Saddle Skirt Camp

Saddle Skirt Camp

Anyone who has studied maps of the Aqua Blanca drainage has most likely seen Saddle Skirt Camp sitting all lonely way at the very top where the Agua Blanca Trail on modern maps seems to end and for those who have pondered making a serious run at it you may have noticed the location appears to vary depending on which map or online source your viewing. This can be frustrating and at the same time exciting, especially if your a trail nerd such as myself who enjoys a good campsite mystery. I jump at the chance to visit these places, especially the ones most have written off and forgotten. I don't want the memory of these spots to fade. These trips are my humble attempt to resurrect them. 

Dough Flat Gate is open

If you have not heard already the seasonal gate to Dough Flat is open for business, and the road repairs have been finished. (High clearance/AWD vehicle is best to make it all the way to the Trailhead, though I have parked 1/2 mile away and walked the rest on prior trips in my car.) Luckily my wife just got an AWD Toyota Highlander and it has been smashing the dirt roads, I'm thoroughly impressed with it's performance thus far. 

Where is the trailhead sign ?

Dough Flat Trailhead

I was under the impression that Dough Flat got a brand new shiny Trailhead sign, so was eager to see it. Immediately upon pulling in I noted there is no sign at all. So either it has not been installed yet or someone stole the new one. Hopefully it's the former. Why would the old one be removed though if the new one had not been installed ? Apparently I will not know the answer to this until my email to the Forest Service receives a response. 

Sespe Wilderness Boundary sign is falling apart

From Dough Flat we followed what's now the Alder Creek trail on a gradual uphill grade. In approximately 1.4 miles on your east side is a spur trail that leads you to Squaw Springs and the non designated Camp. Water was flowing at the site, however the camp is getting quite brushy. 

Squaw Springs Guerrilla site

This section of Alder creek trail has some outstanding views of Whiteacre, Topatopa, and Sulphur peaks. I could clearly see the old Fire Lookout on Topatopa. 

Whiteacre Peak

Sulphur Peak breaking through the Clouds

Click photo and zoom in to see the old Lookout Tower which now sits in the condor Sanctuary

At about the 2.5 mile mark is the junction with Bucksnort Trail, exit Alder and head to your right up Bucksnort. As I have mentioned in past posts the condition of the sign here is garbage, a new one would be ideal, even decals would be better than nothing. 

That's me doing my best to showcase this sign that has now become a chalkboard :(

Being as this was my first time travelling Bucksnort I was surprised to roll up on this Really nice little Guerrilla site less than a half mile from the junction. The Big rock really highlights the camp and makes for a nice bench. Great rock fire ring, makeshift seats and a large flat area. Would make a nice spot when water is flowing through the nearby tributary. 

Bucksnort Guerrilla Site

Looking back on the camp and the giant boulder.

Another nice flat not far from the Bucksnort Guerrilla site, it's these areas where the trail tread tends to disappear.

This section before dropping down is pretty wide open and the trail is easy to follow. Through the multiple flat areas it has a tendency to disappear but can be fairly easily picked up again. Closer to the 4 mile mark major brushing is needed in spots along the route. The steep descent to Ant Camp is where most of the trail work should be focused. Now with that being said the tread is still there and was easier to follow than I expected it just needs folks to keep walking on it. 

Dropping down to the Agua Blanca

Last few trips have been blessed with killer Yucca shots

 Cobblestone Mountain

Before approaching Agua Blanca Creek at the 5.5 mile mark is the short spur trail that leads you east to Ant Camp. (Camp Coordinates: N34° 34' 33.9" W118° 53' 09.9")

Ant Camp

The picnic Table here has seen better days 

Nice rock fire ring with cooking grate

Extra cooking grates are scattered about and appears the Camp got a newer shovel

Trail leading into Ant

Another small fire ring 300 feet northeast of Ant Closer to the Agua Blanca

Ant Camp is basically situated at the Junction with Bucksnort and the Agua Blanca Trail. The camp at times can be heavily loaded with ants, hints the name. The tributary running near Camp was dry however the Agua Blanca was flowing nicely a few hundred feet away. Unfortunately we found the camp loaded with trash. Pisses me off to no end that people can't pack out there shit. A prime example of why we can't have nice things. While I was completing the Camp survey paperwork Reece was busy running about the area collecting all the trash into one pile and trying to spruce up the place. On the way out I strapped this huge load of crap to my back and carried it back to my car. The added weight, midday heat and climb back up Bucksnort needless to say was not very enjoyable. Thanks assholes.

