2024/10/16 The Lake Fire Aftermath at Midland School

 

It had been 30 months since Tobe Mule and I last rode the trails at the vast Midland School property, and the Lake Fire three months ago took a devastating toll. I wanted to see the changes.

So when I was invited to join a group of riders meeting under the auspices of the Santa Barbara County Trails Council I leapt at the chance.

The school was on a break, so we knew the trails would not be crowded.

Weather was perfect.

Midland School is set on 2,860 acres in the mountains at the edge of the Los Padres Wilderness.

It is an exclusive nature-based boarding school for the children of the elite.

This map will serve to orient where it is. 

Before the ride began Mark Wilkinson of the Trails Council gave us a pep talk and described the work the organization does, and Supervisor Joan Hartman spoke of her work to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of trails in the area. Then Otis Calef of the Council described how he and Ray Ford over decades have turned cow paths into a trail system.

We set off to ride the Lovers' Loop trail, and notice the dominant triangular shape of Grass Mountain top right on the map. It will appear in the background of many of the following photos.