A long story made short, we completed the 75 mile ride around the perimeter of the San Rafael Wilderness and along one edge of the Dick Smith Wilderness in 10 hours and 10 minutes. The highlight of the trip, besides for finishing, was seeing two condors at close range. They were HUGE! Hopefully the pictures we took will do them justice.
We saw a total of four people. Lots of day hikers and day bikers will access the Los Padres National Forest from the Santa Barbara side, but the lack of reliable water and high temperatures (in the summer), keep most people within ten miles of their cars.
There was still snow in isolated locations above 6000 feet. My toes were frozen until about 12:00. This trip was a great example of how wild the weather can be in the mountains. We were ready for most any condition, but would have preferred if it were a tad bit warmer. There were great vistas, once the clouds lifted a bit. In the middle of the ride, everywhere one looked was part of the National Forest, as far as the eye could see. The wild flowers we had hoped to see were not in all that great of shape. There were also some fabulous rock formations. In one grassland section the rolling rocks look remarkably like whales surfacing on the ocean.
About midway through the trip when we're telling ourselves that we are almost done, the guide book summarized :"The Corridor" section between the Dick Smith and San Rafael Wildernesses in about one line. That apparently insignificant region to the book's author took us several hours to complete and was a the true test of our conviction to finish this ride. We promised to send the book's author a word or two.
"Surely, that peak over there is the last one we have to climb."
Wrong. We climbed more in that "one line section" than in most of the rest of the ride. But to finish off the ride we had a ten mile screaming descent to Upper Oso where our 4x4 was waiting for us as planned. With little energy and even less remaining water, we rolled into the campground with smiles across our faces and the sun setting before us.
I should mention that we had attempted this ride late last year. It was our intention to complete it in three days like normal human beings, however, the fact that our only water supply, pure the month before, was now contaminated with several dead rats, made us turn back. Hence, we decided to do it all in one day without the extra camping gear to slow us down.
If anyone is looking to do some riding in this area, I would recommend going up there now before it gets too hot and bring as much water as you can carry (a camelback and extra bottles). I have some maps of the region which will also point you in the right direction. Whether or not cellular phones work out there is a good question. The one we brought acted funny and I'm not sure of the reason why. Plan on being able to rescue yourself if something goes wrong.
Paul Brennan