I drive down the dirt road looking for an intersection. The dust was thick, as my open-air vehicle breathes in every particle of pollen & charcoal. Forest Rd# 7N03 Los Padres National Forest - Mutau Road, also known as Grade Valley, Thorn Meadows, Half Moon Campground & Mutau Flats Road, has changed a lot in the past year. No more greenery. No birds, no campers. Very quiet.
This is where the Labor Day wildfire jumped Lockwood Valley late October 2006. As I approach the eerie burnt landscape with caution, chunks of rock have given way to gravity, with pieces of the road lying in the charred canyon below, I drive slowly. A great place to get some fire wood I think to myself.
As I pull over, the skies are clear blue with warm afternoon sunshine. Everything around me is a burnt. Black & the smell of charcoal fills the air. Right here at the Yellow-jacket Trail, I stop to exit my SUV. The last time I arrived at this spot it was almost 9PM, dark, I was alone & meeting 2 stranded wheelers who hiked out. I am looking for a watch &/or a nice pair of work gloves - that we lost out here that late night in July, under a full moon. Going wheeling at night is sometimes more of a challenging than you're up for, but you do it anyway. Just for the adventure of it.
If you take this main road clear out to the end, past the creek crossings & Halfmoon Campground, you'll come to a parking lot for the Sespe Hot Springs trail head. Total Escape Adventures hiked this back in 2001. It's a whopping 17 miles RT & we came back after dark w/ flashlights. We've even got the pictures to prove it on Flickr.
