Songs of the Wilderness

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The Condor Trail is a 421-mile thru-hike route that traverses the southern and northern portions of the Los Padres National Forest. The route utilizes existing trails and roads, and showcases some of the best trails within our local backcountry.

The trail can be hiked in sections or as one continuous route. Many of the sections in our local area can be explored as part of a 2-3 day backpacking trip or even a day hike, and most are within two hours of Santa Barbara.

The route includes such places as Sespe Creek and Sisquoc River. Along the trail one can find waterfalls, mountain peaks, quiet potreros, hot springs, Chumash village sites, and old homesteads left by pioneers.

On Wednesday, October 30th, 7PM, the Condor Trail Association is sponsoring a FREE slideshow presentation with Q&A at the Karpeles Manuscript Library, 21. W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbra, CA 93101.

Join local author James Wapotich, as he shares images and stories from his hikes and backpacking trips along the 185-mile section of the trail that passes through Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Starting from Lake Piru in the south, Condor Trail passes through the Sespe, Dick Smith, and San Rafael Wildernesses on its way to San Luis Obispo County.

The event is a great opportunity to learn more about our local backcountry and its trails, as well as learn more about the Condor Trail itself.

James is an experienced backpacker and has hiked many of the trails in our local backcountry, he is a Volunteer Wilderness Ranger with the Forest Service and is the author of the Santa Barbara News-Press hiking column, Trail Quest.

For more info call (805) 564-6946 or email me at jwapotich@yahoo.com.

Just Added: I will also be giving this same talk in Santa Maria, Saturday, October 26th. The event is being hosted by Santa Maria Valley Open Space and is part of their Fall Dinner Social. The event is open to the public, tickets are $15 per person and includes dinner, and will be from 5-8PM. For more information go to www.smvos.org.

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