It was Thoreau, Emerson, or one of those other Transcendental chaps who said "A city is a place where millions of people can be alone together". Similarly, the wilderness is a place where millions drive to on Memorial Day weekend in order to get away from each other. The Mountain Home State Park (the state being the great bankrupt socialist republic of California, where you need a permit and a nominal fee to tie your shoes) is a lovely destination if you want to get away from it all. Unfortunately, once you are away from it all, there's nothing left to do besides drink overpriced cheap beer and tell fishing stories to your mates. Or, if you happen to have pretensions of being some sort of adventurer, you are more than welcome to hike on the lone trail up to the Sequoia National Park and wring out your soaking wet shoes, courtesy knee-deep stream crossings galore. Nevertheless, it beats the tar out of sitting around a stagnant reservoir and admiring the waterskiers.
All said, a nice place (running water, crappers, and even food lockers for the sweet and low price of $0/night) providing ample opportunities to plan your next move. You look through your collection of maps, reject all those that are too far away, to snowbound, too tick infested, or too boring and you choose the Sespe Wilderness, in the easternmost precinct of the Los Padres Wilderness. As a bonus, the Sespe is just about the only section that hasn't been absolutely devastated by wilderfires in the past two years. Better hop to it while it's still green. Thus, off to Ojai.
Like the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico, the Sespe is moderately elevated (~6000-7500ft in the places worth stomping through) and chock full of Ponderosa Pines. A very nice place for contemplation and, more critically, drying out.
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