Songs of the Wilderness

During the late 1800s, a group of settlers made their way east from Santa Maria along the Santa Maria River in search of land that they could claim as their own. With much of the best land in the Santa Maria Valley either already homesteaded or part of former Mexican land grants, they pushed up river, past the Rancho Sisquoc land grant, and settled along the Sisquoc River and its tributaries in the Santa Barbara backcountry.

Life along the river was not easy. The settlers formed a close-knit community and relied on one another. Roughly 25-30 families lived along the river and its tributaries before the homesteading period in the area came to a close in the early 1900s.

Of the families living there, some stayed less than a year before moving on, while others remained until the end. Those who were cut out for homesteading typically proved up on their homestead claim by fulfilling the five-year residency requirement, and made their living raising cattle and farming the land.

A plow and chimney are seen at the Adolph Willmann homestead site

One of the more successful homesteaders in the group was Adolph WIllmann. Born in Germany in 1854, Willmann immigrated to the United States and become a naturalized citizen in 1873.

Willmann made his way west and in 1896, joined the community of settlers living along Sisquoc River. Willmann homesteaded near the mouth of what is now called Wellman Canyon, a corruption of the name Willmann.

Willmann lived there with his wife, Louise Kleine, and their son, Henry Leo. Willmann ran cattle and the couple also raised turkeys. In addition to a having a garden and an apricot orchard, Willman also had a vineyard and made wine.

The Willmanns were active in the community of settlers along the Sisquoc River and its tributaries. He served on the board of Trustees for Manzana School District when the community petitioned the county to build a school there.

Louise Kleine Willmann’s younger sister, Bertha Kleine, was the last school teacher at Manzana Schoolhouse. Bertha Kleine was married to Joe Libeu, whose brother had a homestead at Zaca Lake.

When the school closed in 1902, with an enrollment of just one student, Henry Leo Willmann, the Willmanns decided to move to Santa Maria so their son could attend high school there.

Adolph Willmann died in 1908, and is buried in Nipomo. The home they built along Sisquoc River later burned down during a forest fire in the 1920s.

Today, what remains from the homestead is the chimney and nearby root cellar. Out in the field, by the homestead site, one can find what’s left of the well, a fair amount of corrugated metal, and some rusting farm equipment.

Map courtesy Maps.com

The Willmann site is best reached as part of a backpacking trip. From the trailhead near Nira Campground, it’s about 14.5 miles to the homestead site. There are a number of trail camps along the way; however both Manzana Creek and Sisquoc River flow intermittently through the summer, and so it’s best to check with the forest service regarding current conditions.

The route follows Manzana and Sisquoc River Trails. The trailhead is reached from Santa Barbara by way of State Route 154 and Happy Canyon Road. The Manzana trailhead is just before Nira Campground, where the road ends.

From the trailhead, Manzana Trail follows Manzana Creek downstream to Manzana Schoolhouse Camp, where it meets Sisquoc River Trail. From Manzana Schoolhouse, continue upriver along Sisquoc River Trail. The trail follows the Sisquoc River through the San Rafael Wilderness and, in places, travels along the old road cut used by the early homesteaders.

The trail leads past Water Canyon and Lorna Camps before arriving at Mormon Camp. About a quarter mile past Mormon Camp, the trail arrives at the Willmann homestead. The homestead site is on the north side of the river in a small side canyon.

Continuing upriver from the Willmann site, the trail crosses the river several times before veering north, away from the river. Here, about a mile past the Willmann site, the road cut branches. The more overgrown road cut to the left leads up to Wellman Mesa, where Adolph Willmann used to grow grain. To the right, the more traveled route follows the other road cut, which leads back down to the river.

The remains of the Herman Willmann homestead

Just as the trail starts to level out along the river, look for a pile of stones across the river, on the south side. This is the remains of Herman Willmann’s homestead, Adolph Willmann’s younger brother.

Herman Willmann began building his house there out of river stone. However, he died of tuberculosis before he could complete it. Herman Willmann is buried on the low mesa just east of his brother’s homestead. The grave is under an oak tree and marked with a rectangle of stones.

Wellman Mesa, which is located just west of the Herman Willmann homestead site, is near where the 1966 Wellman Fire started.

On June 11, 1966, four airmen from Vandenberg Air Force Base flying over the area on a sightseeing tour attempted to land on the mesa.

While approaching the large, and mostly level mesa the pilot misread the prevailing wind conditions and touched down with too much speed to safely land before reaching the end of the mesa. Realizing his error, the pilot attempted to take back off. However, during the takeoff attempt, the tail wheel hit a bush causing the plane to tip and turn. The plane then crashed into a juniper. The collision tore off one of the wings and sent the plane over the edge of the mesa, where it crashed in the riverbed below.

