The loud, rolling warble that penetrated the San Rafael Mountains halted the six of us while backpacking the Lost Valley Trail in the Los Padres National Forest. As impressive as that sonic boom was while absorbed by the steep sandstone crags and smothering chaparral, it was soon forgotten just minutes later by a lone California condor soaring directly over us while we traversed the serpentine spine of Hurricane Deck.
Backpacking the Santa Barbara backcountry isn’t just an escape. It’s a trek toward the unexpected, where natural wonders potentially lurk around every bend in the trail, every manzanita, river crossing, or sweeping potrero. That solitary condor made several passes over us, but in a sudden instance, North America’s largest flying landbird vanished above lofty ridgetops and a puff of cumulous nimbus.
Six of us — Forrest, Solomon, Zack, Alex, Sean, and I — a merry band of beach lifeguards from Carpinteria and kayak guides at the Channel Islands National Park, hatched a plan for a winter backcountry trek beginning along Highway 154, and finishing in the sweeping grasslands of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. For a seven-day ramble, the distance wasn’t far, about 70 miles across three mountain ranges and two rivers, with plenty of bushwhacking in between.
