It's rare we get to jam in 2 bike camping trips in a year so an even rarer treat when we get 3. This one came fresh on the heels of the Marin Headlands ride and was essentially a re-do of the last Santa Ynez ride we attempted in May of '24. In that trip, we had no idea if Lower Camuesa Rd would continue with mild issue or impassible ruts. Doing the full Santa Ynez traverse was something Paco was dying to be able to say he'd done so he'd been scouting some of that area on day rides in the time between and confirmed it was not only doable but probably less of a problem than the route we thought was the "safe" bet.
This time we brought Steve along and started from Paco's house, quick pop over for bagels and coffee, then via bus up to the foot of where the 33 starts entering the Los Padres NF.
I'm re-pulling these stats from Strava. My house had a fire in January and I'm not sure if my GPS survived so I can't go pull them directly.
| 🚲 Distance | 67 miles |
| ⛰️ Elevation gain | 7,882 feet |
| 🕒 Duration | 3 days |
Prepping at Paco's and waiting for him to finish making some business moves for his farm.
The ride proper started in Ojai and up the 33 to the turnoff for the forest road heading hugging Matilija creek to the trailhead. Encouraged by the level of water in Matilija creek at the crossing, meant the Santa Ynez river was probably going to have plenty of water at camp.
The long, long, so slow climb up the Murietta divide.
Steaks at the Upper Santa Ynez campsite ought to be a life goal in general.
Day 2, skipping Mono campground for Lower Santa Ynez that either was entirely overgrown with absolutely no nearby water or else we simply couldn't find the 'actual' site. Paco took off down the road to scout for water and I moved all our stuff onto a flat spot off the road and set up for dinner.
Day 3 was easy to get out of the valley and onto the pavement heading for Cold Springs Tavern. Beer recharge and down the long descent into Santa Barbara for dinner and train back to Ventura.