Los Padres Overnight.

Nice! Great shot of the paw prints!

Some cool pictures. Where in the Los Padres is this? So far, I have only explored the Matilija Wilderness, but I want to get out there more!

Also, was there a reliable water source or did you pack it in?

Los Padres is pretty huge, lot's of different flavors within it.
This trip was entering from the Lockwood Valley side, entering through Frazier Park/Mt. Pinos area.

Right now, much of this side is dry. The drought has hit this forest pretty hard. We packed in all water.

"Great shot of the paw prints!" That must have been one huge bear. I'd love to have seen him/her. From a discrete distance.

There's one we hear every time we camp in a particular spot, grunting and groaning in the morning….though it's never shown itself.

"There's one we hear every time we camp in a particular spot, grunting and groaning in the morning"

Are you sure it's only one? ;0)

Nice report, Craig, despite (or because of) the bears. :)

I just went out in the San Gabriels this past weekend with my happy little camper. There’s definitely a chill in the air. You shouldn’t have to wait long for snow.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving
Hikin’ Jim’s Blog

Craig, if you've never been, definitely check out Ojai Beverage Company. They have a beer tasting with 20, 4oz flights of beer. I recommend sharing it with a friend, its a doozy.

Definitely some nice vibes in these images. The light in some of these is quite evocative. Nice stuff.

Nice except for the bear sign. Not sure I'd sleep tight. How's the water situation in the creeks up there? (Think I'll ask pre-trip too)

Pretty dry up there this time of year. I typically pack for dry camp anytime I go.
Thanks for the tip Brendan.

Interesting, I had no idea there were bears in Los Padres. We don't have any in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and none in the Los Padres area from San Luis Obispo to Monterey. I sort of figured the lower part of Los Padres didn't either. Learn something new every day. ;)

The bears in the southern part of the Los Padres are many but they are also of the type that you only see the backside of, if you see them at all… within the first mile of the trail to Willetts, we found ourselves walking on fresh bear and mountain lion prints that littered the trail, back and forth, back and forth… looked like a bear and a lion had been dancing together or something. And yeah, fresh poop. A little alarming to say the least but we didn't see anything more than that. No food storage rules yet, so we hung our food the best we could (not so many trees out there of any real height) and nothing was bothered.