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Old 03-13-2015, 10:09 AM   #1
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Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

Took an overnight trip to Carrizo Plain National Monument last weekend. This is the most wildflowers I have seen since 2010. The drought has put a damper on what can be spectacular carpets of flowers here, but this year we got a bit more rain and there were a few nice spots.

This is one of my favorite places to camp. There are two official BLM campsites, but I have never stayed in either. For those unfamiliar with Carrizo Plain, it is west of the 5 freeway and north of Ojai. Two roads traverse it. The southern road, Soda Lake Rd., is mostly paved but has some moderately graded roads to the south that lead to some nice open camping spots. The northern road, Elkhorn Rd., is graded and not too washboarded and has interesting offshoots to the north and south, though camping is only allowed to the north in the foothills. I have GPS coordinates for several spots. PM me if you want them.

Steve in L.A.











These two were from a trip in December 2014





These were from a trip in 2010 (pre-SMB, for me)




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Old 03-13-2015, 11:19 AM   #2
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

I was wondering when things would really start blooming! We went on Valentines day and the hills were just starting to change colors (but mostly green) but it was beautiful just the same. Sorry, I only have cell phone pictures.

The first sag pond (closest to 166) on Soda Lake Rd:



Hiking towards Painted Rock (BLM permit Required):



Signs of Sasquatch leaving Painted Rock:



Elkhorn Rd:





Old ranch road (no name) East of Elkhorn Rd:



Along the footpath to Wallace Creek:





From the overlook at the North end of Soda Lake Rd in spring 2010:



You can see snow on the Caliente range in the background spring 2010:



Looking East from the top of the Temblor range spring 2010 (can you see the 2 motorcycles on the trail?):

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Old 03-13-2015, 12:29 PM   #3
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

I think my sinuses flared up just looking at those pictures of the wildflowers. Looks wonderful though.


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Old 03-13-2015, 01:31 PM   #4
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

Here is a video I made using some of my toys:

[youtube:2t3y3w9n]
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Old 03-14-2015, 04:40 PM   #5
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

I'd love those coordinates; probably headed there in a week or so. There are some spots above Selby for some boonie camping, but I'd like to try the other side.

Love that place; I can't get my buddies to go out there though. Sigh; their loss. Haven't seen hardly any water there in the last few years. Thanks for the pictures.

Did you go in the north or south side?
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Old 03-14-2015, 06:18 PM   #6
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

Beautiful pics Steve. Happy to hear there was a little rain that way for a nice bloom.
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Old 03-15-2015, 04:00 AM   #7
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

Thanks Steve for the info.
Currently in LA.
Will head there on my way north in the next days to discover.
PM sent.
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Old 03-25-2015, 08:09 AM   #8
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Re: Carrizo Plain, California Wildflowers

Stop the presses ! You've got pics of Bigfoot tracks and we're talking about flowers? Wow !
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Old 04-08-2017, 02:23 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveInLA View Post
Here is a video I made using some of my toys

I used a GoPro Hero3, Feiyu G3 3-axis Handheld Gimbal and a DJI Phantom with a Zenmuse H3-2D Gimbal. Please forgive my amateur editing skills.

Steve in L.A.
Hi Steve,
Please pm me GPS coordinates for boondocking in Carrizo. Cheers!
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Old 04-10-2017, 12:59 AM   #10
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We took a family day trip across Carrizo today. Definitely the biggest bloom I've seen yet, but this is also the most rain we've had in 10 years. Soda Lake actually looks like a lake!

I lost my big brother brother 2 weeks ago and we've all been having a really hard time with his passing at only 35 years old, spending the day taking it all in and literally stopping to smell the flowers did my soul some good. I really need to get out there more.

I have never in my life seen so much traffic in the area, literally thousands of people. There were cars lining the shoulders of Soda Lake road for miles, so we figured Elkhorn was a better bet... still massive amounts of cars even on the rougher (relative to a car) roads. If you want any sort of solitude, I'd suggest going mid week instead.

Spotted 3 SMB's out there, a white RB pop top on HWY 58, a silver EB high top 4x4 boondocking East of Elkhorn, and another on Elkhorn that I didn't get a good look at due to the silt plumes blowing off the road.
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