posed shot (no helmet) at Wheeler Gorge, 7/11/07
Mountain Bike Trip through the
Los Padres National Forest:

Goleta/Santa Barbara to Pine Mountain & Back
July 7-13, 2007

page created by Harold Marcuse
July 15, 2007; updated 8/5/07

on the Marcuse family website;
see also Harold's UCSB Faculty homepage

Overview & Background
Originally Planned Route
The Route:
Days 1-2 Days 3-4 Days 5-6 Day 7
Newspaper
Story
Links

Overview & Background (back to top)

In July 2007 I took a mountain bike/camping trip through the Los Padres National Forest between Santa Barbara and Ojai, California, around the Matilija (Ma TIL ih ha) wilderness to the pass on Rte. 33 at Pine Mountain, and back. This was a 7-day trip, with the first 4 days completely self-contained through the wilderness. A friend with a car then met me for a couple of days of more leisurely touring before I cycled back home via the Coastal Bike Route.

Since someone's travelog of their trip through Denali National Park in Alaska helped me to plan a mountain bike trip there in 2005, I decided I'd share my experience in Los Padres on the web as well.

I knew I'd have 7-10 days for a bike trip this summer, while relatives were staying at my house. At first I thought I'd drive to Utah and explore the Zion Park and Canyonlands regions with a combination of car and mountain bike, possibly with a friend or one of my kids along. I own a Toyota Prius, so the first hurdle was to figure out how best to transport a couple of bikes on the car. I've made a separate Equipping a Toyota Prius with a hitch and bike rack page to share the results of that experience. And, if I ever find the time, I'll make a Equipping a mountain bike with the gear & food for self-sustained camping page. (That information is easier to find on the web, however.)

Ultimately driving to Utah seemed too ambitious for the short time, so I decided on a bike-only, start-from-home trip in my own backyard, so to speak. At first I planned to go north around and through the San Rafael wilderness, but at the last minute, when a huge fire broke out at Zaca Lake on July 4, I had to change plans and go east to the Matilija wilderness instead.

Books & Maps

I first purchased:

  • Don Douglass and Delaine Fragnoli, Mountain Biking: Southern California's Best 100 Trails (Bishop, CA: Fine Edge, 1993), 303 pages ($17 new/$4 used at amazon).
    Rides 79-81 describe the terrain of my originally planned trip to the Zaca Lake area, while rides 68-74 cover parts of several of the routes in the Matilija/Ojai area that I ultimately rode.

The central headquarters of the Los Padres National Forest is just up the street from where I live (each of the various ranger districts has its own headquarters as well), I went there to purchase maps and get information. This is what I got:Covers of 4 maps of the Los Padres Nat'l Forest

  1. The Los Padres National Forest map that is shown at right and in the route maps below. Actually, I already had this one--the photo at right with the $4 price tag is the 1996 edition; the $9 ca. 2004 edition has better color contrast and coated paper; a few campgrounds have been closed.
  2. The San Rafael Wilderness map/backcountry guide, a very nice colored topographical map, the main disadvantage of which is that it only shows main trails, not all of the jeep roads marked on map 1. I wish I had had one of these for the Matilija wilderness, but I'm not sure one exists.
    3. Ojai trails map
  3. After the route change I got an Ojai Trails guide/map ($3), which was useful for some hikes and keeping track of distances (although it is NOT drawn to scale, and some of its numbers are wrong).
  4. They give out a free "Trail Users Coalition" topographic map that shows all of the off-highway vehicle (OHV) routes. I was concerned to avoid those roads, some of which overlapped with the jeep routes I wanted to take. It has topo lines for the areas around Matilija, but they are too small to be of any use (they misled me several times into underestimating the steepness and total altitude gain on various routes). SVRA stands for State Vehicle Recreation Areas.
Los Padres Nation Forest Map showing Originally Planned Route (2 alternatives; click to enlarge) map with routes through Los Padres Natl Forest

Originally Planned Route: Zaca Lake & San Rafael Wilderness (back to top)

  • Day 1 (pink): Climb San Marcos pass and descend to Lake Cachuma; start climbing Cachuma saddle. Camp at Cachuma or Davy Brown (if I made good time).
  • Day 2 (dark pink): Go to Manzana Schoolhouse and back via Zaca Lake. This was an extremely dry year, and I was trying to find out whether I could get water from the Sisquoc river at Manzana. However, the outbreak of the fire prevented the local ranger from responding to my inquiry. I was thinking of leaving my camping gear at Cachuma/Davy and traveling a light loop.
    Day 2 alternate (bright red): Or, if no water was available at Manzana, heading straight into the wilderness along Mission Pine Trail, to where I might find water farther upstream in the Sisquoc near Big Pine or Alamar/Bear camps.
  • Day 3 (orange): Either heading into the San Rafael wilderness (as in day 2 alternate), possibly heading south at Big Pine towards the Bluff camp and looping around the south edge of the wilderness. (You aren't supposed to ride a bicycle on roads in the wilderness, although it's so isolated no one would see you.)
    Day 3 alternate 2 (dark red): going all the way through the San Rafael wilderness, then east along its north side, overlooking the dry interior Cuyama valley. End at Rancho Nuevo or Ozena camps.
  • Day 4 (green): heading towards the Pendola ranger station and Juncal camp, past Jameson Lake to Wheeler Gorge camp (joining the route I ended up taking).
    Day 4 alternate (yellow): climbing up out of the Cuyuma valley to the 5150' pass at Pine Mountain road, meeting my friend (bringing supplies) at Pine Mountain Inn, camping nearby.
Map showing Goleta to Murietta route

