The Dick Smith Wilderness in early spring is a fantasyland of rushing streams and green meadows full of wildflowers. This backpack, on the far eastern edge of the Sierra Madre range, will take us into a high-elevation oak savanna with sweeping ridgetop views over condor country.

This will be a strenuous backpack, covering over 26 miles in two days at a purposeful pace, so this trip is suitable only for experienced backpackers in very good shape.  Most of our trail will be along well-graded fire roads, affording us fast, obstacle-free mileage and wide-ranging views of the Los Padres backcountry. But we’ll push into the bush for a couple miles in order to reach a primitive campsite near the Jackson Five swimming holes. Therefore, we’ll cheerfully face the possibility of some bushwhacking, ticks, black bears and rattlesnakes fresh from hibernation, and possibly a bit of poison oak. Because of the strenuous nature of this trip, the leader reserves the right to qualify participants. This is a consciously low-impact outing, so carpool participation is encouraged and participants are urged to contribute to their vehicle’s shared mileage and gas costs.

This trip is strictly dependent upon a favorable weather forecast. A National Weather Service forecast of rain within 72 hours of our start will cancel or re-route this trip at the sole discretion of the leader, as will fewer than three confirmed signups as of 8:00pm, Wednesday, March 18. This trip will be by individual commissary, and we’re not planning any shared meals, so please plan to provide your own two-day supply of food. 

We’ll meet up to consolidate our carpool at the Camarillo Park-and-Ride lot (Pleasant Valley Road x US101) at 7:00am (SHARP!) on the morning of Saturday, March 21 in preparation for our hour-long carpool to the trailhead. L.A.-based hikers should plan on leaving L.A. no later than 6:00am.