2017/10/28 Greenwell & Ennisbrook

On a beautiful cool Fall day 8 members of the Los Padres Trail Riders met at the Greenwell Preserve and took a stroll across the Summerland and Montecito landscape. The route skirted the edge of the Birnam Wood golf course, and then explored the beautiful Ennisbrook nature preserve.

In 3.5 hours we walked 8.5 miles, sometimes climbing trails and other times forming an unusual sight on the housing area streets.

 Heading up from the Greenwell Preserve, many of the hillsides are cultivated with avocados.

Estates grid up the acres, some are second or third homes for the very wealthy, some are ranches producing avocados or dedicated to training horses.

A steep and somewhat challenging rocky climb leads up to the Ortega Reservoir. From below it looks like an earthen dam, then from the top it is efficiently covered to prevent evaporation.

Walking down the roads between the beautifully landscaped estates, the many colors of profuse bouganvilla and fruit trees and succulents delight the eye.

Usually when I ride up here the residents have never been in view, only the gardeners and caretakers busy at their tasks keeping it all tidy.

Clearly Tobe can smell the horses behind this custom wrought iron gate, and is curious about them.

The trails are lined with dry brush, a reminder of
the fragility of the urban environment imposed on these foothills. All too clearly locals remember fires which have swept through these neighborhoods, with terrible results.

It is at this time of year, when the dry winds come out of the deserts and blow across the spent grasses and tangled chaparral, that fires are most likely to catch hold.

Our path takes us between these great estates, sharing their views and sentinel trees, a place of tranquil beauty.

Normally this would be a view of the Santa Barbara harbor, and the Channel Islands beyond. But today the maritime fog is thick, and we are just fine with it being a cooler day.

Looking down off the trail we are circling around the Birnam Wood Golf Club. It has 18 holes, was built in 1968 by Robert Trent Jones, and is surrounded by high value estates.

The land across which our trail passes was once part of a very large land holding that belonged to the Coffin Family. It is with their generous permission that the Coffin Family Trail provides a vital equestrian link in the area.

The trails in this system are maintained by the MTF, the Montecito Trails Foundation, and their efforts keep these trails in very excellent condition.

This hilltop has a convenient picnic table for admiring the view. On clear days the Mission and the city of Santa Barbara stretch out below.

Then our track took us through a large boarding stable as we made out way from the Summerland side of the hill to Sheffield Drive and Montecito.

Many of the trails are edged with fence rails, and make passage between the estates easy. Here we crossed a stream, just a trickle in this season.

Then our path took us through a long stand of eucalyptus trees, with their shedding bark forming a scented mulch we walked through.

A fine bright color fills the interior of these freshly cut logs.

And then it was time to enter Ennisbrook.  At one time this was part of a grand estate, the Rancho San Leandro, with polo grounds and a world class team.
But the Great Depression ended the glory days, and by the 1940's the property fell into disrepair.
In the late 1980's plans were approved to put 63 homes on the acres, and permission to build was contingent upon the developers setting aside 44 wooded acres on San Ysidro Creek to be Montecito's first nature preserve.

It is now a favorite with walkers, hikers, and equestrians.

I believe this old adobe stable is a part of the original Rancho San Leandro.

Two stone bridges built around 1900
still give pedestrian and equestrian access across the creek.

We emerged from the preserve and walked along the streets filled with the houses built in this tract in the 1980's. This yard was filled with liquid amber trees, at their peak moment of the year. In a part of California where we seldom have indications of seasons they were a treat to behold.

And quite unexpectedly we came across this magnificent horticultural folly. Walking past it has the effect of moving past row crops, and the play of light and shadow on the sculptured hedges was entrancing.

And last and best, we detoured a bit to pay our respects at the angel memorial. The carving on the base says
FLIGHTS OF ANGELS SING THEE TO THY REST.
Members of the group all had different stories about the origin of this beautiful sculpture, and I was unable to determine the true one.
The quote is from Shakespeare, Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 2, Page 17.

Whoever it commemorates must have once been greatly loved, and seeing the angel is always a time to pause, and reflect, and be grateful for days that include time spent traveling through natural beauty on the back of a willing mule.