Days 1-3: to Matilija Wilderness & up Route 33 (back to top)

Two brief notes:
my neato bike computer yielded the distances and times I give here;
my loaded panniers weighed 28 lbs, the strapped on gear--tent, sleeping bag and mat--7 lbs. more, plus a few pounds of handlebar bag and 3 water bottles made for ca. 40+ lbs total baggage.

  • Day 1: 26 miles in 4 hours on the bike, ca. 1100' elevation gain (red): I took the signed Crosstown Bike Route (Cathedral Oaks/Foothill Blvd) into Santa Barbara, past the mission and then up East Mountain Drive to Gibraltar Road. I didn't get started until 4pm, and thus wasn't able to get as far as I had planned. It took me about 2 hours on Gibraltar Rd. to ascend ca. 1000' to East Camino Cielo, riding the first 3 miles, then pushing the last 2.8. As the sun set, smokey air started blowing in from the Zaca Fire, and lots of dirt motorbikes and rescue vehicles passed me on their way down the mountian. (Next day I saw that an SUV had overturned off the road down to Juncal--probably pulled over too far to let a descending car by.) I ended up sleeping on a ledge next to the road (Camino Cielo), just out of sight of traffic. I left at 6:30am the next morning.
  • Day 2: 22 miles, 3:45 hours biking (yellow): I descended the paved, then dirt road towards Jameson Lake, breaking off from the OHV (all terrain vehicle) route that started beyond Divide Peak. At Juncal I had to unload my panniers to get the bike over a fence+gate to continue on the pleasant route to Jameson Lake, with some moderate climbing and a steep descent to the Alder Creek camp, where I stopped to explore the aquaduct, replenish my water supplies (boiling and my 3 micron filter bottle), and nap in the heat until the early afternoon. Around 3pm I started out for Murietta Divide, through what turned out to be some short but VERY steep canyons, in 115 degree heat. It was NOT pleasant, and I ended up pushing through dry, thorny grass quite a bit. I had to walk the bike a bit coming down the divide, too, since it was so steep. The trail from the jeep road in to Murietta camp turned out not to be bikeable for very long. I ended up locking my bike to a tree among the boulders of the creekbed, and carrying my gear up to the camp. There was just enough dripping water to collect and purify for cooking & drinking (and washing off poison oak).
  • Day 3, 19.5 miles , 3+ hours on the bike (orange): continued below next map

Los Padres Map, days 3-5

Days 3-5

  • Light Orange=Day 3: Murietta to Rose Valley (climbing the mountain, 3850 ft)
  • Purple=Day 4: Rose Valley to Pine Mountain & back
  • Green=Day 5: Rose Valley down to Ojai & back to Wheeler Gorge campground
  • Light Blue=Day 6: Ojai to Ventura along Ventura River bike path (& back)
  • Yellow=Day 7: Wheeler Gorge back to Goleta on rts. 33, 150 and Coastal bike route (101 & streets)

Route 33 and Rose Valley - Days 3 & 4 (back to top)

