Edhat Staff
By Lucky 777
Lake Cachuma viewed from the trail near Live Oak Camp on 4/4/18.
Seven members of the Los Padres Trail Riders met up at the Live Oak Camp for a lovely spring ride. We ended up doing 6.61 miles in 2:41 minutes on the trail, no one fell off and a good time was had by all.
Downtown Santa Barbara was fully engulfed in maritime fog, and it was a question whether over the mountains it was going to be a good day for riding.
Just over the top of San Marcos Pass, crossing Suicide Bridge and heading down into the inland wilderness, a thick blanket of fog was also visible just ahead.
I was concerned that the parking area might be filled with participants in the Lucidity Festival, whose vendors were on site setting up. But they put aside a section of the lot for us and it was no trouble.
UNTIL we got to the river crossing. A series of metal sheets had been bolted to the riverbed, where no equine has ever had a problem crossing before. They must have been for service vehicles, but Tobe’s mulish sense of self-preservation kicked in and he was NOT going to cross this amateur death trap. Everyone else waited patiently while I negotiated with him and finally he agreed to cross outside the “bridge.”
Once on the trail it was obvious that the access roads have been significantly widened and many dead trees and fallen limbs pushed off to the side.
Read more about the ride here.
Please don’t call it Suicide Bridge. For those of us that have lost someone who has killed themself from the bridge- it is hard enough driving it without thinking it. It is Cold Spring Bridge or formally Cold Springs Canyon Bridge. Other than that great photos.