Sage Hill Car Camp Santa Ynez Valley Xerox Mountaineering & Backpacking Club -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Padres National Forest Friday-Sunday, October 9-11, 1992 Brief: A weekend car camp at the Sage Hill Campground along the Santa Ynez River in the Los Padres National Forest due north of Santa Barbara. Weekend activities will include wine tasting at a number of the Santa Barbara County wineries, a group barbecue, hiking, swimming, storytelling around the campfire, and plenty of relaxation. When: Arrive Friday (any time after 2 pm) or Saturday morning. We will start out on the winery tour at 10 am Saturday and return to the camp site for the cook-out by 6 pm. An easy 3-mile loop hike will commence Sunday morning around 10. Who: This outing is open to all XMBC members and guests. Non-members are welcome on a space available basis, we have room for 50 people so I don't expect any problems in this area. Dogs are permitted at the campground but should be kept on a leash. Description: The Sage Hill Group Area is located along the Santa Ynez River, which is the longest stretch of free-flowing river accessible to the public in Southern California. Facilities include picnic tables, campfire ring, a marvelous brick barbecue pit, piped water, and flush toilets. Friday is set aside for arrivals and setting up, we will have a campfire Friday night. Saturday we will embark on a wine tasting tour. There are about 20 wineries in Santa Barbara County that are open to the public, we will plan on visiting about 8 or 9 of them, perhaps pausing for lunch at the former stagecoach stop, Mattei's Tavern, in Los Olivos. For anyone not interested in the wineries there are hiking trails near camp, swimming and fishing in the Santa Ynez River, or one could visit the nearby Danish community of Solvang. Saturday evening we wil have a barbecue and cook-out back at camp and perhaps enjoy some of the purchases made earlier in the day. Count on another campfire Saturday night. Sunday morning we will break camp and I have an easy 3 mile dayhike planned before we all leave for home. There will be a nominal campsite fee (to be determined), but it will not exceed $8.00 per person. Topo Map: San Marcos Pass Quadrangle, 7.5 minute series USGS. Weather: Expect warm days and possibly cool nights, daytime highs should range in the mid to upper 70s with nighttime lows around 50. Directions: Take northbound Highway 101 to state highway 154 in Santa Barbara (preceding exit is La Cumbre Rd. / Hope Ave.). Follow 154 north 10.7 miles to Paradise Road, the intersection is also marked with a sign announcing the Santa Ynez Valley Recreation Area. Turn right on Paradise Road and continue 4.6 miles to the Los Prietos ranger station. Turn left, pass the ranger station and continue to Sage Hill Group Camp in 0.4 mile. When you reach the information board continue straight, we have the "Sycamore" site. Drive time from the south bay is estimated at around 2.5 hours. A word of caution, the Highway Patrol DOES use radar on Hwy 154. Leader: Randy Ortland, work: 805/962-6332, home: 805/966-9422, E-mail: 71620.2666@compuserve.com. Please contact the leader to make a reservation and so that you may be kept informed of any last minute changes.