One of the earliest Forest Service topographers, in an endeavor to convey a written description of this mountain country, said: "The relief of the Reserve (Los Padres National Forest) is very high, rugged and precipitous, and the study of such a broken surface, even with the aid of a contour map, will not be easy for the laymen”.
William S. (Billy) Brown 1945
What do you do when everyone is flocking up Hwy 33 to play in the snow ? I'll tell ya stay in the lower sections and beat the crowds. Two weeks ago we were here summiting White Ledge Peak, in the last 14 days the temps have noticeably changed. The Surrounding peaks are all now covered in snow, providing a new incredibly beautiful perspective from lower Canyon.
Precisely 2 weeks ago we were standing atop that ridge
A look back at the parking area.
Reece and I got to walking from the Matilija Trailhead at 6:45 am. Once again we parked along the road just before the gate next to the parking lake. It was cold and we were both regretting forgetting our gloves. With frozen hands we marched on past the gate and through Matilija Canyon Ranch making sure to respect the private property and stay on the road. In a short .7 of a mile you come to the junction with the North Fork Matilija Trail (our intended route). This junction needs a new sign marking the start of the trail especially as it sits so near private property. No need to have folks wandering around in search of it.
Assuming at one time this may have been the trailhead sign
Start of the North Fork Matilija Trail 23W07
Exit the road and follow the North Fork Trail here (pictured above) across the creek, in about .2 of a mile you cross into the Matilija Wilderness. A Wilderness boundary sign would be useful here and make for a great scout project hint hint Troop 111 ;).
Aside from the obnoxious amount of pink flagging on both sides of the creek observed in the lower portion of the Canyon here the scenery is really pretty and hard to beat. The trail is in excellent condition and easy to follow. Meandering its way up canyon with numerous stream crossings through a shaded little evergreen forest. As can be seen above the year-round creek is flowing great right now with the perfect amount of water. We were able to navigate every crossing without getting our feet wet.
View from Matilija #1 Looking across the creek to Reece on the trail
I consistently seem to have a full plate and abnormally large agenda with most of my trips into the backcountry and today was no exception. My ambitious hopes were to make it the 15.5 mile round trip up to Maple Camp and Back surveying all the trail camps along the way, assessing the fire and flood damage beyond Middle Matilija Camp and paying a visit to a special place that I will keep unnamed. For this report I will label the different Forest Service and user created Campsites as I see fit. Forgive me if something is not historically correct. I have limited experience in the Matilija Watershed, as of late trying to change that though. First camp up and closest to the trailhead is Matilija. All denoted miles will be from our parked vehicle. At 1.3 miles in you arrive at what I labeled Matilija #1 (pictured above). The site sits on a flat across the creek from the trail on the east bank. There is a fire ring and some makeshift bench/rock seating. The Camp is not all that easy to access and if not paying attention one could pass right by it. This is not part of the original Matilija but at some point a user created adition. (Guerrilla Site). A short distance up trail maybe 600 feet is what some may refer to as lower Matilija Camp. For the sake of keeping my map orderly I have called this Matilija #2. (Pictured below)
This streamside Camp sits on a very large well shaded flat with room for numerous tents. Making it a great option for larger groups. Again here I do not feel this is part of the original FS Matilija Camp, though all indications would appear it is currently the most popular and user friendly of the bunch. Another 400 feet further up the trail is what I believe is original Matilija camp.
Here you find the classic raised Bbq grill indicative of the earlier camps. A Lot of side canyon rubble is littered about the place and the rather rocky terrain is a bit off putting. No doubt why the lower site is getting most of the attention these days. With a little bit of love this could still be a great place. Last but not least we found one more user created site about .2 of a mile past the main matilija. There's a fire ring and some rock seating in a pinch would make a fine overflow spot on busier weekends. I went ahead and called this Matilija #3. Also note every camp we visited throughout the day had water flowing and readily available for filtering.
After leaving Matilija the narrow canyon widens considerably into an expansive meadow. Fall colors are abundant in the trees and tall grasses. Wide open views await the observer. While the whole way in is uphill this section in my opinion had a gentler feel. It was a nice scenic transition and best of all the tread is well manicured making travel a breeze.
