Sespe Wilderness SoCal Trip- *Spirit Camp*

B

bearthedog

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May 17, 2006
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Fresh back from an amazing adventure in a new place for me—Sespe Wilderness in Los Padres National Forest. Brian Sargent was our gracious host/guide. It was his backyard and he provided us with much knowledge of the area along with the lore of the Chumash who once occupied the land we now had the privilege of walking in. Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley. They called it Ojai, which means "Valley of the Moon." Hopefully Brian will be along to expand on this subject, as he is the man out in these woods.



The walk to camp was a leisurely 3 mile jaunt, full of laughs, pranks, stories, and dirt!






Chamise bark






















I played a trick on a couple of the guys and managed to secretly attach my axe to their gear by using old fashioned trickery and lies. This bought me a few minutes of them carrying my weight. I think they caught on after a while.











Camp



It didn’t take long before Rain was wearing his war-paint and ready for the night ops.



The nighttime provides us with lots of craft, cooking, stories, and a .5 mile run for Mormon Tea.



One must have three times the prep for a kabob.





Meat Party…



MAN KABOB



A little Mormon Tea (ephedra Tea) woke up the camp and we seemed to move in fast-forward, like work elves chopping and carving.



Ephedra kicked in




Need more wood!






Brian sharpened my axe at warp speed



Then gave us a firework show



Then he gave us some candy



There is witchcraft in that there fire!



 
Damien gave me some photography tips about two years ago—backlight, backlight and more backlight!

This is for you buddy!




Come morning and it was time for more woodcraft!

Right-Left: The Hake, The Gib, Gallow-Crook, Pot- Claw



Speygelia with The Gib



Variable setting pot hook (middle) on a Waugan cross stick



In amazing fashion, Rain managed to avoid getting one spec of dirt on his white shirt. He cooked us up some amazing Bangus (milk fish). He provided noodles and the most amazing chicken skin, which was talked about until the end of the trip!



We made another run for Mormon Tea—hobo style!



The MUD!



This spooky tree poked us and called us names








Variable pot hanger and two Gallow Crook pot holders with sausages



We used shavings from soft wood like Alder for our tinder



Caleb



Kevin treated us to some Teriyaki steak...



Amazing!



H&B Large Camp Axe split like a champ





Kevin set up a smaller version of an all-night-fire. This small section lasted a little over three hours.



After more Mormon Tea



Damien made us red beans and rice burritos!







Lean-to fire for the morning



Oak



Caleb cooked us up some meat





The resemblance was remarkable…




Fixed blades

What a coincidence, most of us had Sargent Knives




My cutting tools



Camp tools



Until Next Time!

-RB
 
That looks like a wonderful place to take a hike and camp out, we certainly have nothing like it here in Blighty.

Love the pot hanger gallery...and the gallery of knives too :thumbup:

Thanks for taking us along.
 
I wish I had buddies like you. Mine want to hang out at bars...

Awesome write up and pictures!
 
Great thread Bear, and even though I just had dinner I'm hungry again. Don't know how the veggie dudes do it; nothing like roasted flesh of some sort over an open fire. Love the kabobs. Told my wife to come see another guy like me on the screen - "See dear, this is a man's man and he wears slippers outside too." She mumbled something and left. That picture of the curly oak was quite unique and Brians craftsmanship with the knives is awesome. Thanks again.
 
Looks like an absolute blast!

Man, that food beats my noodles all day long...

Thanks for the great pics and commentary.
 
Trip started with some bird feeding to initiate brotherly love.






This jerk got his SET before me.


Creeper shots




Our Host/ Camp Ultra Model














Another Glamour/Creeper shot of Brian


My Mors Plate




Adahy Kuksa and food holster


 
Here's another shaky video from your boy Mud. I promise there will be a section in his video that will make you dizzy. =)
[video=youtube;aWVi6o44zWU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWVi6o44zWU[/video]
 
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