Mother Nature often tricks us by luring us into her sweet and cloying embrace — then by swiftly changing her raiment she chokes the spirit and torques the body.

In early October, I set off for Piedra Blanca Creek in the Sespe Wilderness to escape urban congestion and the hum of the ever-moaning Highway 101.

Here was a chance to ford the legendary Sespe River and behold the vaunted and haunted ivory boulders of las piedras blancas formation.

I managed to scramble up into the Sespe Wilderness via Ojai and the Piedra Blanca Trailhead in Rose Valley for some cultural resource protection work (PIP) and was again blown away by the pristine beauty of the remote landscape.

Since Caltrans has finally reopened Highway 33 at least as far as Rose Valley, any of us can now forge into this beguiling region.

Located in the eastern Topatopa Mountains, the 220,000-acre Sespe supports a wild variety of habitats from riparian watercourses such as Piedra Blanca Creek (see photo) to grassy potreros beneath oak trees to much higher alpine crests such as 7,500-foot Reyes Peak and Pine Mountain.

During the last few years, I’ve found Piedra Blanca Creek a fairly easy approach, and it’s quite suitable for young children at least as far as glorious Twin Forks Camp (elevation 3,600 feet) where I overnighted with my 5-year-old son several decades back.

After driving to the Piedra Blanca Trailhead in Rose Valley (4.1.1.), we made sure our hiking gear was in order — hiking sticks, sturdy boots we knew would get soaked crossing the Sespe, a day pack with water and safety items, sandwiches, a wide-brim hat, a long-sleeved shirt and indomitable spirits.

Fording the Sespe River itself can be a mighty adventure, and after December rains expect to have water up to your knees while crossing.

The photograph shows a place just downstream from the Sespe Trail after crossing near the trailhead that seems placid, but other sections run faster and I appreciated having two hiking poles. Knowing about the water, I also had a pair of old tennis shoes to put on for the Sespe crossing and then changed back into the boots on the other side — not fancying a seven-mile hike in wet boots!

After lacing my dry boots on again, we strode uphill and headed left at the first trail sign and after a few hundred more yards saw the second sign for entering the Gene Marshall/Piedra Blanca Trail (22W03).

Here, we traversed the eerie white sedimentary rocks and boulders zone — animistic, mysterious, obviously a place that indigenous peoples would mark as significant and full of the ancestors’ spirits. There is evidence of cupules and rock art in the area, including the unfortunately well-known “serpent cave.”

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely commented, “Man ought to live in an original relation to the universe” and refuse “to be a god in ruins” or a “dwarf unto himself.”

I take this to mean that each of us has to find the ignition to spring up from the couch, forget comfy home habits and hit the trail. We had begun driving to Ojai and Rose Valley starting at 5:30 a.m. from Santa Barbara!

More sinuous white beings we term “white sandstone boulders” appeared as we hiked happily onward, and we kept our eyes on the trail, which can be sketchy out on the boulders.

Once through the white boulders section, we hiked placidly on the well-trod path with gurgling Piedra Blanca Creek usually on our right, the melodious sounds mixing with birdsong and a light breeze.

After about 2.5 miles, we reached spacious Piedra Blanca Camp, mainly a horse camp that is frequently used by the Boy Scouts and various school groups. This isn’t my favorite camping site, so we moved on quickly to the more alluring Twin Forks Camp.

Twin Forks Camp is exceedingly rustic with just the grill seen in the photo and two tent spots.

This is where the Piedra Blanca Trail begins to ascend fiercely for another 3 miles to Pine Mountain Lodge Camp. On this additional trek, you will climb another 2,400 feet to achieve 6,000 feet, and in the winter we’ve often encountered snow at the lodge.

It was far too challenging on this occasion!

Overnight backpacking to Piedra Blanca Camp or Twin Forks can be quite gnarly in the winter, so I advise day-hiking and having a change of foot gear for fording the gushing Sespe River. 

We found an almost 7-mile round-trip stimulating enough, and on the return portion the back of the white sandstone formations also presented us with spectacular visions.

While returning over the very last bit of the trail, we again crossed the extremely wide rocky “wash” near the trailhead. Somewhat tired and inattentive, Mr. C and I became a bit disoriented and wandered around on the dry white rocks for about 30 long minutes.

Although never “lost,” I became irritated with myself and then finally relocated the last 200 yards of the main trail leading up into the Piedra Blanca Trailhead. The lesson here is never to fully relax until you are at the car.

Lauren Groff contends that it’s “a moral failure to miss the profound beauty of the world,” as I’ve quoted her previously from her novel “A Vaster Wild.” Given that we have wilderness gems like Piedra Blanca Trail and backcountry camps not far from our homes — set up your gear, strengthen the spirit, bring the children, go out there and then return recharged, invigorated, even blessed by the backcountry spirits!

4.1.1

• Map and driving directions: Tom Harrison’s “Sespe Wilderness Trail Map” covers this hike. Drive Highway 101 south to Ventura. Take Highway 33 to Ojai; continue along Maricopa Highway (Highway 33) to the Rose Valley turnoff and drive to the end where it meets the large Piedra Blanca Trailhead parking lot. Highway 33 still has three sets of traffic signals between Ojai and the Rose Valley turnoff, and there will be some waiting in either direction.

• We had U.S. Forest Service permits in order to get there on the closed Highway 33 in October.

• Thanks to Alasdair Coyne of Keep the Sespe Wild for the third photo.