Campsite #2 as seen below.

Sheep Camp Site #2 looking toward the Spring

While site #2 is the closest  to water it may be the least desirable due to the tent flat area being on a slight slope. As with the others we again find the same camp amenities. The Largest and my favorite was site #1, I really liked how the trees were laid out to provide a host of seating. There was a shovel on site here and of course large fire ring with nice grate stove.

Sheep Camp #1

Lots of shade and huge flat area

Looking back toward site 2 and the spring

Following the ridge about .1 mile south of here is a really nice lookout spot that provides expansive views west into the San Emigdio Mesa and Apache Canyon. There are also 2 primitive rock fire rings that could be used if the other sites were full. 

Some nice views

After completing our survey it was back out the way we came in. Total mileage for the day was just under 6. I hope my girls enjoyed our time in the forest as much as I did. Before completely heading home we drove up and checked out the old ski lodge near Camp Alto Campground and stopped for a few snacks at the general store in Pine Mountain Club. 

Historic Ski lodge closed in the mid 70's rumor has it the forest Service pulled the special use permit after a skier was confronted via Shotgun for not having a lift ticket.

Until Next Time

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