Ojai Treks began as a way of journaling and sharing our treks through Ojai after the Thomas Fire. I trekked with my friend Laura and these journeys were emotionally taxing at the beginning but became adventures of the sublime.
We will never forget the blackened skelton trees and the oak trees which were nothing but black ghosts bravely putting out leaves on their trunks. The absolute silence in the charred lands we crossed was disquieting and painful. We saw sights we never hope to see again but also new beginnings and tendrils of new life.
The rains of 2018 brought a bouquet of flowers to our stomping grounds and we flouished in the beauty of lupins, poppies, canyon sunflowers and hummingbird sage. The hillsides were paintings of vibrant color, every bend in the trail a new wonder, and we cherished every moment. My favorite Mother's Day was spent with my son on Sulphur Mountain basking in the beauty of the super bloom.
The "After the Fire" journey is an interesting one and full of surprises. We found trails we never new existed, old cabin foundations and creeks that changed their courses. Small changes intrigued us and I tried to document those for every trek. We were suprised to see what plants came back right after the fire, the first vestiages of new life, and how important quail are to the environment.
We have to accept our new wilderness but 2 1/2 years later it's a thiving forest. Animals are abundant, rattlesnakes are back and the birds singing is music to our ears.
