Gaviota Mountain

I was really surprised when I came out here to CA at how beautiful the area is (I'm about 2.5 hours north of LA, near Santa Maria) - it reminds me a lot of a lower-elevation Colorado. So one of the first things that I wanted to do was go hiking and climbing.

Gaviota Mountain

Another of the nearby mountains

I searched around online and found Gaviota Mountain, about 45 minutes south of base, which was supposed to be one of the more strenuous climbs in the area. It was pretty overcast at the base, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to see anything from the top of the mountain, but decided to give it a try anyway. So I packed up, jumped in the car, and, well, I'll let the photos do the talking...

Embarkation!

Well, the trail's a bit overgrown at places - which is bad news for ticks.

Good thing I wore the long sleeves/pants.

These wind tunnels were scattered about the mountain.

There were some cooler ones, but these pics turned out the best.

Rough terrain. The trail ended up going down the backside of the mountain without going to the top, but that wasn't stopping me. I just off-roaded it and blazed a few hundred yards up this stuff to the top. It was tough going, almost twisted my ankle a few times.

Ocean view from the top.

On the return...

This fishing pier was part of the park. Notice the two oil rigs on the horizon.

There were trees like this all up and down the mountain - blackened and charred - signs of recent fires in this area.

The mountain was kind of steep at points...

Sweet victory!

Turns out that I couldn't find those hot springs. Whatev, I've see plenty of them before.

All in all, not a shabby climb, eh? I think my entire family called me while I was in the car to/from the climb, or while I was hiking (I actually got reception!)

'Till next time...