Couped up in the house for two weeks, Carlo and I broke out for a drive up the 33 this last Sunday. The other Gorillaz were off with their families for Fall break, so this was to be a true blue Rivas Boys adventure. I say "adventure", which weakly describes what it is we do up on the Sespe, but really, were just looking for trouble in the form of boulders and swimming holes.
Our primary objective on this day was to check conditions up on Pine Mountain, the Sespegorilla home ground. I have a sense that the Forest Service are gonna throw the gate on Pine Mtn. Rd and time now, certainly by the next big storm. The Forest Service office in Ojai usually has information regarding road closures in the LP, but their automated hot line wasn't working this weekend. We were just gonna have to drive up there and find out for ourselves.
The drive up to PM takes about an hour from Ventura. Everything looked pretty dry an we pulled out of The Cloud just past Wheelers. We stopped for some pictures of Haddock, Reyes and the Pine Mtn ridge on the highway just above Piedra Blanca. We could see clouds clinging to the tops of the mountains, obscuring their summits from view. Considering that we've done nothing but sit on our asses the past 2 weeks, the prospect of being socked in some clouds for a while was an exciting one and I thought it would be cool for Carlo to experience some "white out" conditions up on a mountain top. Off we go.
The sun was shining on us as we pulled off the 33 and started chugging up Pine Mtn Rd passed the unlocked gate. Hooray! The road itself didn't seem effected by the recent rain, still bumpy and steep but still sunny and dry. As we climbed higher up the ridge however, we started to notice quite a bit of run-off on the road. Just before The Picnic Area we pulled in to the clouds we saw from below. By the time we reached the Reyes Peak campsites the visibility was down to about 100ft. Cautiously, we continued up the road to Enlightenment Ridge where the road starts to hug the south face of the mountain and we briefly emerged from the edge of the cloud. Aside from the Upper Sespe, we couldn't see much down below us. The whole Santa Clara flood plain was under cloud.
Just past Condor Cracks we were engulfed in cloud once again and this time we started to have some precip. Not a steady rain, just a heavy mist to accompany thick cloud. We saw considerable run-off as we rolled down to the empty Reyes Peak Trailhead. The misty forest was kind of spooky and cool and reminded me of something out of Sleepy Hallow. We turned around at the trailhead and drove through the clouds back up to Picnic.
The Picnic Area was abandoned, save for a large party of hunters in the last campsite. We pulled into our usual spot and walked up the hill to the main area clearing sans the crash-pad, it was obviously much too wet to climb.
We walked around the mountain top like ghosts in the mist, haunting the quite boulders we climbed all summer. We walked down the south side a ways to the edge of the climbing area to take in the view. We could see the tops of Dry Lake Ridge, Nordoff Ridge and the back side of Topa Topa. The islands and the Santa Monicas were under cloud, just like Ventura. Carlo and I took a few more pictures and then hopped in the truck and headed down the hill back to the 33 and Potrero John Boulders.
PJ Boulders is our new winter climbing area, located just down stream from the confluence of Potrero John Creek and The Sespe. Carlo, Max and I stumbled upon this cluster of boulders in the riverbed last fall after a day hike up to PJ Falls. We've done some landscaping and poison oak abatement but the place still needs alot of work.
Currently, there are five climbable boulders in this area featuring maybe half a dozen or so established routes. The boulders are made of river-polished sandstone, and the quality is quite good.
More problems will eventually go up as these boulders get cleaned up. The weather was warm and sunny with just a little breeze, perfect for bouldering.
After a few hours of climbing, we were feeling pumped so we ate and drank a little and then climbed a little more. At 1630 we shook the spot, loaded the Endurance and headed for home. We had to drive the through The Cloud again, and again it got pretty thick. The worst parts were just before the Rose Valley turn-off through to where you descend Dry Lakes Ridge down to Wheelers Gorge. One we came through the bottom of the cloud, visibility improved and we made it down the rest of the highway without a hitch. Home safe and sound.
So, for current conditions onthe Sespe; The gate to Pine Mtn is still open, but still too wet to climb. Maybe in another week. The 33 has been repaved by Cal Trans from the Ortega Trailhead all the way to the Tule Creek Sespe confluence. The Sespe itself is still kind of low, dispite the recent rains. Climb safe and pull hard.