On impact, the plane split open. The two men in the back half of the plane, both with broken legs, were able to crawl clear of the wreckage before a ruptured wing tank burst into flames. The pilot and other passenger, who were trapped in the wreckage, died in the fire. The two survivors, who spent the night avoiding the fire as it spread, were airlifted out the next day when two forest service fire fighters arrived to investigate the reported plume of smoke.

The fire, which was first spotted from Figueroa Mountain Lookout, burned through an area that hadn’t been burned since the 1920s. From Wellman Mesa, the fire burned north to the top of the Sierra Madres Mountains. To the west, it burned to Horse Gulch Canyon; and to the east, it burned past Sycamore Camp. The fire posed the greatest potential threat to the south. It burned up and over Hurricane Deck, continued to the top of the San Rafael Mountains, and down into the Santa Cruz Creek drainage before it was contained.

The fire burned for 12 days before a shift in the weather brought cooler temperatures that aided in containing the fire. The fire burned 92,000 acres and was similar in scope to the 2009 La Brea Fire, which burned close to 90,000 acres and took about two weeks to contain. In comparison, the 2007 Zaca Fire burned more than 240,000 acres and took almost two months to fully contain.

All three fires burned through parts of what is now San Rafael Wilderness. And it’s interesting to note that the area along Sisquoc River burned by the Wellman Fire lies between the burn areas of the La Brea and Zaca Fires and was spared during those fires.

Past Wellman Mesa and the Willmann homesteads, the road used by the early settlers continued upriver to the last homestead site along the river, that of Edward Montgomery, where the road ended.

This article originally appeared in section A of July 27th, 2015 edition of Santa Barbara News-Press. The next, and last, article in the series covers the Miller, Abels, and Montgomery homesteads.

This is the fifth in a series of articles on the homesteads along Manzana Creek and Sisquoc River. This one covers the homesteads between Manzana Schoolhouse and Water Canyon Camp, including Roberts, Spitler, Forrester, and Twitchell, as well as the Sisquoc Guard Station. Article appears in section A of today’s edition of Santa Barbara News-Press. The next article will cover the Willmann homesteads.

A dry Sisquoc River is seen from Roberts Flat

Map courtesy Maps.com

Older articles can be seen by scrolling down or using the search feature in the upper right corner. Articles from the News-Press appear here a couple months after they appear in the News-Press.

Scenery along Sisquoc River Trail

Downstream from Manzana Schoolhouse, along Sisquoc River, are several homestead sites that date back to the late 1800s. The sites are from a time when settlers made their way east from Santa Maria to homestead federal land in the backcountry that was available through the Homestead Act of 1862.

At one time there were as many as 200 people living along the Sisquoc River and its tributaries. At the core of their community was a group of about a dozen families interrelated through marriage. The settlers built cabins and cultivated land to prove up on their claims, and many also raised cattle to make a living.

The homesteading period along the Sisquoc River and its tributaries was short-lived. Several factors combined that eventually caused most of these settlers to move out of the area. Changes in forest service policy curtailed the homesteaders practice of burning off chaparral in the fall to create grazing land. The 1890s marked the beginning of an extended period of drought. And in 1899, Sisquoc Ranch began to lock the gates on the wagon road that passed through its property. The road had served as the main route for the settlers to reach Santa Maria where they could sell their goods and purchase supplies.

Forrester homestead site

Today, little remains of these homestead sites, but it is still possible to locate them, and in some case view remnants of the structures.

The sites below Manzana Schoolhouse can be reached by hiking downstream along Sisquoc River Trail. There are several routes that lead to Manzana Schoolhouse, the most commonly used is Manzana Trail.

The trailhead is reached from State Route 154 by way of Happy Canyon Road, and is located just before Nira Campground, where the road ends.

From the trailhead it is about 8.5 miles to Manzana Schoolhouse, and so the homestead sites are best visited as part of a backpacking trip. The campground at Manzana Schoolhouse has six campsites, each with a picnic table and metal fire ring. However, because of the drought both Manzana Creek and Sisquoc River are dry at the camp.

From Manzana Schoolhouse, Sisquoc River Trail continues downstream along the road used by these early settlers. The unpaved road crosses Sisquoc River and leads up to Wheat Mesa, and continues past the Wells and Wheat homestead sites.