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11/21/15 Summerland Greenwell Angels Flight with LPTR

Nothing like starting out in the early morning for a trail ride. The rising sun blazing on the sea, the anticipation of a journey to see a new trail and ride with interesting people on their odd collection of animals.

We met up with a dozen members of the Los Padres Trail Riders at the Summerland Greenwell Preserve. There is a large parking lot that can accommodate numerous rigs, and easy access to many nearby trails.
The route we took was 7.4 miles  and took 3 hours. That was actually a little over 2 hours of moving time, at 3.2mph moving speed, and lots of rest breaks for the animals.

The trail system is maintained by the Montecito Trails Foundation, and connects the sea to the tops of the mountains. We tracked around in the area in the middle, between estates and along the sides of streets, wherever the trail boss decided to lead us to.

Who's the one with the red hair under the sensible helmet? Why, me of course.
Walking through the forests it is easy to see the toll the drought is having, the understory grass is dry tinder and the trees are dropping limbs.

But the shade was most welcome on this Indian Summer day, as we went for our equestrian stroll.

On the high points of hills there are sea views, always a pleasure at the Edge of the Continent.

And in between the massive estates that fill the hilltops there are nice trails, making passage very easy.

The ride was organized by Barbara who rode her new mule Sierra. There were a surprisingly high number of mules on this trip, almost half of the animals. I am used to Tobe being the only mule, so this was a real pleasure. We mule riders can go on and on about The Natural Superiority of Mules, and tend to bond easily with other long ear enthusiasts.

At one vista we stopped at a picnic table for a break, Tobe was already working up a sweat on the 80 degree day. But he's a noble beast of burden, and never faltered in his assigned task.

Sometimes property owners go the extra effort of adding rail fencing, defining their privacy and giving the trails a nice edge.

Often the trail passes through large stands of trees. These eucalyptus were especially fragrant, and where they lean onto the trail are a lovely opportunity to ask Mr Mule to sidepass away from them lest I smash my knee on a trunk. He knows how wide he is, but it is my job to make sure I don't bang a limb on a trunk.

The story is that every week right now the crews are removing another deadfall tree from the Ennisbrook trail. They seem to pretty much cut them up and drop them in place, and we are all hoping that the promised El Niño winter storms will come and save the rest of the forest.

This is an example of the good work done by the work crews of the Montecito Trails Foundation. On the left is a steep drop off to a creek bed. A metal reinforcement has been placed into the slope, and boulders added on this side of it to define the edge and stop further erosion.

And a bit further on we passed across this old stone bridge, wishing there was water underneath it.

Sometimes there is a bump in the road, in this case a boulder in the trail. That's OK. Where there's a mule, there's a way.

But then, what is this? In my previous rides I had never seen this before. It is a memorial to someone unknown. But what a gift to come across it here in the depth of the woods, stark and elegant and so very poignant.

The inscription is from Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 5, Scene 2
"And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
A sad epitaph for a sweet prince, one who perhaps loved this forest.

I think this is a California redwood, Sequoia sempervirens.  The bark is amazing.

On the way out and on the way back we passed through this horse boarding facility, owned by the trail boss. Gave the animals a chance for a drink and a rest.

Then it was time to climb the Ortega Ridge hill and go back to the starting point.

One last obstacle, down a steep hill. Not too difficult on the way up, when the animals were fresh and excited about a chance to go for a walk, but a bit of a challenge for many of them as they started down after hours of walking. They zig-zagged down it, trying to find purchase in the dusty dirt.

Off to the side in the avocado grove were many bee hives. As long as none of them got too interested in the sweaty animals, we were OK.

Then we were back at the meeting point, and my pal Cowboy Bob shared an apple with his Dutchess, who deserved a treat after this long ride.

And I'm a happy person, having risen to the challenge of this day's trail and eager to see what will be the next adventure.

Back to the real world, where the highway is already in progress, and the sign says we can go either way. Time to choose the next path.
As Theodore Roethke wrote:
"Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley."