Although I’ve often camped overnight at spacious Figueroa Campground on the sloping side of the imposing 4,500-foot Figueroa Mountain, this landscape had always failed to grab my attention or appreciation.
At one time, horrendous windstorms had toppled hundreds of the gray pine and other trees, rendering this south-facing mountainside a sort of jungle and the dirt road impassable.
But a late November 2021 stay altered this shallow thinking as the mixed oaks, hard chaparral (e.g. giant manzanita), and gray pine groves overwhelmed the mind with beauty and ideas.
Over the years since the windstorms, the U.S. Forest Service has cleared off the road obstructions. It also helped that a few weeks ago, Soxtonocmu (Figueroa Mountain) received several inches of precipitation.
By 7 a.m., we had chosen car camping site #23 on the southeastern end of the long looping camp road, and I stuffed the envelope with $20 directly into the slot on the deposit pole. The pay-pole is right at the entrance next to the gracious camp host’s white trailer. Most sites remained unoccupied.
We were three hikers out on two separate day-hikes.
I chose an easier six-mile roundtrip slog doubling back on Figueroa Mountain Road and then ascending to the very top (Summit, also called Figueroa Lookout), whilst my two friends undertook a more demanding deep drop down the Davy Brown Trail through Fir Canyon ending near (but not into!) Davy Brown Campground.
Their return hike becomes a relentless uphill march I chose to avoid.
The enchanting drive in from Los Olivos passes by historic Midland School, and then bends sharply uphill at the bridge over Alamo Pintado Creek. The ascending sections head steeply upward and present navigational challenges (one lane really).
Inspiring views back toward the Santa Ynez Valley and Pacific Ocean create gripping vistas that assault your eyes the whole trek. You admire massive Grass Mountain, while Zaca Peak conceals the natural lake as well as the rounded apex of Figueroa itself.
As a non-driver, I could look all around as we motored up, past the Catway Road and barred spur road to the Pino Alto.
Taller coulter pines and other conifers tower above the main arboreal vegetation, the lower valley oaks and coastal live oaks.
We rushed in on Nov. 21, and after setting up our tiny backpacking tents and kitting up, we set off on our separate paths.
They drove away east for about one mile to the Davy Brown Trail sign (trailhead), and despite the additional Forest Service sign “Sunset Valley Road CLOSED BELOW”, the glorious trail is open until just before Davy Brown Camp (on Sunset Valley Road).
Readers should note that Davy Brown Campground itself is closed until at least March because of significant bridge work under construction there and at Nira.
My solo excursion led off right from 3,500-foot campsite #23 — I strode west along Figueroa Mountain Road itself. Road hiking like this does not deter me since I knew there wouldn’t be automobiles at 7:30 a.m.!
After about a half-mile of joyous walking, tuning up the metabolism, I turned uphill on the barred Pino Alto spur road. The steep dirt road leads to the Figueroa Summit on the Soini sketch map, and the Lookout on the sign.
The bar is there only to prevent cars and trucks, and I’ve seen many folks mountain bike, jog, and hike the 2.5 miles to the summit on the Pino Alto spur road.
Fairly early on a crisp late November morning, my skin bathed in cool temperatures and random patches of deep shade provided by tall and bushy trees. Lower down, the arboreal mix showed about 90% hard chaparral plants such as scrub oak and the hardy manzanita clustered near thickly-scattered valley oaks.
Halfway up the winding dirt road, gray pine and other conifers visibly increased in number and density, and more conifers hold sway here including coulter pine, with the oaks hanging on easily.
By the time I reached the scenic 4,500-foot “Figueroa Lookout” area proper, the noble conifers prevailed almost completely with their fragrant terpenes and gracious branches.
Almost all the chaparral has disappeared, and Coulter pines predominate, yet some ladder story and some oaks still cling to the dry hillsides.
The views from the Figueroa Lookout — call it Summit or apex — swing around almost 240º and I could see the Pacific Ocean, Grass Mountain, Zaca Peak and more evocative scenes.
Moving to the northern “backcountry” side, I studied the spectacular Sierra Madre Range in awe, and drank in the tan-colored long bar of the famous Hurricane Deck formation.
Peering at the Hurricane Deck shown in the lead photograph, you realize most of the arid landscape lies within the remote San Rafael Wilderness.
There is no water on the ‘Deck, and occasionally hikers have perished out there when stranded without assistance (e.g. in 2007). Further reflection helps one to understand why neither the indigenous people nor the Anglo and Mexican settlers ever lived out there full-time.
(Occasional temporary “living sites” do not mean year-round villages.)
Similar in ways to Australia’s Uluru site (aka Ayers’ Rock), the ‘Deck sports sacred areas with sentient boulders, dry cliffs and trackless wastes, a few sacred springs on the approaches, and legends of hidden rock art.
Who can blame Anglo forebears like Dick Smith, Campbell Grant, Ray Ford, Al Heimlich, Dennis Gagnon, guru Franko Hudson and many others for falling under the Hurricane Deck’s weird spell? The stone age Indigenous People revered Hurricane Deck and they performed certain rituals on it and near it.
After a pleasant lunch at the Figueroa Lookout, I meandered back down 2.5 miles to Figueroa Mountain Road, and then another half-mile to the Camp and my shady site #23. By 11:30 a.m., the heat had risen remarkably for late fall, so a 4-hour morning hike made it an ideal workout.
This hike was only a bit shorter than my friends’ trek all the way down the Davy Brown Trail, but they faced a savage uphill return hike whereas I sailed down from the apex on my return: In Taoist terms, they chose the shady side of the hill (yin) and I opted for the sunny slope (yang).
While there was no one on the ascending yin path to the top of Figueroa, on the easy return stroll I met several groups coming up in the increasing heat.
This hike to the Pino Alto attracts young hikers, too, assuming leaders bring water, snacks, and a good attitude. The distant views of the ocean, Santa Ynez Valley, Grass Mountain, Sierra Madre Range and myth-inspiring Hurricane Deck elicit awe and wonder for all!
4.1.1. Directions — Figueroa Mountain and the Figueroa Mountain Recreation area lie 30 minutes north of Los Olivos, and can be reached on the Figueroa Mountain Road coming from Los Olivos: at Los Olivos, take Figueroa Mountain Road 12.5 miles northeast to the well-signed campground. While you can take the 154, it’s much safer to take Highway 101 north past Gaviota and exit at the Highway 154 sign.
— Dan McCaslin is the author of Stone Anchors in Antiquity and has written extensively about the local backcountry. His latest book, Autobiography in the Anthropocene, is available at Lulu.com. He serves as an archaeological site steward for the U.S. Forest Service in Los Padres National Forest. He welcomes reader ideas for future Noozhawk columns, and can be reached at cazmania3@gmail.com. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
