I asked a friend of a Facebook friend about info on Santa Paula Peak and before you know it we made plans, he invites friends, i invite friends and we have a whole lotta hikers making their way up this great little peak. I have been eyeing SP Peak for years as i drive through Ventura County and two days after calling and obtaining permisson from Mrs. Diamond the property owner where the TH is located, we were driving up Timber Road off Highway 126 between Fillmore and Santa Paula.
Quick intros and we were on our way. The TH is at a dirt road which eventually becomes a trail and soon sharply turned up a beautiful grassy hillside where it traversed slopes sometimes grassy, sometime rocky until it wraps its way around to the north side of a bump just below the peak. Some of us took a short break in the shade before we headed to the summit as the sun was shining down hard and the temps hit 80 degrees.
A short and steep scree slope led us to the summit that was peppered with broken glass and debris from an unknown structure or transmitter that once stood up there. The glass was thick and quite translucent so it didn't seem to be from glass bottles but maybe glass of a more industrial nature?
There was a slight breeze up there and that cooled us as we enjoyed a lunch break and took in the view of the Los Padres National Forest, the cities of Fillmore, Santa Paula and Ojai. We even saw snow-capped Mount San Antonio from the peak.
Descending, the wildflowers were open and i stopped for pictures along the way. My thanks to Terry Morse a member of this board for graciously leading us up this peak. Total stats: 3,600 feet gain in 11 miles.
Our objective at elevation 4,957 feet
With permission it's OK
Some retired, some unemployed, some just darn lucky to be hiking on a weekday
Wacky Looking flowers. It's either Clematis lasiantha or Clematis ligusticifolia.
rest of my pix are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.norma8 ... laPeak5410#
