Three decades ago, guru Franko Hudson and I tried out the picturesque Sunset Valley Trail (29W04) after being denied a longer hike along the Davy Brown Trail in nearby Fir Canyon.

After our recent November rainfall, I tried these related hikes in the reverse sequence and intended to squeeze in a pair of shorter hikes before the likely December precipitation.

The deeper backcountry northeast of Santa Barbara centers on the idyllic San Rafael Wilderness, and even while driving in, wild Pete and I marveled at the views.

We passed this magnificent ophiolite complex that locals deem “Goat Rock” on the way to Davy Brown Camp. Ranger Peak is visible in the distance.

As we drove along Sunset Valley Road and neared Davy Brown Camp where the trail into adjacent Fir Canyon begins, we delighted in the magnificent way the burned-over hillsides had rebounded from the 2024 (Zaca) Lake Fire.

This conflagration had consumed about 40,000 acres of mostly chaparral. Charred and singed steep hillsides had already greened up with winter grass and presented verdant slopes when compared to my similar 2024 photos shown here.

Since these arid landscapes flourish in chaparral’s well-adapted fire ecology, wild Pete and I began to wonder how Fir Canyon had fared under the flames of the same Lake Fire.

After parking in a no-fee spot just beside Davy Brown Camp, we walked downhill with the flowing stream, past the green cow gate (open) and followed slippery Davy Brown Trail up into the chasm of fabled Fir Canyon.

Wild Pete immediately noted traces of ice on the new grasses, hidden but treacherous for hikers without poles and heavy boots.

In another tricky spot, Pete headed down into the stream where the trail has crumbled away and there is a large overhang on the right. Because I was following him, it became clear how muddy and rocky it was in the streambed, “down-and-in” as we happily chortled.

Rather than risk a fall crawling under the overhang, I chose to skirt it but then slid farther into the water, which was not over 3 feet deep.

What to do? I quickly flipped over onto my front side, and clumsily chugged on hands and knees back up the short slope to where the trail proper resumed. It was difficult.

After about a half-mile of that, we could see how the Lake Fire had wrought its fiery will upon the steep slot canyon.

Most of the conifers were dead, and forest workers (Los Padres Forest Association) had cut some down and thrown the charred trunks into the burgeoning brush. Several of the oaks and sycamores had already rebounded.

We turned back, knowing that the path would become more and more rigorous as it ascended as well as more and more cluttered with fire debris. The scorched underbrush of chaparral and woodland flora had already begun to recover, and the steep canyon bewitched us with its green and wet beauty.

However, at this time in the rainy season, I recommend against hikes into Fir Canyon until well after the last winter rainstorms (March or April). Late December precipitation makes any hikes there even more improbable.

We quickly drove back up Sunset Valley Road to the visible iron sign indicating the Sunset Valley Trail, which supposedly leads three miles back down to good old Davy Brown Camp.

My original backcountry teacher, guru Franko, and I once tried this trail and enjoyed trekking down — until we got out into a large potrero thick with oaks, heavy chaparral and tangled arroyo willow.

Arroyo willow stands can offer intriguing opportunities for hikers to figure out ways through the wretched thickets, but here the trail itself seemed to disappear entirely, or it is just as likely that we lost the path through inattention or reverie.

At one time, there was a U.S. Forest Service camp here called Sunset Valley Camp, replete with conifers, oak woodland and a firepit — with easy access on down to Davy Brown Camp.

When wild Pete and I set out on this trail decades later, we noticed the Forest Service’s excellent interpretive signs at the trailhead.

This whole area was originally homesteaded by Anthony Munch, after whom nearby Munch Canyon was named and whose moniker is on several interweaving trails here on the flank of Figueroa Mountain.

The Sunset Valley Trail was heavily burned in the 2024 Lake Fire, which meant rugged going for the two of us, so we also bagged this trek even before reaching the official Munch Canyon Trail (which is on the way to Davy Brown).

This area remains remote and seldom visited. I saw one camper at Davy Brown Camp, which has seven car spots and sits beside the picturesque and perennial Davy Brown Creek.

We were both decked out for a riparian canyon checkout (Fir Canyon) as well as the Sunset Valley Trail, which starts out much higher and then drops through the burned-over canyon.

I wore heavy boots, long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, a hat, gloves, and a fanny pack stuffed with useful items (e.g. compass and medical kit).

I expected dark Fir Canyon to be pretty wet (it was), and I was prepared for the slippage with wool socks and thus did not mind going into the water.

In truth, I enjoyed the controlled slide into the stream since I knew I would be able to crawl out, and, indeed, I did have to scramble up and out. Since the temperature was around 32 degrees, it was pretty cool.

My cellphone would not work in this narrow canyon, but having an experienced fellow hiker brings peace of mind and potential assistance.

Both of those aborted treks happened on the far side of huge Figueroa Mountain — Soxtonocmu to the indigenous Chumash — an area I highly recommend for hiking and exploration.

While driving out, the skyline of San Rafael Peak beckoned us to return.

4.1.1.

Check the U.S. Forest Service alerts website here for road closures before setting out.

Driving directions to Davy Brown Camp and Sunset Valley Trailhead: Highway 154 to Armour Ranch Road at the Santa Ynez River bridge. Turn right. In about two miles, turn right again on Happy Canyon Road, which becomes Sunset Valley Road at the signed Cachuma Saddle, and drive to signed Davy Brown Camp. It’s about 47 miles; 90 minutes one way. Note the Forest Service improvements to the dirt road, as seen in the photo below.