About 3.2 miles in is another User Created/Unofficial Camp. This site is referenced in Bryan Conant's map of the Matilija and Dick Smith Wilderness. An excellent map I might add. If you don't have a copy you should his attention to detail is by far better than any other I have seen and I'm not just saying that because I like Bryan. I'll be harping on his HLP website a bit later in this post but his maps are damn good, that's a fact.
This is an enjoyable camp with a very large flat situated right near the creek. Again would make a great overnight for larger groups or anyone just wanting to get a little further from the lower more popular Matilija without having to go all the way to Middle Matilija. After leaving here you cross the creek as the trail leads you high above onto the south bank and into some excellent photo opportunities. Hope you brought the camera the views are sweet up here.
I've taken notice that a good amount of my previous posts have had lots of turn by turn mileage directions. I have kind of been wanting to make it a point of slowly getting away from that style of writing. It is time consuming, probably a tad boring and I don't know how useful my readers really find it. Not a hundred percent getting away from it because there is times that it's needed but just not all the time. This trip reflects that style of writing but being as this was more of a survey work type of outing I felt I would again layout the blog post in semi the same format that I would turn in the Camp/Trail surveys to the forest service where more detail is needed. Would love to hear some feedback from any of my regular readers if you have an opinion on the matter.
Thus far as mentioned previously the trail has been in real good shape with no major problems. This is about to end. At just over 4 miles you arrive at what I've labeled Middle Matilija #1. It's just shortly before this camp that the trail begins to get messy. I reckon this first site is another secondary user created/Guerrilla site. As you can see from the photos below the camp has a great layout with plenty of seating and space to accommodate multiple tents. The only caveat here is a few of the surrounding trees have been damaged so caution is needed as to where you set up your tent.
Up ahead less than .2 of a mile after rounding the sharp bend in the Creek is what I believe the original Forest Service Middle Matilija Camp. (pictured below) I can all but guarantee this site sees far less traffic than first. What I loved about this one though was the old winged style stove. The only other place I have seen this is at Ellis Apiary.
Fire and flood have ravaged the upper middle portion of the North Fork Matilija Trail. Immediately after leaving the camp the trail becomes overgrown, washed out and difficult to follow. Knowing abouts where you should be at all times and following flagging where possible helps. I reckon Middle Matilija is the end of the line for most folks these days. When in doubt you could always just boulder hop up the creek but during higher water that would be difficult. I was reminded of the East Fork Santa Paula here and thinking in my head I hope this trail does not end up abandoned to the same fate. A good amount of rebuilding needs to take place. I was definitely pleased to hear upon return that plans are taking shape with the Los Padres Forest Association leading the charge to soon get to work on this section. Here's a few shots below showcasing some of the trail through here.
Nothing to see hear sorry no trail just tall grass and brush
About .7 of a mile after leaving middle Matilija keep an eye to the east for the switchbacks. This half mile section climbs the east bank up and around a few small waterfalls and section of narrow creek bed where a trail cold never be built. From the south the tread leading up the switchbacks is still good, heading north across the top the tread narrows in a few places and is steep and gets crumbly, but nothing that can't be fixed. Eventually it drops you back into the creek in a wall of brush. From the North the switchbacks are hard to spot. Out of sheer curiosity and to really get a feel for the area on the way out we skipped the switchbacks and just bouldered down the creek. I made it priority to follow the trail proper the whole way in to assess its current condition, but until it gets worked on the path of least resistance is the best bet.
