Sulphur Mountain Road
From Arnaz

 

We have been very anxious and leery to hike Sulphur Mountain Road since we had heard about marauding wild pigs, but after conferring with a ranger at the Ojai Ranger Station we decided to give it a chance. The morning was bitterly cold and when I set out to defrost the car it was 29 degrees.

 

Bundled up in 3+ layers of Smartwool, gloves and warm hats we hiked up Sulphur Mountain Road to greet the dawn and hoping for a sighting of the scheduled missile launch from Vandenburg.  Time came and went for the launch with no telltale signs so we assumed it had been scrubbed. The morning was crystal clear and glorious - perfect hiking weather.

 

The dawn greeted us with a vibrant pink moment of our stalwart mountains.  Hiking up the road we notice that the burn was fast and not furious through here, mostly the undergrowth burned and the trees, although scorched, look vital!  We weren't hiking through blacken remains.

 

We are grateful for anything green: grasses, shrubs, trees it's all good.  Compared to Wills Canyon and Kennedy Ridge this area is a
blessing and we rally and rejoice at the life here.  Check out the size of these oak leaves.  

 

 

 

We are making really good time this morning, probably because it is so cold,  and before we know it we are past the 3 mile marker.  Looking out to the ocean we can see the Channel Islands in the distance, the view is spectacular.

 

 

Hiking past the 3 mile marker we can see the Ojai Valley and the Topa Topa mountains and you can plainly see the stark demarcations where the fire burned all around our town.  It is a sobering view.  Oak trees tower over us on one side of the road their roots an intriguing collage in the rocks.

 

 

Sulphur Mountain Road was a rewarding hike.  Next time we will make it to the top.

 

Hiking with Renewal,

 

Beth & Laura

Bodee & Luci