With our sights set on an easy getaway from heat and smog, I searched southern California campgrounds and was surprised to see there was one last site left at Jalama Beach Campground, miraculous for the time of year. We jumped to reserve right away and a few days later were on our way to one of southern California's quietest stretches of coastline. To break up the drive and add some interest, we added on a stop to go for a brief hike to Montecito Hot Springs. These interesting series of springs once boasted a historic resort that now lies in overgrown ruins. During my entire time living in Santa Barbara these springs were inaccessible due to private land blocking access and it is not until more recently that trail right-of-ways were established between the palatial estates of one of the richest neighborhoods in America and into the valleys of the Los Padres beyond. Heather and I had hiked this trail a few years previous and found the ruins and seeps just fine, but zero soakable pools which I chocked up to a recent flood in the canyon. I had since seen several photos of elaborately cascading pools and thought it might be worth a revisit. A mellow 2.6 mile hike with a hot soak could be just the thing to break up the drive and transition into a relaxing beach getaway.
We managed to get the last free parking spot in the small ten car roadside lot at the trailhead, which was a good start to the hike. Nearly noon, we still had the benefit of the seasonal gloom overhead to ease the hiking (humid though). We followed the trail between the expensive fences and front gates, with glimpses of mansions beyond. There was a nice little babbling stream nearly the whole way and some particularly nice stretches of mature oaks. About halfway into the hike we passed the three tiered waterfall I remembered from our last hike here.
Before long we arrived at the ruins, a few sandstone walls and terraces all that remain. The area appeared much the same as last time though notably more overgrown, and notably absent of pools despite the hot springs! I was a bit baffled. The pools were not where I expected but surely they were around. We ran into other people trying to find the hot pools as well. We checked out the ruins and I got the smallest touch of reception to be able to collect a few dodgy GPS coordinates for the springs from the internet. In the end none were right but they did put us on the right track. Returning to the stream I spotted a break in the cliff and a trail heading up, subtle, unsigned, but clearly well trafficked and I knew right away that was where we were supposed to head. Sure enough the trail climbed then contoured into the western tributary where we caught more strong wiffs of sulphur then people and pools. We found it! In hindsight these pools were almost certainly here last time we hiked, we just did not know where to look, so it was particularly redemptive to see and soak on this revisit. A chain of about 10 pools daisy chained down the valley beneath sycamores, oaks, and castor beans. The pools were thoughtfully designed with inlaid boulders of Matilija sandstone forming mosaic patios and rock-lined pools to pleasant sitting depths. The top pool was crystal clear but borderline too hot to enjoy while the bottom pool was closer to warm. We had a snack then dipped into the second highest pool, the largest and arguably best of the lot. Whatever is is about the Santa Barbara area, this hot spring too had a particularly soapy feel with a strong stench of sulfur. We soaked for a pleasant 40 minutes, enjoying the waters more than the people watching.
With a spring in our step at finally visiting these neat hot pools, we strolled back to the car and finished our drive out the coast to Gaviota and then down the lonely deadend ranch road out to Jalama Beach. With the last of the reception I thought to check the tides and the Vandenberg launch schedule. Sure enough there was a Falcon 9 rocket launch scheduled for July 1st! As always I enjoyed the Spanish moss draping the oak trees along the drive, nearly the furthest south in California I've seen them occur. Upon arriving at Jalama it was pleasantly sunny if a little on the windy side. We drove through the campground through a wall of white trucks and giant RVs to our site. Even with the rooftop tent deployed and the stove laid out on the picnic table, our site seemed at odds with the gluttonous ethos of the rest of the campers. Our neighbors turned out to be the worst, running a generator until 2am! I've had such bad people luck recently.