The old trail zig zags back and forth across the creek several times through the upper middle portion
View from high on the east bank
About 1.5 to 2 miles from Middle Matilija Camp the trail opens up and once again becomes easy to follow the whole rest of the way up to Maple Camp. I noted the map below with a waypoint on where you can expect the better conditions. The good news is that really bad stretch is only confined to that small area. The bad news is I trusted the Hike Los Padres Website for my waypoint to Upper Matilija Camp and as is the case with so many online sources for the Los Padres National Forest they have the damn location wrong. Normally I do a lot of research and double check my info across multiple sources but I just figured with this trail being really popular, current in FS inventory and in the past before the fire/flood being well maintained that they would have had the Camp waypoint correct. NOPE. In the end it's my fault but dammit I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong I love and appreciate their website and it is a wealth of knowledge but it is also littered with small trail and camp errors that I have been harping about for some time now. Praying that big website update their getting is coming soon. Before heading out I read a current report that much of the camp washed away and that a large tree fell through the fire pit. LPFA mentioned after nothing remains but an old sign post. Still though I wish I would have been searching in the right general vicinity and not so far north so I could have turned in a proper survey. Worst part of all I'm an idiot and forget that I had Conant's Map in my pocket the whole time. DOH!
Now that we were back on nice trail and making good time is wasn't long before we came upon our next user designated campsite at the 6.7 mile mark. (shown above). For all intensive purposes I labeled this one NFM Unofficial Camp #2. Here an unnamed drainage comes in from the west. The site has a large fire ring and some pretty sweet little bathing pools in the creek below. Should you feel inclined to brave the cold water. As we climbed higher in elevation the snow got noticeably closer. After approximately 3/4 of a mile past the camp we starting coming upon our first patches of white ground and yet another Campsite. Maybe an overflow for Maple or just a little further getaway from the North this little camp surrounded by conifers was tucked away just east of the trail and covered in snow. A couple short bucked tree pieces made for nice seating. The fire had a small steel grate and the flat was spacious. This site had a great feel to it.
NFM Unofficial Camp #3 or South Maple (Camp coordinates N34° 33' 27.8" W119° 21' 25.0")
About another half mile or so up trail we reached our final destination Maple Camp. Total mileage thus far about 7.8 all uphill and well earned. It was exactly 11:45am when we pulled in and sat down for lunch. 5 hours from the car is not bad especially considering all the stops we made to gather survey data plus the one small unmentioned side excursion.
Maple Camp
While I enjoyed all the sites we visited today Maple was my favorite. This massive flat covered in snow with it's Ice Can stoves pulled at my heart strings. Definitely on my list of places to return. In Fact in the Spring when things warm up a bit I'll come in from the North with the Family. It was hard to keep my phone in my pocket, around every bend I was wanting to take another picture. The North Fork in winter is a magical place, don't believe me go see for yourself. You wont be dissapointed. After finishing up at Maple we made our back down Canyon exiting the same way we came in. Obviously heading downhill and with less stops our time improved. I want to say it was 3:45pm when we arrived back at the car. GPS had the the total mileage at 15.4 and I felt every bit of it. I was sore. 2020 will have me turning 40. Gotta do the hard stuff now while I still can. Oh man I almost forgot on the way out we ran into another great Los Padres Wanderer Tony Calderon and his family. Tony If you're reading this it was great finally meeting up with you brother.
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In 2012 Stillman attempted White Ledge Peak from the north via Murrieta Cyn, while he made a valiant effort he was ultimately shutdown along the Ocean View Trail. Later he returned in 2013 with his sidekick Jack Elliott they managed to conquer the Peak, this time using a new devised route from the South. David in his own words described his earlier attempt from the North as follows "White Ledge has been a no man's land for decades, literally. Any approach using the idea of the long vanished Ocean View Trail can expect to be met with an impenetrable wall of brush". Upon reading that I thought to myself excellent, I'm gonna be attempting that sometime. Not long after David and Jack hit the Summit Craig Carey and crew took a run at White Ledge Peak again trying from the North, as with David's attempt they were also shutdown. Now that denial didn't come in the form of nightmare brush served up from Ocean View but rather a badly twisted ankle Craig Suffered along their intended route. So once again the Northern attempt remained a dream, at least as far as the online blogging community was concerned.
