I can’t always be out in the backcountry camping, and thus found myself driving to Ojai on March 20 with my longtime life partner, Judy Rae, for some easy truck-camping at Wheeler Gorge Campground, just a few miles past Ojai on Highway 33.
She’s a dedicated swimmer (I’m not), and I’m a fanatic backpacker (she isn’t), so some light truck-camping is a sort of compromise, and we promise ourselves walks and creek swimming. The gorge has more than 65 sites sprinkled along gushing Matilija Creek, and a nice nature trail, too.
Our intention soured en route, however — not by the $25 overnight fee charged there, but by the rain report for the first day of spring. The forecast was for possible rain later on Monday (20 percent) and then an 80 percent chance of a downpour on Tuesday.
When it finally rains around here after five drought-stricken years, there is serious bad karma if one whines about it. We accepted our fate, knowing rainfall is good for the area, the plants, the critters, the hills and the wetlands.
Our old 2000 Ford Ranger truck is pretty small, and it has a simple fiberglass shell on it with some foam and bedding.
Our “outfit” was limited, just an ice chest and a two-burner gas stove, and yet we were nimble and could drive places no RVer would want to try.
I had Rose Valley as another potential camping stop, and even Reyes Creek out toward the Lockwood Valley. We don’t want to park near the big RVs, dislike hookups and don’t require such sophisticated stuff as electricity or sewer or fiber-optic lines. “Small (truck) outfit is beautiful” (E.F. Schumacher).
Yet in rain and wind, the tiny Ranger is likewise extremely limited, and after you while away an afternoon reading or playing guitar in the cab (spouse limits that!) during rainfall … what to do?
We mulled this issue over during a pleasant walk around Wheeler Gorge Campground and Visitor Center on Monday while it was dry, then drove back into town on Highway 33 feeling frustrated but still jaunty. Just after passing the Meiners Oaks turnoff, we came near the Nordhoff High School football field (west side of the high school).
Judy spotted an entrance to the Ojai Meadows Preserve, about which neither of us knew anything. We pulled over and checked out the sign, which signals the end of a short hike around this 58-acre jewel preserved near the center of Ojai.
The ecologically minded nature enthusiasts at the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy acquired this damaged wetland in 2001 for $1.35 million and began the arduous process of beginning to restore it to what it once was. Dirt fill and debris from nearby construction projects (most likely including the huge football field and school stadium) had ruined the nature of the wetland.
In the 1950s, a grove of non-native eucalyptus trees was planted, and it seemed like the possibility of native habitat returning on its own was pretty low. The fairly large parcel also was threatened with the possibility of a shopping center and more parking lots — so even in rustic Ojai, some developers hoped to bypass paradise by building more parking lots.
Most of the $1.35 million for the trust to purchase the parcel came from 140 citizens and businesses, who demonstrated their local interest in preserving the meadows’ natural beauty as a wetland.
Wetlands are in great danger all around California, and our UC Santa Barbara preserves wetlands in Carpinteria and at the Devereux slough.
Wetlands, which are between uplands and actual permanent ponds, help regulate climate, store surface water, control flooding and pollution, replenish aquifers, maintain their unique communities of animals and plants, and serve as crucial nursery areas for many species.
While the 0.64-mile guided path isn’t long, we found it so interesting that we made the circuit twice. There are some pleasant benches on which to park yourself, take out your birding binoculars, and simply study the water and what is going on around it.
Among the birds returning, we read about acorn woodpeckers, blue herons, great horned and barn owls, and kestrels, and we saw a great snowy white egret in the nearby photograph.
When the conservancy was restoring this historic wetland, they removed the eucalyptus trees and most of the other non-native plants, replacing them with native live oaks, sycamores and water-loving cottonwood trees. Among the abundant foliage, we detected blooming mule fat (baccharis silicifolia), which means “with leaves like a willow,” but it’s in fact a member of the daisy family.
Even though it was a spring Monday and many schools were out, we still saw children with their parents walking slowly along the path, stooping to check out bugs and other insects, and enjoying the abundant bird life. Among the restrictions for those who want to visit, note that dogs must be on leash, and horses, camping and alcohol are not allowed.
Fifty-eight acres is a significant chunk of land, especially when you walk around it on the paths. There is beauty, and it’s teeming with life, not only avian. Kudos to the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy for acquiring this wrecked slough and over time restoring it to the vibrant wetland we saw on the first day of spring.
I wanted to spot the reclusive long-tailed weasel they say lives there, but not this time.
With our truck full of camping gear but rain threatening, we ran for cover and found it on the way out of town at the classy Blue Iguana Inn, which was way over our typical price range but … our dashed truck-camping hopes led us to the opposite, an almost opulent night in an elegant room.
Any doubts or guilt washed away when steady rain began in the early hours of morning.
I suggest that sometime when passing through Ojai go to Nordhoff High, park next to the football stadium, bring a camera and binoculars, and spend an hour or two in the Ojai Meadows Preserve. Kids and oldsters will love it.
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» Driving directions: Take Highway 101 south to the Ventura River bridge and choose the Highway 33 exit ramp. Drive on until you hit the Y in Ojai. Turn left there toward Nordhoff High School and Maricopa Highway. Opposite the high school, spot the football stadium and swing over there. The Ojai Meadows sign is obvious. Begin hiking on the properly signed path, and they ask that you stay on it.
— Dan McCaslin is the author of Stone Anchors in Antiquity, and has written extensively about the local backcountry. He serves as an archaeological site steward for the U.S. Forest Service in the Los Padres National Forest. He welcomes reader ideas for future Noozhawk columns, and can be reached at cazmania3@gmail.com. Click here to read additional columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
