Los Padres Overnighter

[SunMan]

The copilot and I decided late Saturday to pack up for a quick overnighter instead of staying home and doing the usual. At 4:00pm we hit the road for the Los Padres mountains above Ojai. We intended to camp at Pine Mountain (Reyes Peak) however the access gate was closed (my guess is for snow) so we were forced to head down the other side into the Lockwood Valley area where we had been previously on New Years Eve.

Having explored the Dome Springs area before, we decided to go there as it was close and getting late. After driving back to the campground, which is in an off highway vehicle area, we noticed a few offroaders camped off in the dry river bed as well as two cars in the campground. Being fans of solitude we picked an off highway trail and blazed back several miles and found a nice secluded area under some Pinyon Pines. With about 30 minutes of daylight left I started a fire, closely followed by cocktail hour, dinner, and an evening of stargazing!

We woke up the following day and hiked a few miles through the surrounding Badlands terrain, had a late breakfast and decided to drive out via the river bed instead of the road. The following are some pics of camp and the drive out...

 

[SunMan]

Once we reached Lockwood Valley Road we decided to pop into Camp Scheideck for a cold beverage before heading home. Camp Scheideck is a settlement tucked in along Reyes Creek with much history and was originally homesteaded in 1888. There are about 30-40 cabins and other dwellings located there, and of all things....a bar, which was built in 1898. Very cool place to hang out at and grab lunch. Just beyond Camp Scheideck is the Reyes Creek Campground and trailhead for Bear Trap and Pine Mountain Lodge. The following are pics of the Scheideck area...

 

[lqhikers]

sunman,life is good!

Looks like you hit great weather,good times and great pictures,which really add to the trip report.I have not been up to that area since i was in Navy and stationed in Long Beach in the 60's!
Drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"
Les Lqhikers

 

[erod]

sunman, great pics, looks like an awesome little overnight trip. i really like the look of the tundra/fwc combo, seems perfect for two people and a dog. thanks for posting...cheers!

 

[SunMan]

Yeah Les, life is good indeed. We lucked into a nice weekend for sure!

Thanks Erod, the set up is definitely working out well for us.

Now if I could only get out there as much as you guys do!

 

[Marc]

Hey SunMan

I must have just missed you. I was fishing at Reyes Creek on Monday. After your previous write-up on the area I thought I'd poke around in some of the areas you had mentioned. Unfortunately as you also found out the gates are locked to many of the OHV and Forrest service trails due to snow. I ended up talking to the Ranger in Frazier Park and was told that most of the Trails on the North side of 95 were open. I ended up camping off of 9N53 in the Salt Creek area. Still a little snow but it is melting fast. Had a great view of Lockwood/Cuddey Valley. Nice Pics.

Marc

 

[SunMan]

Yo Marc...a day late and a dollar short...would've been cool to cross paths.
Sure was beautiful up there...hope the fishin' was good. Please post some pics if you've got 'em!

 

[kcowyo]

Love your set up.

That d-cab Tundra and Hawk sure do go together. Like PB & J, or perhaps a better analogy is tequila and lemon.

I dig seeing the off-road/remote trail stuff. ..