I gave Heather a quick tour of the campground, then we opted for a 2 hour walk on the beach, heading about 1.1 miles north of the campground. After about a tenth of a mile we had the entire beach to ourselves. I was more interested in interesting beach cobbles and Heather was more interested in shells, but we both found plenty good ones of both. Heather found herself a stick to poke the many washed up squishy sea creatures, mostly sea hares and gumboot chitons (even more humorously nicknamed "wandering meatloafs". We continued beneath the towering cliffs to where the beach ended, forcing us to climb up onto the bedrock and traverse along the unconformity. Shortly on we spotted a tidy little cobble cove and had a rejuvenating rest. After, we returned back down the beach. Walking the shoreline I spotted an interesting rock just as the incoming wave sloshed over it. It took me a number of seconds to find it when the waves went out as it was hidden beneath kelp but it turned out to be a neat swirling piece of travertine, one of the more unique rocks I have found on this beach. Walking back I appreciated again the solitude of the beach- such a rarity in southern California to have miles of coastline all to yourself. At our campsite we shared a bottle of wine and cooked dinner before settling into the rooftop tent. The wind nicely died down but our neighbor's generator did not.
We opted for a slow morning before deciding on a hike on the beach southward towards Point Conception. The tides were kind of awkward with their timing and asymmetry so I did not know how far we would make it, but we figured we would give it a shot. Almost immediately we found ourselves having to balance making progress down the beach and wanting to stop to look for rocks and shells and sea creatures at every patch. After passing some surfers and fisherpersons just before the first point, we had the entire rest of the beach all to ourselves all day. At the start of the indent past the point I saw a single blocky rock standing out from a cobble bar and instinctively recognized it as petrified whale bone, my first find of the day. I found two more before we rounded the second point, thinking it was rare to find some along this particular stretch of beach. We continued on, doing our best to avoid the ever-present splatterings of tar on the rocks and taking note of the few places that would be trickier to round at high tide. Just after the first seawall crossing a large block on the shore platform caught my eye that was essentially an intact section of a whale skeleton, about a dozen bones embedded in the boulder. Looking around, Heather and I soon noticed at least nine similar blocks, guessing there might have been half a whale here! More seawall crossings followed, as well as thick accumulations of seaweed and washed up sea urchins. Prominent tar seeps in fault zones, sulfurous springs, and naturally cored concretions also added to the geologic interest.
We went as for as the creek exiting Black Canyon, 3.5 miles from the campground; we could see that the current state of the beach was all sand beyond with no real scope for finding interesting rocks. Heather did find some complete sand dollars along this stretch after some persistent searching. As we walked back we more deliberately stopped to look at some of the cobble bars, which turned up some more chunks of wave-rounded whale bones, more than I had any intention of carrying. We stopped for water and a snack on a seawall promontory. At one of the shore platform crossings I noticed an odd pattern in the rock that upon closer inspection was a fossil fish with a large backbone, the first I had found at Jalama. Despite many visits to this stretch of the beach over the years, I felt more observant this time, gaining an new intimate view of the coastline and its wonders. On the way back I labored under the weight of my collection (70lbs+...) but still enjoyed the shifting coastline. Happily the tides posed no real threats for us, other than having to time the waves in a couple places.
I dropped my pack at our campsite with a thud, then we briefly went to sit out on the beach before dinner. We arrived at the Jalama Store a little after 4pm, wanting to make sure to place dinner orders before the grill closed. Tragically they were out of veggie patties so no world famous Jalama burgers for us but we made due, enjoying the sea views from the enclosed dining room/museum. Though late in the day, we still had ample activities ahead of us. About 20 minutes before 7:57pm we wandered out to the beach to claim a prime bench. Right on queue, a blisteringly bright and fast rocket (a Falcon 9 with a payload of 24 Starlink satellites) pierced the clouds north of us and arced completely offshore until it disappeared into space south of us. We could see the engine exhaust pulsing and hear the roar of the burn. The near-sunset light, golden rims of the fog banks, and campers excitedly gathering on the beach for the rocket spectacle made for a nice moment (frontispiece), if you managed to avoid thinking about Elon Musk and the 24 more satellites that would be added to Starlink's 10,738 active satellites in low Earth orbit overhead. For our final activity after dark, we went down to the beach to look for fluorescent rocks. The tide was in and there was some challenge in dodging waves in the dark, but we still had fun and found some neat treasures. The campground seemed to be slightly less rambunctious this night, which was appreciated.
On Thursday we packed up to leave before we got stuck behind any number of the RVs on the road out. Traffic back home felt downright spiteful, as a 1:50pm arrival eventually built to a 4:00pm arrival. It was a fun and chill trip full of scenery, wonder, relaxation, and some collected treasures. Thanks to Heather.
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