Fast Forward to December, 2017 The Los Padres is hit by the Thomas Fire. Officials described this as being the largest wildfire in California's modern history. (Post 1932 Cal fire records) Burning over 281,000 acres, and with that swinging the door wide open for Backcountry travelers to once again reclaim the northern route up White Ledge. Do I wish I could have attempted this one before the Thomas fire ? Hell yes I do. I feel like no current summit will be able to live up to one done Pre- Thomas. So while I may not be able to deliver an edge of the seat, nail biting, brutal brush beating of myself breaking out onto the Summit, here's my post fire report instead. As always click on any photo to enlarge and feel free to comment at the bottom of the post.
Matilija lakeside parking
Matilija Trailhead
We got the day started from Matilija Trailhead around 7am as the sun was beginning to rise. The parking lake as can been seen from the photo above was full of water so we parked alongside the road just before the gate. If you are not familiar with this area one might find the trail system layout a tad confusing. Essentially you pass through the gate and follow the road through Matilija Canyon Ranch (Private Property). In about .7 of a mile on your right side is the junction with the North Fork Trail, (this junction needs a clearly defined sign). Following the North fork would lead you to Matilija, Middle Matilija, Upper Matilija and Maple Camps but we will save that for another day. Continue along the road just passed the North Fork junction to your left is the Murietta Trail 24W07 leading up Canyon to Lower Murietta Camp. While this is our intended direction of travel we are skipping the trail and sticking to the Forest Service Road 5N13 for a much faster direct route up Murietta . I normally always would prefer a trail over a road however we were looking at a 20 mile round trip day and while the trail does eventually lead you back up onto the road it needs maintenance and would have slowed us down, pretty much ensuring us hiking well into the night on our way out.
Matilija Canyon
Looking back from the road toward the North Fork Matilija
A little over 4 miles in we reached Murietta Spring. According to the 1938 LP Recreation Map there was once a camp somewhere near here, now most likely a part of the road. Unfortunately I found zero evidence this camp ever existed. There was a large Flat close to the spring where it may have once been. Also the Map indicates it could have even been further up closer to the Divide. Although we struck out on Murietta Springs Camp we did find large clusters of Ladybugs which have taken up residence in the trees surrounding the spring and a bonus Jeff finally got his white whale. (See photo below)
Murietta Spring Ladybugs
Oh and look Jeff Finally Got that Lion's Mane Mushroom he's been searching for
At the 5 mile mark you reach the Murietta Divide. Here 5N13, 6N03 and the Monte Arido Trail junction together. This is great news as we can now leave the road behind and get to some real trail. No sign marks the trail but if you poke around a bit you will be able to make out the start. Hang a hard left due South and begin the climb. Monte Arido is not long distance wise maybe .8 a mile but it's a steep uphill slog, gaining over 1100 feet elevation. The trail is for the most part pretty easy to follow and if in doubt just keep going straight up till you reach the ridge top. Along the way you get some great views of Jameson Lake to the West.
Monte Arido Junction
Looking down on 5N13 from Monte Arido
Jameson Lake in the distance
Jeff and Reece in route along Monte Arido
Top of Monte Arido Trail looking back down Murietta
Once atop the ridge Monte Arido joins what is very close to the end of Divide Peak OHV Trail. (Technically all part of 24W08 before this section was designated OHV). Thus far since leaving Matilija around 3000 feet of elevation has been gained in 6 miles. If you're reading this and all you ever do is just come this far it so worth it. The wide open half mile from here to the now start of Ocean View 24W08 is breathtaking. Rock formations dot the landscape and the views of the Pacific Ocean are hard to beat.
Looking toward Divide Peak
Look at those views of the Pacific
Right about this time we were feeling great. Putting down the miles and making good time. The views had already been far better than we had expected, spirits were high, the peak was now within reach. We continued south along the OHV until the junction with Ocean View. Again there is no sign marking this junction and you can easily pass the faint signs of the trail if your not paying attention. Luckily you won't get far though as the OVH trail ends in less than .3 miles from the Ocean View turn off.
Looking down toward the junction with the OHV and Ocean View Trail
Since the Fire the brush is really starting to come back thick up here. Without further maintenance to Ocean View the window will soon most likely be closing again. When we got our first good look at White Ledge it was one of those oh shit moments. The peak just looked so far away and the terrain intimidating. There was definitely some second guessing as to if we were gonna make it all the way and back out in a day. Check out the photo below of the first good look at the peak.
