Sespe Wilderness, California

2022: North Sespe

Day 1: The trip began with a long, dirt road leading to the trailhead. We were far away from any civilization, which was a nice change. While trying some off-roading, we got stuck and had to wait for someone to come tow us out. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait too long before a group came by with sufficient gear. We made it to the trailhead and started.



It was extremely hot, and my friends packed a little water in hopes we would find a stream relatively quickly. We made our way through the pines and down into the valley. Where our maps indicated water would be, we found none. The mountains were enormous and went as far as the eye could see. After reaching the point where we would either have to turn back or continue forward, we opted to continue searching for water without our packs. We made it a considerable distance down the hill and found a lovely stream waiting for us. The feeling was exhilarating and indescribable unless you were there.



We made our way back up the mountain with bottles filled with water. Shirtless, hot, and tired, we decided it was too much to hike back down. We instead opted to sleep on the mountain and hike down early morning.



Day 2: After checking out the hot springs, we continued south on the trail. It was getting extremely hot, and we decided it was best to relax at camp for the entire day. We had a good laugh about grugs and took naps on the sandbar. We spent the night there before hiking out the following morning. Although checking out hot springs during the hot summer isn’t the best idea, it was cool to see and fun to hang out at.