For my last blog of the year I am going to write about my trip going backpacking in the Los Padres Forest last weekend. 

I went with my dad, sister and her friend backpacking on the Piedra Blanca trail in the Los Padres Forest, inland in the mountains of Ojai. This is the second time we have been there and we went right back to the same spot. A campsite that is a little hidden from the others but has a gorgeous natural pool of water. The hike was tough walking in the direct hot sun for 3 miles and when we arrived the freezing water was perfect to jump into. 

The first time I went to this spot was a year ago in summer with my friend, Caitlin and our dads. I remember the trek being a lot harder than it was this time, maybe because I knew how far we had to travel. But this time we went there and there were a lot more people. Driving up to the trailhead we were scared that our special spot might be taken by another group of backpackers seeing 200 cars parked in the parking lot, but lucky it wasn’t. A lot of people come just to hike the trail for the day or play in the huge, cold refreshing pool along the water. 

Once we got to our site, there were a couple of people sitting around and playing in the water but they quickly left once we started to set up camp. After setting up the tents we changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the water to finally jump in off the rocks. It was so refreshing and relaxing just to lay and listen to the river run. As the sun was setting we wanted to get warm and started to build the campfire. We made asparagus, wild rice, and cooked the swordfish we brought in a pan over the fire. Like my dad says that food cooked in the wild always tastes better. Later that night after the sunset we made hot cocoa, poked sticks into the campfire and played our favorite card games. We finally went to bed to get rest to be prepared for the next day. 

I woke up at 9am and the tent was already really hot with the sun shining directly into my eyes when I climbed out of the tent. I got up to everyone sitting around the firepit, breathing in the fresh morning air. That morning went a little slower than expected but after more hot cocoa and oatmeal we began to pack up camp and make our way back. We hiked for about an hour back to the truck in the midday sun. We finally arrived back to Santa Barbara around 3pm after getting some ice cream when we returned home. 

It was fun writing this blog and I may continue it someday. I hope you enjoyed learning about the little wonders of Santa Barbara even though quarantine!