Our first look at White Ledge Far (right corner) and the ridge we would need to traverse.
Ocean View Trail kinda lures you along, it will be good in some spots and quickly go to shit in others. Just when you think progress is about to be halted you break through the brush and there is that nice tread again. I honestly expected far worse. Not saying that this hike was at all easy but if your experienced with following faint trails you can get through this section relatively quickly and without to much discomfort. The key here is knowing exactly where that old trail is and what side of the ridge you should be on at all times. If you don't stick to the old trail proper you're in for a world of hurt. I say if you've been considering it go now while the gettin's still good.
Some crawling required
Lake Casitas in the distance
White Ledge Peak was not the sole order of business on this day. For me finding evidence of White Ledge Peak Camp was just as important as reaching the Summit. Last I've seen of this camp appearing on Los Padres Recreation maps was in 1938. According to the Map the Camp should have been right about where you would eventually leave Ocean View for the last half mile climb to the summit.
1938 Los Padres Recreation Map White Ledge Peak Camp Labeled O-65 also pictured Murietta Spring Camp O-4 and Lower Murietta O-5
First Ice can stove we came upon
Just like with many previous trips into the LP I was left with another mystery to ponder. Almost a mile short of where the Camp should have been we found the first Ice Can Stove. (Pictured above) Stove #1 coordinates: N34° 28' 48.1" W119° 24' 35.4". This was strange I thought as it seemed to far from the location appearing on the 38 map. Too add to that I had spoken to Conant recently before the trip and he also confirmed that sometime in the past he stumbled upon the camp and his waypoint was consistent with the location on the map pictured above. A half mile further up the trail we ran into our second Ice Can Stove. This one being harder to spot than the first. Like the previous this second one was still short of where the original Camp should have been and it was in a rather odd location completely engulfed in Brush. Second Stove coordinates: N34° 28' 38.0" W119° 24' 10.5".
Second Ice can stove
Continuing on we pushed the last .4 of a mile to the Peak turn off and I'll be damned if there wasn't a third Ice can stove right where it should have been. Precisely as shown on the 38 Map. This stove was by far in the worst condition of the bunch. I do believe the third one sits in the original Forest Service Camp location but why the other two spread so far apart along the trail ? Maybe in the past the stoves were moved from the original site ? Or perhaps there were secondary sites placed later by the Forest Service. Highly unlikely but maybe the ones from Murietta Spring were drug up the ridge and placed along Ocean View. If someone reading this can elaborate further please feel free to share. White Ledge Peak Camp coordinates: N34° 28' 33.7" W119° 23' 47.0"
Third Ice Can stove and what I believe to be the original site of White ledge Peak Camp.
Last push from the Camp to White Ledge Peak
From the Camp to the Peak Is about a half mile. You climb up and over a few rises before the last steep push to the rocky Summit top. A slip within this last 100 feet would be really bad so mind your footing. The wind was howling this afternoon, it almost felt as if I let go of the rocks I would've blown right off the peak. There's a summit register here placed by David and Jack in 2013 and an old wooden cross that has been up there for god only knows how long and of course absolutely incredible views.
More views of Casitas from WLP
Not very many signatures in that book since 2013. Site gets very little traffic
More incredible views from the Summit
Me on White Ledge Peak
If I recollect it was 1:30pm when we reached the Peak. We travelled 10 miles in just over 6 hours. Not at all our fastest time but we made numerous stops along the way to check out things of interest. I remember thinking at this point good thing I brought my headlight because I'm definitely gonna be needing it. Cell service was good on the peak I shot Craig a text with the photo above and the words I'm sitting on White Ledge. No time to wait for any response I switched the phone into airplane mode and we were off. Another 10 miles later and somewhere between 5:30 and 5:45Pm we arrived back at the car. The exit was indeed much faster as was to be expected (we were mostly travelling downhill the whole way back). It's been a stressful work month and I've had far to much going on lately, so it was really great to get out on this one back in the thick of it with good buddy's. Definitely another fine day Lost In The Los Padres.
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