Day 920: Pacific Harbor Seals - Searching for the Franklin Trail - Carp

SEAL the Beach

Day #920 * Hike #1158 * New Track #903
Carpenteria High School - Searching for the Franklin Trail - Carpenteria, CA
Friday May 24, 2013
My Tripometer: 1 Hour * 1.25 Miles * +25 Feet

 Trailhead

We drove up today to Carpenteria High School in search for the Franklin Trail.  It's been on my mind since visiting the Avocado Festival in Carp last year, or was that the year before?  The Franklin Trail is an old historic trail which leads out of Carp and climbs into the Los Padres National Forest - Dick Smith and San Rafeal Wilderness.  The route is marked on my map of the back country but it hasn't been used in many years.

At the Avocado Fest there was a booth raising money to restore it.  If I recall correctly, they were raising millions of dollars to restore the route.  There is suppose to be a kiosk here, so let's see what we can find and how the progress is...

 Past the parking lot, past the football field...

 Closing in on the mountain...

 fenced off, circling the baseball field now...

live on stage...

Okay, so we found nothing and looped back to the car...


Day #920 * Hike #1159 * New Track #904
Franklin Park - Rincoln High School - Carpenteria, CA
Friday May 24, 2013
My Tripometer: 1.25 Hours * 2.25 Miles * +75 Feet

 Franklin Park Bridge

We drove about a mile south and around the corner to Franklin Park.  The actual trail is suppose to begin back here.  Let's see what we can find...

 A tree!

 Small Park

 Follow the bike path north...

 Back to Carp High School

 Lets go this way...

 Across the bridge

 Past the flowers

 Through the little Rincoln High School

 up the street

 Franklin Flowers - Private Property

 Beware of Dogs

The update on the trail is that they have secured easement rights past this property and the trail is said to be open later this summer.  For now, we must turn back because little Donnie looks like a cat to the big bad dogs...

 Aint he cute...

Day #920 * Hike #1159 * New Track #905
Pacific Harbor Seals - Carpenteria, CA
Friday May 24, 2013
My Tripometer: 1.5 Hours * 2.5 Miles * +25 Feet

 New Trailhead

I've hiked back here a half dozen times.  Today I turned down a side street and began the journey from a new location...

 Follow the tracks to the left, watch out for trains - very active

 rejoining the trail system

 Tar Pits Park

 SEAL the Beach

Knowing that the beach will be open to the public come June 1st, why not visit the seals at the end of May before the all scatter and get scared off from human activity.  This was my first visit this year, just in time...

 Damn - You Ugly :)

 Awesome!

 Look out for the bird

 Following the tracks back into the sunset...

DUI Checkpoint

--Back in Ventura in front of Target.  Police getting an early start on Memorial Day Weekend...