Map courtesy Maps.com

Hiram Preserved Wheat was the patriarch of the community and Hiram Hiley Preserved Wells was one of his grandsons. The road passes the Wells homestead site, which is recognizable by the chimney that is still standing there. The Wheat homestead is located at the western edge of the mesa and is less noticeable as only a low pile of stones from the chimney remain.

Past the Wheat homestead, the road descends down to the river and crosses it. The trail then continues down a dry flood channel before veering to the right, and crossing Sisquoc River again. From here, the road continues along an open flat on the north side of the river. The flat is sometimes referred to as Miller’s Flat. John Miller homesteaded the site, but didn’t prove up on his claim.

At about the 2-mile mark from Manzana Schoolhouse, the road arrives at Horse Gulch Creek. Just past the creek, the road ends at the locked gate for Sisquoc Ranch. Please respect private property. From the National Forest side of the fence one can view the remains of the Forrester homestead, which includes part of the rock wall and foundation, as well as the chimney.

Known as “Whispirin’ Ed” because of his booming voice, Edward Everett Forrester was born in West Virginia in 1860. In 1880, Forrester arrived in Santa Maria, where he worked part-time as a blacksmith. Two years later he married Emily Malinda Wells, Hiram Hiley Preserved Wells’ sister, and in 1883, joined the settlers living along Sisquoc River and Manzana Creek.

Miller’s Flat – Sisquoc River Trail

Forrester homesteaded at the mouth of Horse Gulch Canyon, then known as Brush Creek. He built a redwood sluice that diverted water from Horse Gulch to irrigate his orchard, which included apple, peach, pear and plum trees. He ran cattle, and on the flat terraces along the river had fields of alfalfa and hay.

The Forresters also raised goats and turkeys, and at one time were reported to have 2,500 goats. On their property was a barn and several other buildings.

Forrester had two brothers, Lucien Leonidas and William Merchant, both of who lived upstream along Sisquoc River. Their mother, Cassandra, lived with the Forresters at Horse Gulch, until she passed away in 1895. Her grave is on a small flat on the ridge just east of Horse Gulch.

Forrester added additional parcels to his property until he had a fairly large holding.

When Sisquoc Ranch commissioned a survey in 1899 of the Rancho Sisquoc land grant boundary, it was determined that the Forrester home lay just within the ranch’s property. The survey proved a point of contention between Forrester and the ranch, and later surveys only complicated the matter.

In 1901, Forrester moved to Imperial Valley where his family joined him two years later. The Horse Gulch property reverted to the federal government, and later through land exchanges portions of the property, including the site of the Forrester home, became part of Sisquoc Ranch.

After the Forresters left the area, the home was leased to the Garcia Family. It’s said that two of the Garcia’s sons died of typhoid at the home and are buried near Cassandra Forrester.

Further up Horse Gulch Canyon was the homestead Fred Carver, who sold the property in 1895, to William H. Elliot.

The site was located on an open flat above what is now Sluice Box Camp. It’s said that some of the homesteaders used to sluice for gold from the gravel in the creek bed near the camp. The camp is about four miles upstream from Sisquoc River, on the eastern side of the creek. The trail through the canyon is overgrown and does require some effort to follow.

Downstream from the Forrester homestead were several other homestead sites that are now part of Sisquoc Ranch.

The mesa just west of Horse Gulch was said to have been homesteaded by William K. Hobson. Hobson was related to the Tunnell family through marriage, and was the second husband of Eliza Tunnell. Her brothers, William and George, had homesteads further down river.

Their father Martin Luther Tunnell was a veteran of the Mexican-American War and was one of the early settlers of the Santa Maria Valley. Martin Luther Tunnel and his wife had ten children, and their ranch was located in what is now downtown Santa Maria.

In 1882, William Tunnell homesteaded along the north side of Sisquoc River, just west of the Hobson homestead. William Tunnell built a two-story house made from native pine cut at the Davis sawmill. The floor was made of sycamore, which was tongued and grooved by Dave Spaulding, who operated the mill with the Davises.

When the northern boundary of Sisquoc Ranch was surveyed it was found that most of his property, including the house, lay within the ranch boundary. In 1899, William Tunnel sold his land to Sisquoc Ranch and moved to Santa Maria, where he continued ranching. The house was later used by Sisquoc Ranch as line cabin for its cattle operations.

Downstream from William Tunnell’s homestead was the homestead of his brother, George. His property was also found to be within the ranch boundary, and he too sold his land to Sisquoc Ranch and moved on.

George and his brother Henry jointly owned property in Tepusquet Canyon, and after their father died in 1903, inherited part of the property in Santa Maria.