Pillows, blankets, clothes, bottles and general trash left everywhere 

PACK IT IN PACK IT OUT. DON'T TRASH OUR WILDERNESS

After leaving Ant is when things start to get real tricky, this is essentially the end of the road as far as modern times are concerned. Although many decades ago one could continue along the Agua Blanca 19W10 upstream to eventually connect with the old Cobblestone Mountain trail 18W03. (Someday I will complete that loop, high on my list is a visit to borracho and Halfway Spring.) Before continuing into the hellish abyss of poison oak and overgrown nastiness that awaits up the trail toward Saddle skirt is this old 19W10 trail sign. Note the wrong mileage. My guess for why it was never corrected is because travel past here is relatively non existent theses days. The new motto of let the trails die and the signs along with them is readily on display throughout the Los Padres. An unfortunate reality for our generation, and why volunteer trail work and donations to nonprofits like the Los Padres forest association are so vitally important for keeping our trails maintained. 

19W10 Trail Sign

Almost 2 hours is what it took for us to get the 1.5 miles from Ant To Saddle Skirt. If you are sensitive to poison oak do not even consider attempting this route, it is unavoidable and was slapping me in the face constantly as I trudged through fields of it. Remarkably as of this writing (knock on wood) I have no rash, as I believe I may have a high immunity to the stuff. I learned the hard way that the trick to navigating this section is to be very diligent about following the old trail as much as possible. Having it loaded correctly into a GPS will be of great benefit as this will make you aware of what side of the creek you should be progressing up. The crossings are especially difficult and confusing. The overgrowth does a good job at hiding everything, however remarkably the tread is still there in a quite a few spots and once we had it figured out we were able to exit in half the time. 

That's Reece trying to be graceful 

The trail starts by bashing through this wall of goodness

Spacing in the creek gets tight, some areas close off completely with no chance of direct travel through the water

Sure is pretty in this drainage

It's not all jungle there are some nice open flats

If your not paying attention you could easily pass by Saddle skirt and not know it. The trail is good and wide open directly across from camp on the east side of the Agua Blanca and the camp lies  hidden on the west side by a wall of trees. Saddle Skirt sits nestled on a large flat where the Agua Blanca and an unnamed drainage coming in from the west meet. Water here was flowing at the time of our visit. (Camp coordinates: N34° 35' 18.5" W118° 53' 13.2")

Saddle Skirt site #1

View of the Flat looking away from camp

Second Ice Can stove and what I'm labeling site #2. I had to dig out the stove it was buried in debris , we almost did not see it at first.

Opposite side of the Flat looking toward Camp

Yes this is now Lost In The Los Padres register #2 site complete the customary REI Gift Card.

Agua Blanca water level at Saddle Skirt as of June 22, 2019

While not the most glamorous of Camps, there are still two very nice Ice can stoves.The flat is overgrown with grasses but large enough for plenty of tents. You won't find shade, however you can expect a healthy dose of solitude and if you get there quickly you can probably snag the 20 dollar REI gift I left in the new Lost In The Los Padres Site Register #2. Remember the first one was dropped at Last Chance Camp. (If you are the lucky one please return to this post and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.)

Finally visiting Saddle Skirt was a great feeling, I hope maybe in the future some maintenance can be done to help open up the trail and make it a bit more manageable for the casual observer to enjoy. For now it remains a trek for the hardy adventure. After completing another Camp survey we left the same way we came in. Total mileage was 14.6. Included under the map is my GPS track and KMZ file for download. The mileage on the Relive video is not correct but still fun to watch nonetheless. 

Download GPS Track

Download KMZ File

Memorial weekend 2019 In The San Rafael Wilderness

With no kids this Memorial weekend the wife was ready to get out and go somewhere, in fact her exact words were "babe take me on an adventure" to which I replied yes ma'am coming right up. Waiting til the last minute on a holiday weekend left everything booked, I could not reserve a single car campsite anywhere I wanted to go in the Los Padres. My wife Suzanne is not a backpacker and rarely gets out tent camping so I was hoping for a nice developed site to start getting her feet wet. I was not confident about it but knew we would have to try our luck and see about snagging a walk up somewhere. Wanting to go a little farther from home I hit up Conant and asked what he thought about my chances on getting anything at Nira, Davy Brown or Figueroa Mountain. Bryan seemed enthusiastic and said he was 90 percent sure I should be good to go. Hearing that was good enough for me, we loaded up and hit the road.

Hoping to have easy convenient access form camp into the San Raf Nira was to be my first Choice. Here we could walk right onto The Manzana trail without needing to use the car. After about a two and half hour drive we pulled in to find the place packed not a single site to be had. Damn I thought that's not good.

