South Lily Meadows

South Lily Meadows (Unofficial Name)

I'm usually looking for something and today was no exception. Perhaps an arrowhead or even just a single Lily flower to justify my naming of the Meadows to Craig. Approximately 1.2 miles Southwest as the crow flies off trail from Lily Meadows Camp is a fantastic little series of interconnected meadows on the southern fringes of the Chumash Wilderness that have been calling to me for  long enough.  A loop trip of the meadows and I could kill two birds with one stone as Mark Subbotin has been patiently awaiting my promised Camp Survey of Lily Meadows. 

Park here along side the road for the North Fork Trail.

Nice newer signage courtesy some really great BSA Volunteers.

Our day began at the North Fork Lockwood (22W02) Trail-head just outside the gates of BSA Camp Three Falls. It's about a 1/4 mile walk along the paved road through private property before reaching the dirt service road which begins the trail proper. I'll be sparse with detail here getting up to Lily Meadows Camp as I have written about the route in an earlier post which you can read here if interested. (North Fork Lockwood to Lily Meadows). Posted under the Trail-Head sign was a clear notice asking people to please not tamper with the diversion dam constructed at North falls. I guess water is being rerouted to the boy scout pond for fire suppression. We stopped in to have a look.

 North Fork Falls

 Diversion Dam at the falls. Water flows through the steel grate on the left into pipes downward to the BSA pond. Lift the gate to the right and it flows somewhat naturally again. 

After leaving the falls the trail begins a more aggressive climb into the Wilderness. Around the 3.7 mile mark we found ourselves once again back at Lily Meadows Camp. A picturesque setting Lily is situated on a an expansive flat surrounded by tall pines. The main camping area has a nice picnic table and plenty of bench seating around the fire ring. Aside from the hotter months water is normally reliable from the creek just south the camp. Here's a fun description From Craig Carey's Book Hiking & Backpacking Santa Barbara & Ventura.  "Though the various breeds of wild onion in the area were once included in the lily family, one cannot help but surmise the outdoorsman who gave Lily Meadows it's current name mistook the plentiful irises growing in the summer meadows for lilies (various signs in the Los Padres spell it both "Lilly" and "Lily").

Lily Meadows Camp

After gathering all the beta required to complete the camp survey it was time to leave the North Fork Trail behind. Just past Lily we took a sharp left off trail and headed South climbing a ravine to the top of one of the two high ridges separating us from our much anticipated Meadows. 

Looking North down toward Lily Meadows Camp, Grouse and Sawmill mountains in the distance.

A Look South at our direct route over the next ridge just beyond the badlands.

After taking in stellar views atop the first ridge we poked around a large rock formation before gathering our bearings and deciding our next move. Originally I had planned to maybe drop in from here and follow the ravine down and around to the southeast where it would eventually connect with the gully running through the meadows. However that would have entailed a bit of backtracking so instead we opted to plow straight ahead up and over the second ridge. In the end I am glad we did as we were able to capture some great shots down into the badlands.

Cross country travel through the Chumash Wilderness is nothing like in the lower and much more painful chaparral elevations. Here up high everything is more open and Navigable. The smells of pine and juniper are an assault on the senses, I find a peaceful serenity here hard to replicate anywhere else. Most the little gully's still had water and signs of wildlife were everywhere. Large deer and bear tracks at every turn and even little nesting birds were encountered down in the meadow. 

Large pile of bear scat. 

Pictured below is the hole a bird came flying out of. Further inspection showed the eggs inside. After that encounter we made sure to tread lightly. 

Old posts found near the meadow with strange markings possibly from former mining claims?

Right under the 6 mile mark we descended upon the meadow a brief search produced no official name that I could find. I consulted with a bearded mad man of the LP and he knew of no name either. Great I said then I shall name it South Lily Meadows because it's a set of meadows south the camp (so creative right ? Not really). To which he replied "why don't you just let me know if you find any lilies first. Well sir I am here to report I found not one single lily nor any arrowheads. Lot's of sage brush though ;) What we did get was a breathtaking meadow in the middle of nowhere to enjoy all to ourselves. You really had to be there to appreciate all the beauty of the place. 

South Lily Meadows

Done with the meadow (not literally someday I'll be back) we started to make our way down canyon. As we dropped lower in elevation the brush got thicker, nothing of any real concern just some waist high sage brush and the occasional dead-fall. I guess one might consider it light bushwhacking. I found it quite pleasurable. What had all the hallmarks of being a perfect day went out the window when we got here N34° 45' 43.6" W119° 09' 33.9" A couple miles downstream from the meadow is an older abandoned pot farm. Black tubing and other trash are strewn about everywhere. Pesticides and other chemicals left behind by these people are dangerous and detrimental to the environment. The wildlife are suffering as we found a very large dead rat stuck in one of the 5 gallon buckets. It's been reported and I have offered my services to return and help clean it up. Now we wait, hopefully the approval comes. 

 Pot Farm

Wildlife casualties 

From the pot farm it's really only about a mile downstream before connecting back with North Fork Trail. This last lower section has some very interesting geology. Sub-aqueous delta fans (I only know this term because I read Craig's book, sorry I ain't that sophisticated) protrude from the canyon walls like Volcanic rock. Down climbing this last narrow chute section in the creek bed can be sketchy when water is flowing over slick moss. We debated it but decided to climb up and around on the north side instead. 

Sub-aqueous delta fans 

Jeff debating a down climb

Alternate way down from the north

Out of the Canyon and back on trail it was a short jaunt back to the car. Our total mileage was somewhere between 10-11. I cant say exactly as I edited out some worthless wanderings from the GPS Track which is available for download below under the map. Last week out in the San Rafael the ticks were relentless. Not today, these higher elevations see far less of those evil little bastards. I think I counted 3 compared to at least a hundred last week. While the crowds continue to flock to Rose Valley and Piedra Blanca I'll stick to these little lessor know slices of heaven for now. 

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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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