Upstream from Manzana Schoolhouse along Sisquoc River are a half dozen more homesteads sites in what is now San Rafael Wilderness.

This is the fourth in a series of articles on the homesteads along Manzana Creek and Sisquoc River. Article appears in section A of today’s edition of Santa Barbara News-Press. The next article will cover the homesteads along the Sisquoc between Manzana Schoolhouse and Mormon Camp.

Older articles can be seen by scrolling down or using the search feature in the upper right corner. Articles from the News-Press appear here a couple months after they appear in the News-Press.

This is the third in a series of articles on the homesteads along Manzana Creek and Sisquoc River. This one covers the Wheat and Wells Homesteads found on Wheat Mesa just downstream from Manzana Schoolhouse along the Sisquoc. Article appears in section A of today’s edition of Santa Barbara News-Press. The next article will cover the homesteads in and around Horse Gulch.

A low pile of stones from the chimney at the Wheat homestead

Map courtesy Maps.com

Older articles can be seen by scrolling down or using the search feature in the upper right corner. Articles from the News-Press appear here a couple months after they appear in the News-Press.

A couple weeks ago I hiked along the Manzana and Sisquoc visiting the various homestead sites for a series of articles. This week’s article focuses on the homesteads found along Manzana Creek. Article appears in section A of today’s edition of Santa Barbara News-Press. The next article will cover the history of Manzana Schoolhouse.

Scenery along Manzana Trail

Map courtesy Maps.com

Older articles can be seen by scrolling down or using the search feature in the upper right corner. Articles from the News-Press appear here a couple months after they appear in the News-Press.

Springtime is one of the best times of the year to head out on our local trails. Even with the drought, there is still water in many of the creeks; the wildflowers are blooming; and the scenery can be quite enchanting.

Perhaps one of the easier backcountry destinations in our area is Manzana Creek in the San Rafael Wilderness. Manzana Trail is accessed from the trailheads near Nira Campground and follows the creek in both directions. An interesting destination that allows for additional off-trail exploring is Fish Creek.

Fish Creek is upstream from Nira along Manzana Trail. Fish Camp, which is near the confluence of Manzana and Fish Creeks, is about 5 miles roundtrip from the trailhead. At the confluence of the two creeks, one can find a swimhole, and upstream, along Fish Creek one can explore the wilderness still further.

Scenery along Fish Creek

To get to the trailhead from Santa Barbara, take State Route 154 past Lake Cachuma to Armour Ranch Road. You’ll know if you’ve gone too far if you arrive at the turnoff for State Route 246. Turn right onto Armour Ranch Road and follow it to the beginning of Happy Canyon Road. Turn right onto Happy Canyon Road. The road leads through ranch country before climbing out of the Santa Ynez Valley towards Cachuma Saddle and the top of the San Rafael Mountains.

From the 4-way intersection at Cachuma Saddle, continue north. Happy Canyon Road becomes Sunset Valley Road and descends down towards Manzana Creek. The road passes Davy Brown Campground, before ending at Nira Campground. Both campgrounds are shaded and offer campsites on a first come, first serve basis. An adventure pass is required to camp at either campground, but not to park at the trailheads. The drive from Santa Barbara to Nira is about 1.5 hours.

Lupine blue

From the trailhead at Nira, Manzana Trail continues upstream and crosses Manzana Creek. The creek is currently flowing intermittently. From this first creek crossing, Manzana Trail stays on the north side of the creek until just before Fish Camp, where it crosses the creek a second time.

The trail is in generally good condition as it follows Manzana Creek upstream. Near the creek, the trail passes through a mix of riparian and chaparral plants, including sycamore, alder, and willow, as well as coast live oak, ceanothus and manzanita. Along the route, one can also find numerous grey pines that add to the scenery.

There are also some wildflowers to be found along the trail, such as larkspur, blue dicks, penstemon, and some lupine.

And while the wildflower bloom may be modest, the butterflies are another story altogether. The butterflies seem to have gotten an early start this year, and are currently quite active. Along the trail, one can spot more than a half-dozen different butterflies making voracious use of the wildflowers that are in bloom.

Checkerspot

Perhaps the most abundant of the butterflies along the trail is checkerspot. This medium-sized butterfly with its orange, yellow and black pattern can easily be found on purple yerba santa flowers, as well as the other flowers in bloom. Other butterflies in the mix are large swallowtails with their yellow and black pattern, as well as the occasional monarch with its orange and black pattern.