South of Nira a short distance back along Sunset Valley Road is Davy Brown Camp. Which provides direct access to Davy Brown Creek and the Fir Canyon trail. I was optimistic that possibly we would have better luck getting something there. Upon arrival I was again reminded that this was a holiday weekend dummy and we would be getting nothing. Well shit Figueroa was to be our last hope as far as developed campgrounds in this immediate neck of the woods was concerned.

Back along Sunset Valley we went, from the Cachuma saddle it is about 7 miles along Figueroa Mtn Road to reach Figueroa Mountain Campground. This is a much larger Camp than Nira or Davy Brown in fact almost triple the amount of sites. Walk up site choices here are numbers 2 through 10. Again upon arrival this was not looking good. As we cruised through checking each site one by one everything was taken. Then I remembered in the very back corner of the campground site #25 was also a walk up. This would be our last hope, wife was saying lucky 25 is gonna be it and I'll be damned it was open. Maybe regarded as the ugly duckling as unlike every other site here this one had no picnic table, no steel fire ring and no camp kitchen grill set up. However none of that mattered to us, is was available and it was gonna be ours.

Tested out our new tent we were given as a gift worked great

Nemo privacy shelter

Here adjacent to our tent flat was small rock fire ring surrounded by weeds and leaves. We left it in much better shape than we found it. 

Aside from the lack of amenities listed above this one had great potential. The site was massive with multiple flats and very private sitting on the camps edge we had no one behind us and direct forest access. We quickly got to work setting up all our gear and making fire. Took the dog for a walk, had a nice dinner and a few beers and it was off to bed. At some point in the night it began to rain and never really let up for the rest of our trip. 

Manzana Trailhead parking area

Sunday we woke bright and early after breakfast burritos under the easy up we donned our rain gear and headed back down toward Nira and the Manzana Trail. (30W13). Approximately a half mile before Nira is the lower Manzana Trailhead pictured above. Here you find a large parking area and informative signs. You can also access the upper trail from the eastern end of Nira Camp. 

Manzana Creek

Creek Crossing at Potrero Camp

After an immediate crossing the trail climbs along the southwest bank of the Manzana taking you above the creek for the next 1.3 miles before dropping down to Potrero Camp and the junction with Potrero canyon trail. (29W12)  

Potrero Camp

Lots of bullet holes in the Arroyo Toad informative sign could be some hostility there if you know what I mean 

I liked this camp, very scenic and close to the creek with nice fire ring and picnic table. Would make for a great quick overnight and or child's first backpacking trip being as close as it is to the Trailhead. I noticed two available sites. After crossing the creek here it is about 300 feet to the Potrero Cyn junction. 

Big Fan I am of these old metal signs

We left the Manzana behind and began to climb Potrero Canyon. The trail is in pretty good shape and easy to follow. Could benefit from some brushing in places but really nothing to complain about. From the Creek junction it's 3 miles to the Hurricane deck and basically all uphill. Your afforded great views of the surrounding Canyons and the area becomes more lush once reaching Negus Meadow. 

We spent a fair amount of time poking around the upper reaches of the Canyon. Sometime I would love to return and travel the whole length of the Hurricane Deck Trail. My wife was a trooper following me up and down off trail and climbing in and out of caves with some bushwhacking in the pouring rain. She asked for an adventure and I didn't want to let her down. 

Lacy is all smiles

My dog is normally pretty reserved and well behaved on the trail but for some reason while passing through the meadow she got all crazy excited and was hauling ass back and forth jumping and bounding through it like a gazelle. Funny  I don't know what got into her but she liked it up there. 

Negus Meadow

 I spend a great deal of my time close to home in the more southeastern districts of the  Los padres so it was really nice to be able to head north a bit and get into some newer terrain. I definitely am going to make it a point to try and get up here more often on some monthly or bimonthly trips. Start putting some check marks in my long list of San Raf and Dick smith places.

Chumash bedrock Mortars 

After a brief lunch we hightailed it back out the way we came. At this point  we were soaking wet and my wife was starting to develop what I nicknamed her Baden-Powell walk. That's when the steps get really small and her pace slows. I only seen it once before and that was On Baden-Powell of course. A cute unique little walk but a signal that she is about done for the day. Our total mileage was close to 10. Sorry I have no GPS track available for download (not that you need it here anyway the trails are good) somehow I bumped it and it turned it self off. Maybe I should start using the lock screen feature. Anyhow trip was a blast, thanks babe had a great time can't wait to see what we cook up for next year's memorial outing.