Quick Camping Trip with the Tinsleys

In August, Gabe and I drove up to Ventura to do a quick, before school starts up, camping trip with the Tinsleys. We decided to camp locally at Lake Casitas just outside of Ojai in the Los Padres National Forest, since we only had two days. The drive up only took about an hour, but it probably felt longer for Gabe who literally had to "hold down the fort" packed in the back of the car!

We set up camp late at night and Robeson joined us around 11pm after his shift at the hospital. The next morning we headed out for hikes in the Sespe Wilderness. We did two really great and different hikes - the first one was up to Piedra Blanca. The Piedra Blanca is an outcropping of white sandstone rock formations that rise high out of the deserty landscape. We hiked a couple of miles in and then climbed up the slippery rocks to see the beautiful views and get a much needed breeze. The summit made a great place for us to have lunch!

The second hike we did was up to waterfall in a more lush and verdant part of the Sespe Wilderness. The trail started out pretty brushy, with typical California oaks and such, but soon turned into a very green and lush beautiful waterfall area. This was a wonderful place for us to climb around on the rocks, drink some fresh mountain water and just cool off. Lots of fun and two great hikes!


When we got back to camp, we noticed that a very clever animal (likely a squirrel) had sneaked into our dining tent, eaten through the bottom of a grocery bag and taken some snacks home with him - bold and clever little rodent, I must admit! Oh well, nothing very important was missing and we put together an awesome dinner of grilled chicken and veggie-kabobs followed by s'mores for dessert. Everything was delicious! The next morning we made breakfast, then packed up and headed home. This was a great trip and a perfect way to end summer vacation.