  • Day 3: 19.5 miles , 3+ hours on the bike (orange): coming out of Murietta thorough the private ranches and onto the paved road for a few ups and downs to route 33 (steep! at junction). Then after a rest stop at Wheeler Gorge up 33 and up and up and up to the Rose Valley turnoff. Some of the big gravel trucks constantly going up and down here passed me, but they were generally courteous. Probably more than 3000' elevation gain on 33. (It was fun coming down on day 5.)
    Rose Valley camp was rather full of litter after the July 4 weekend, and hot, but it's a short hike to the falls, where I cooled off in a pool below. It's an ectopic formation--instead of eating its way into the cliff, the evaporating water deposits minerals to build out from the cliff face.
    In the early evening I hiked to East Lion, but all the creeks were dried up.
  • Day 4: 50 miles , 6 hours on the bike (purple): the day dawned and remained mercifully cloudy--an extremely rare high-humidity "monsoon" condition even brought a few raindrops. I packed up all my gear, thinking I might camp at Potrero Seco near the pass down to the Cuyama Valley or possibly at Oak Camp near Pine Mountain Inn--if water was available. Dumb me: I ended up schlepping all my camping gear out and back to Rose Valley. But it was an interesting day:
    Turns out that Pine Mountain Inn, where I had planned to get water and meet my friend the next day, has been closed for several years. Coincidentally, the owner was there to meet a reporter from the local paper for an article about his travails trying to get the proper permits to reopen. We chatted at 9am and he gave me a few bottles of water from his cooler, and some advice about the route ahead (see ride #71 in the Mountain Biking book). I ended up going about 4 miles up the Pine Mountain Road from the summit pass on route 33, then parking my bike and walking to the top, where I had lunch in the Pine Forest overlooking the lush irrigated patches along the Cuyama River. After coming down I explored the road to Potrero Seco on the west side of 33 (ride #74), where I had planned to spend a night, but broke it off because I had to get back to Rose Valley for a supply of water.
    When I got back to Pine Mtn Inn at 1pm, the Ventura County Star photographer was there. He snapped a bunch of pictures of yours truly, and interviewed me about the Inn. (See newspaper story, below, and pictures at right.) He asked me to point out the passage in the book that mentioned the Inn, immortalizing my grubby, pine-sap-stained finger in the process.
    The ride back to Rose Valley was pleasant under the cloud cover--I never would have attempted the Pine Mountain Road if it had been sunny. My fellow campers from the day before--two drifters living out of their car/pickup respectively, welcomed me back. If only I had left my camping gear there I would have had a much more pleasant ride. I gave a message for my friend to a passing motorist, asking him to relay it via cell phone once he got into cell range in Ojai. We would meet the next day down in Wheeler Gorge instead of at Pine Mountain Inn.
    In the evening I hiked up the gated OHV road part of the way to Nordhoff ridge, with some spectacular views all around (see ride #69, also #70 in the mountain biking book).
  • Day 5, 28 miles, 2 hrs, 50 mins riding (green): continued below map
Los Padres Map, days 3-5

Days 5-7

  • Green=Day 5: Rose Valley down to Ojai & back to Wheeler Gorge campground
  • Light Blue=Day 6: Ojai to Ventura along Ventura River bike path (& back)
  • Yellow=Day 7: Wheeler Gorge back to Goleta on rts. 33, 150 and Coastal bike route (101 & streets)

Days 5 & 6 (back to top)

  • Day 5, 28 miles, 2 hrs, 50 mins riding (green): I zoomed down the mountain before 8am, descending into the fog at about 2000'. Ojai Trails mapI went into Ojai to a wonderful breakfast cafe next to Vons (at the "T" intersection of 33 near 150)--Ojai prides itself on its artistic heritage and has outlawed chain restaurants. After purchasing supplies (I had used up all the food I had brought with me, except one freeze-dried meal), I ascended back to Wheeler Gorge to meet my friend. The Wheeler ranger house has 6 hummingbird feeders on its porch, with multiple birds at each one. Nice compensation for the fact the water had been shut off since they had forgotten to test it for parasites. I managed to fall over on the mossy spillway that separates the two sides of the campground--very slick! We hiked the nature trail that leaves from the very top of the campground and found a nice campsite.

Wheeler Gorge campsite Me at the Wheeler Gorge campsite; bike on Prius

 me posing on bike at Wheeler Gorge
  • Day 6, 28 miles , 2 3/4hours on the bike (light blue): first we drove, retracing my day 3 route back to near Murietta, and hiked up the Matilija north fork. Then we went into Ojai for lunch, and biked the Ojai-Ventura river bike route. We had heard of Jud Fine's 1999 "Mark" public art sculpture project, which didn't start until Foster Park, close to Ventura. But it was a nice ride, nonetheless, along the river as well as abandoned oil factory and active drilling installations, ending at a Vons shopping center in Ventura.
  • Day 7, 61 miles , 5 1/2 hours on the bike (yellow): continued below next map

Los Padres Map, route Wheeler to Goleta

Last Day - Ojai to Goleta (back to top)

  • Day 7, 61 miles , 5 1/2 hours on the bike (yellow): as you go around Lake Casitas, this route gets VERY steep, but you do get to go down the other side into Carpenteria. You get to ride through the agricultural areas with lots of nurseries, turning toward the 101 at the Polo club (lots of rich folks out this way). At Summerland the bike path has its own fenced in corridor right next to the freeway, then on side streets as you approach Montecito. You cross over the freeway past the bird sanctuary at the Santa Barbara Zoo and the famous hotel. The Coastal Route winds through Hope Ranch (another very wealthy area) to hook up with the bike-only trail from Turnpike to Goleta Beach before UCSB. From there it's just a hop to my house.

Newspaper Story: Ventura County Star, July 13, 2007 (back to top)

Links (back to top)
page created by Harold Marcuse, July 15, 2007, last updated: see header
back to top, to the Harold Marcuse personal page; Harold Marcuse Faculty homepage