Campo Borracho, my old nemesis. For those who follow these posts your aware I missed it the last time around and by a heartbreaking 25 feet. My obsession with locating old camps would all but guarantee another visit. I just needed a new plan and one that did not include a grueling push back up the AB in spring when the overgrowth is atrocious. Previous searching under those conditions was a bad idea. The far northern, abandoned section of the Agua Blanca Trail (19W10) that once descended the western drainage from the Cobblestone Mountain Saddle down to Borracho and beyond was destroyed in the 2006 Day Fire. Making any such search progress in the vicinity challenging to say the least.
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| 1967 LPNF recreation map showing the route from atop Sewart Mountain down 19W12 to Borracho |
By all accounts I was convinced that right at the camp proper would be a guaranteed year around water supply even when the rest of the drainage was bone dry. Looking at the 67 map one afternoon and remembering a 20 year old story Kim Coakley once recited it hit me. Drop in from the historic 19W12 connector (been on my to do list anyways) starting at the upper Buck Creek trailhead and instead of hacking our way through every semi flat, overgrown spot holding promise, just bushwhack right smack in the middle of the drainage until we hit water. My thought in theory was such that once we find the water we should be able to find Borracho. Not only would this idea narrow down the search perimeter it would also put us in just over 4 miles from the car so in the event that the water theory was incorrect we could always just turn around and head back out making for a superb day hike. Plan set and crew assembled we were off.
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| If you were wondering yes beer stays cold in the trunk on ice for several days at 6400' |
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| Upper Buck Creek Trailhead - N34.63829° W118.91993° |
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| Pitstop on the Summit of Sewart Mountain |
A cold morning and howling winds had us wasting no time at the trailhead. Covering this upper section in previous posts I wont go into much detail other than to say we followed the old road cut (6N10) just under a mile up to the summit of Sewart Mountain before descending the Big Cedar Creek Trail (19W05) for another .7 of a mile to the junction with what is now considered the start of the Buck Creek Trail (18W01).
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| Buck Creek Trail junction - N34.63858° W118.89998° |
From the trailhead to the Upper Buck junction and beyond in my opinion afford some of the most picturesque views you'll encounter in the Los Padres. The long car ride up sorta sucks but the views definitely make up for it. I can't emphasize enough how enjoyable it is. If you have not already do yourself the service and come poke around up here on the mountain top, you wont regret it. Moving along hang a hard right and follow a "finely manicured" Buck Creek trail just over a mile to the battered sign post pictured below. I'll note that Finely manicured and Buck Creek trail are normally not associated in the same sentence together. That said a large group of motorcycle enthusiasts are currently maintaining the trail. Inside the Wilderness boundary, armed with chainsaws and loppers they push on. By no means do I condone any such nefarious behavior, that said in a world where our once beautiful hiking trails off the slopes of Sewart now get zero funding and no maintenance I'll leave it for you to decide whether you think they are justified or not. I did not chat with them and I have no evidence to back this claim but if I was a betting man I'd say they might just be trying to open that trail again all the way through to Hardluck. No small task.
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| 19W12 connector sign, maybe? - N34.62995° W118.89257° |
I've often pondered the mystery of this here sign, it's placement aligns precisely with where all the former maps indicate the 19W12 connector trail may have dropped in. Yes it could be just some other random trail sign however that would make it's location a very a strange coincidence. The true route this short trail once followed has been a source of frustration for me as I have yet to see a legit Topo showing it's exact former path and the LP recreation maps do not provide that kind of detail. Commonly you can see from other maps and the 67 map at the top of this post they all appear to show the trail dropping down the ravine and closely following the creek drainage. Trails in ravines do not fare well in the Los Padres so if this was the case why put it there in the first place when you have a beautiful ridge .3 of a mile further up the trail one can descend? Ridge trails tend to maintain themselves so to me it makes more sense that 19W12 might have originally followed the ridge route. Or perhaps it was just a case of being built in an era where endless trail maintenance was not an issue and having the option of nice switchbacks for stock travel down a meandering ravine was of more importance. I don't have the answer and sorry for the rambling on here. Needless to say as bad as I wanted to just jump into the brushy abyss beyond that busted post and see for myself I felt not the need to subject my friends to that sort of torture as it looked just downright nasty.
