Los Padres National Park near Santa Barbara, CA

This was my second visit to this Thousand Trails campground called Rancho Oso. It's across the mountains from Santa Barbara and has quick access to great hiking trails in the Los Padres National Park. I asked the ranger for a recommendation and he sent me on the Aliso Loop Trail. I separated the photos of flowers and trees just because I took so many of them.

The hike was interesting. I parked near the ranger station so that I wouldn't have to drive over a roadway that was slightly under water, which added a couple of miles to my hike. It was pretty warm and the water seemed only an inch deep ... so I decided to just walk through it. Well, it got up to my ankles -- and the next three crossings were even deeper. But I discovered that it wasn't all that uncomfortable to hike in wet socks.

It was easy to find the start of the trail, even though it wasn't well marked. (It seems that California doesn't mark their trails very well.) The trail quickly headed uphill, really fast, with tight switchbacks that made it fun. And then the view was great (as you can see in the photos).

After a couple of hours I got to an unmarked T in the trail and I didn't know which way to turn. It was getting late so I decided to head back the way I came, rather than risk a decision. About a half mile later I ran into another hiker who pointed out the right way to finish the loop, so I got to enjoy the walk along the creek.

So yes, it turned out to be a great walk.