At first I thought it was a bit of a shame that only one other backpacker wanted to join me on this trip.  It was the kind of warm, sunny spring weekend that a backpacker dreams all winter about, but everyone else seemed to opt for - (yawn) - yet another weekend in LA, with its mostly predictable amusements.  But we've hiked together many times before, and I knew he'd be a strong and fun hiking buddy, so we pushed on with our itinerary: an ambitious, seldom-traveled 26-mile loop in the southwest corner of the Sespe Wilderness. After enjoying outrageous coast and mountain views along the ridgetop of the Topa Topa Mountains, we drifted down into a canyon shaded by majestic oaks and spruces, where we found our delightful little camp in the long light of late afternoon.  That afternoon and the next morning, we kept scanning the ridge that loomed above our camp, which forms the western wall of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, but sadly the only birds that we saw drifting over were jumbo jets outbound from LAX. Still, we were hardly cheated, as the mountains and the river and the forest all offered us the kind of peace, quiet and comfort one rarely finds in and around the big city just over the hill.

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