6 Month Camping Hiatus Comes to a Close

Welcome back dearest adventurers and thank you for joining me to recount my most recent backpacking trip! Did someone say backpacking??

As most of you know, I spent half of 2025 hiking the Pacific Crest Trail where I carried the life essentials on my back. Food, water, and shelter lived in my Southwest Hyperlite backpack and enabled me to thrive without the copious items you’d find lurking about my apartment. What you may not know is that I have taken a long, well deserved break from living outdoors and have enjoyed the plentiful perks of frontcountry living.

The most frequently asked question I received upon returning home in October 2025 was “did you miss sleeping in your bed?” Fortunately my Nemo Tensor Extreme Conditions Ultralight sleeping pad provided me with ample comfort, so I felt quite rested along the Pacific Crest Trail.

What I did find myself longing for over the vast majority of my trek was FOOD! I craved fresh food, perishable food, food that would grow moldy or potentially give you food poisoning if you didn’t have access to a refrigerator to store leftovers. Since returning I have refrained from eating oats, granola bars, packaged meals, ramen, pasta, or anything that I might have considered a snackable in a former life. I used to always pack crackers or popcorn as a work snack, but the glories of refrigeration have changed those staples into yogurt with frozen fruit, chia seeds, and granola, or hummus and veggie slices.

Given that I was separated from fresh food for so long it took me a few months of enjoying plentiful meals and resting my body before I was ready for my next adventure. Back in November a friend of mine had suggested we go backpacking over spring break. She had PTO and friend with a college spring break, and I planned to be moving and leaving my job around that time. Thus the Death Valley 🏜️ 🥾 group chat was born. Spoiler alert!! Death Valley was experiencing a heat wave during spring break, so we opted for a trip to Ojai to hike out to some hot springs.

We met at Jess’s apartment in Los Angeles and opted for the delicious Brothers Cousins Tacos stand (located on Sepulveda for you UCLA friends) which always has a steady stream of customers.

With a full belly we headed on to Trader Joe’s. Jesse and I had a 6 hour car ride to decide on a menu, and I’d argue we only came up with half of our meals during those 6 hours. We shopped, packed bags, chopped bell peppers, and tried to get an early night’s sleep.

The nice thing about Ojai is it’s relatively close to Los Angeles, was cool enough to hike in (temps in the 80’s F), and was relatively empty for a weekend.

I typically give a step by step overview of my hikes, but for this one I simply wish to share the beautiful scenery. I thank my friends for an enjoyable three days and 30ish miles of hiking. We explored hot springs, found fossils, and kept our distances from Rattlesnake Jake.

We legitimately saw the tail end of a rattler that was as thick as my forearm. I can only imagine how big its head was!

We saw at least twelve species of blooming wildflowers, four types of snakes (rattlesnake, California kingsnake, gopher snake, garter snake), a few cute horny toads (horned lizards), and seven big horned sheep! Given that we only camped 2 nights in the wilderness, I was incredibly rewarded by the gorgeous scenery.

If you’re a beginner backpacker looking for an extremely mellow backpacking trip or an experienced backpacker hoping to enjoy a chill weekend, the Sespe Hot Springs trail was fantastic. I’d highly recommend bringing a map or downloading a GPS route before you go, because our hike was full of river crossings and trail navigation problem solving. I recommend this trail for beginners due to the gentle climbs throughout the hike! Each day included roughly 1,000 ft of elevation gain over 10 miles which is practically nothing if you ask me!

The last thing I have to say is this trail was perfect for late March backpacking. A cooler time of year would have made water crossings quite chilly, and hiking too late into summer usually leads to a dried out creek. Be sure to check out Sespe next spring!

Happy trails,

Backcountry Brooke