The Sespe River. Just 50 miles straight line from Los Angeles, this place is legit wilderness. There are bighorn sheep here. There are mountain lions here. There are black bears here. There are frogs, snakes, turtles, birds galore, and fish. Steelhead trout make it here from the ocean. The California golden beaver and the grizzly used to be here. And the California condor partly made its comeback here.

Most trips I take tend to go about as expected. This 4-day backpack along the Sespe River would fall under the “exceeds expectations” category. This trip was straight up magical.  Maybe it was the fact that I saw 34 bighorn sheep in 3 sightings. Or the amazing hot springs. Or the picture perfect camping. Or the hidden swimming hole along the Sespe, or the falling asleep to an orchestra of croaking frogs each night. Or…

The pictures below that show a smaller stream (not the Sespe River) or pools…this water is hot. Easily the hottest hot springs I’ve been to. The entire stream is hot for a good 1/4-1/2 mile and there are a few perfect pools to soak in.