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| Center ridgeline which runs into the S bend down in the drainage marks Borracho. |
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| Upside-down and halfway buried this sole ice can stove was all that marked the former camp. |
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| Borracho Camp precisely where all the old FS maps indicated - N34.61467° W118.89630° |
One can almost bath in that pool.
We had walkies so as to split up and cover more ground. Kim and I stuck to the creek while Jeff patrolled the higher southern bank. As expected the drainage was dry, very dry, almost to the point of being unrecognizable as last time around I was fully knee deep in the same spot. I'm not gonna lie the longer we searched the more I started to second guess my water theory. I did have some confidence though if it was gonna be anywhere it would probably be in the S curve of the canyon where last time through I clearly recall it being deeper and having the strongest flow. After some time the radio crackled, it was Jeff saying "we got water here and a lot of it." My heart sank in my chest I knew right where he was. My response "let me guess your on flat at the bend in the creek." "Yep that's where I'm at." I searched that exact spot last time around feeling it had to be buried somewhere in the immediate vicinity, could I really have missed it? At that point I was approaching Jeff's location but slowly in a zig zag pattern inspecting a thick patch of Rose Thorn while prodding with a trekking pole every few inches. Once more the radio crackled "I think we got a stove." With that I stopped prodding and made haste toward Jeff. There it was a little trail perpendicular the creek, hidden last time under poison oak that led right to the stove. I couldn't believe it we just found Borracho less then a few hundred feet from where Kim and I last camped.
This old Photo above courtesy Carol day well before the Day fire shows Borracho as it once was. The current state of affairs can be seen in the photos below. Most of that flat bank is now sloped and has been eroded to a fraction of its former size. The main drainage center frame intersects a side drainage coming in from the left of this photo which has widened from heavy rains and debris flow. This action has unfortunately diminished even more of the once available flat space. The whole site now sits under a massive amount of Blackberry Bramble. Rose thorn, Poison Oak and deadfall.
Plainly anyone can see here that Borracho was trashed. We may have only been a few seasons away from ever finding that stove again. A tractor and or some enormous volunteer effort would be needed to even consider restoring the original flat. We had a shovel, a single Pulaski and one Mcleod. Even if the bank was rebuilt and those obnoxious plants cleared away they would most likely just grow right back. I can't stress enough when I say this that a very tough decision was made to move the camp directly across the creek and up on the bench. Only by last resort would I even consider moving a historic camp. Kim and I deeply struggled with this decision however both agreed in the end it was the only choice we had if we were to keep the memory alive and to preserve this once great camp for future generations to enjoy. Pictured below is the new Borracho. The camp is now in a pristine location that should survive long after we are gone. Best of all you can still sit by the fire and gaze nostalgically down upon the original site.
Camp taking shape. Still a virgin fire pit as I always seem to end up in the best places during fire restrictions.
We left a pile of fire wood and all the tools onsite for future use. A big thanks to the Los Padres Forest association for the tool donation. Very generous of you.
New camp coordinates - N34.61483° W118.89585°
I forgot the customary REI gift card so Kim proposed we leave some cash. Jeff donated his Nalgene to protect the goods and we stashed the new register in the ice can stove. If your the first here after us please sign the book and congrats on the 50 bucks.
Moon rising over Borracho
Included in my track below for download was a side trip we took exploring the western ridge to Cobblestone mountain. You can basically take off right from camp and head up the hill. We pondered the notion of taking it all the way to the peak however after about a half mile the Ceanothus gates of hell slammed shut on us. But that didn't matter we thoroughly enjoyed the morning walk and were gifted with incredible views of the Agua Blanca Drainage. Highly recommend that anyone reading this take the same path. Real pretty up there.
After a fine couple of nights it was time to head on out the same way in which we entered. The elevation gain from Borracho back to the Buck Creek trail is approximately 1,675 feet in just over a mile. Add another 1200' or so with some up and downs back to the Summit of Sewart and you got yourself a real good climb. I can't remember exactly but I want to say it took around 3 hours to get back to the car. To Kim Coakley and Jeff Wright I appreciate you both, cant do these camp restorations without your assistance. Thanks gentlemen. I'll end with this I hope others continue to use this camp going forward. I see no reason not to now that a very reasonable route has been shared here to a great little spot with year round water that you can enjoy I'd bet exclusively all to yourselves. Much of the traffic across the Los Padres gets concentrated in the same areas, on the same trails. There is so much more out there to experience if your willing to get off the beaten path. If your on the fence don't be, just go for it.
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