The Reyes Creek - Piedra Blanca Shuttle

The Gene-Marshall / Piedra Blanca National Recreation Trail can take your breath away as the high Sespe backcountry slowly awakens to spring.  Soft greenery pushes through the formerly wintry canyon, the ladybugs swarm, the streams giggle.  The only way a person can improve it is to find some good hiking buddies to enjoy it with, which is exactly what we did.  Hard hiking and route-finding, vaulting over steep ridges, dodging rattlesnakes, and enduring the second day's knee-punishing downhill stretch of 2500' loss over 1.5 miles was all made easy by having the perfect group of guys to share it with.

The high backcountry of Reyes Creek is some of the most rarely-visited wilderness in Southern California, beloved of condors, black bears and solitude-seekers. This winter buried the backcountry in deep snows, and May should find it redolent with wildflowers.

After a long and winding (but incomparably scenic) drive to our trailhead Saturday morning, we’ll explore a fragrant melange of chaparral and pine woodland along the banks of Reyes Creek, enjoying fine views of the Mt. Pinos high country all along our one-way, 18-mile route, for which we will arrange a car shuttle. After spending a leisurely Saturday evening at camp, we’ll awake refreshed for the hike out Sunday morning, returning to civilization (and optional awesome post-hike pizza and/or wild boar chili in Ojai) by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

This outing will still be fairly strenuous owing to rugged terrain and high altitude. We will also face the very real possibility of abundant ticks and rattlesnakes, as well as one knee-deep stream crossing, so this trip is suitable only for experienced backpackers in very good condition.

Though a stone’s throw from L.A., the Sespe Wilderness is not to be trifled with. Extreme weather can make hiking in this area hazardous, even this late in the spring. Therefore, this trip is strictly dependent upon a favorable weather forecast. A National Weather Service forecast of rain or thunderstorms within 72 hours of our start will cancel this trip, as will fewer than four confirmed signups. This trip is also dependent upon an anticipated (but not guaranteed) seasonal re-opening of the dirt road accessing our trailhead. If closure remains in effect at the date of our outing, a comparable alternate route in the vicinity will be chosen, instead.

This trip will be by individual commissary, and we’re not planning any potluck meals, so participants must provide their own two-day supply of food.