Next in size are the somewhat smaller California sister butterflies, which are black with touches of orange and white. Medium to small-sized butterflies along the trail can include: buckeyes, which have distinctive circles or “eyes” as part of their wing pattern; sulphur butterflies with their mostly creamy yellow color; Sara orangetip, which have white wings with orange tips; and checkered whites, which have an overall white or cream color accented with grey.

Careful eyes may also spot small blueish butterflies such as acmon and lupine blues, both of which have pale blue undersides that are accented with black and touches of orange.

Western tiger swallowtail

At about the 1-mile mark, Manzana Trail arrives at the beginning of Lost Valley Trail. Lost Valley Trail leads north, away from Manzana Creek. The trail connects over to Lost Valley Creek before eventually making its way to the top of Hurricane Deck.

Just past the trail juncture, Manzana Trail arrives at Lost Valley Camp. The camp has two sites situated under the grey pines. Both sites have a picnic table and fire ring, and currently there is water in the creek at the camp.

About a half-mile past the camp, Manzana Trail crosses Lost Valley Creek, which is typically dry here. Past the crossing, the trail climbs away from Manzana Creek passing through mostly chaparral and offering views out across the canyon.

The trail then descends back down to the creek, crosses it, and arrives at Fish Camp. Currently the crossing is dry, but water can be found just downstream at the confluence of Fish and Manzana Creeks.

Fish Camp has two campsites, each with a picnic table and metal fire ring; and one of the features of Fish Camp is the nearby swimhole. When the creeks are flowing a nice pool of water is found at the confluence of Fish and Manzana Creeks.

Water at the confluence of Manzana and Fish Creeks

Fish Creek can be explored further by hiking upstream along the creek. There is no designated route, but one can find an informal route along the creek used by hunters and occasional hikers, as well as the local wildlife, that is relatively easy to follow. The canyon is wide enough that there are only few places where one has to navigate through the brush.

From the confluence with Manzana Creek, Fish Creek’s meandering course leads southward towards its source in the San Rafael Mountains. The creek is currently flowing along most of its length, and an interesting destination is the small grotto that can be found about a mile upstream from the confluence.

In addition to the other plants founds along Manzana Trail, Fish Creek also includes juniper. In fact, early on in the hike, the creek passes a whole hillside covered with California juniper bushes.

About a mile from the confluence with Manzana Creek, Fish Creek branches. To the left is East Fork Fish Creek and to the right Fish Creek. Both creeks are currently flowing. From this confluence, hike up the small ridge that separates the two creeks. The informal trail then bears to the right, continuing above Fish Creek a short way, before rejoining the creek just above the grotto.

Fish Creek grotto

The grotto is formed where Fish Creek has carved through conglomerate stone and has created an almost hidden pool of water. The canyon’s geology represents another interesting aspect of the hike. From Nira, Manzana Trail passes through mostly Cachuma Formation shale. Cachuma Formation material was deposited 100-66 million years ago under the ocean, and then uplifted and eroded over time along with the other layers of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks in the San Rafael Mountains.

At the mouth of Fish Creek is Cachuma Formation sandstone, which dramatically frames the swimhole. Upstream from the swimhole, Fish Creek passes through Cachuma Formation shale all the way until it transitions to Cachuma Formation conglomerate stone. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks that contain other rocks that have been cemented together with finer-grained material.

The grotto can make a good return point for the hike. Past the grotto one can continue upstream roughly another quarter-mile along mostly conglomerate stone, before the creek starts to become closed in with brush and trees.

Regardless of how far you hike you’ll get to explore a unique part of the San Rafael Wilderness.

This article originally appeared in the April 21st, 2015 edition of the Santa Barbara News-Press.

This article is also the 200th Trail Quest article.

Scenery along Manzana Trail near Fish Creek

Lagniappe

I first did this hike with the Sierra Club as one of the outings I joined them on for an article I wrote about them. Since the article only referenced Fish Creek and I liked the hike so much I thought I’d go back and revisit it for a new article about the hike. This time on the hike in, because of nature’s timing, I was blown away by the variety of butterflies I saw. I often see a lot of butterflies in the springtime along Manzana Trail heading up towards the Narrows. But what I mostly see is checkerspot and maybe a couple others all enjoying the yerba santa when it’s in bloom. This time, however, it was like the butterfly equivalent of a “superbloom” with such a rich variety of butterflies that I found myself regularly stopping and photographing each different one I saw.

When I got home I tried my hand at identifying them online, but what I really needed was a field guide for our local area. Fortunately, I was able to track down a regional guide, which I highly recommend, An Introduction to Southern California Butterflies by Fred Heath.

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