The Lake Fire Aftermath at Midland School

By Pat Fish

It had been 30 months since Tobe Mule and I last rode the trails at the vast Midland School property, and the Lake Fire three months ago took a devastating toll. I wanted to see the changes.

So when I was invited to join a group of riders meeting under the auspices of the Santa Barbara County Trails Council I leapt at the chance.

The school was on a break, so we knew the trails would not be crowded. Weather was perfect.

Midland School is set on 2,860 acres in the mountains at the edge of the Los Padres Wilderness.

It is an exclusive nature-based boarding school for the children of the elite.

This map will serve to orient where it is.

Before the ride began Mark Wilkinson of the Trails Council gave us a pep talk and described the work the organization does, and Supervisor Joan Hartman spoke of her work to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of trails in the area. Then Otis Calef of the Council described how he and Ray Ford over decades have turned cow paths into a trail system.

We set off to ride the Lovers’ Loop trail, and notice the dominant triangular shape of Grass Mountain top right on the map. It will appear in the background of many of the following photos.

The dozen riders stretched out in a long line as we set off. You can see Grass Mountain top left.

It serves as an orientation point for all travel in this area, and as a result it would be difficult to get lost.

Immediately it was apparent that this whole area had been swept by fire, and the sagebrush scrub and grasses that once thickly carpeted it are gone. The oak trees are amazing, many extremely old, and they often find a way to regenerate new growth.

For comparison I will insert photos of this same valley the last time I visited.

The bushes of sage which form the dominant scent of travel through these mountains is lost here now. We can hope with winter rains the roots will revive themselves.
But the stumps of trees and the barren ash-strewn wastes are desolate now.

Ecologists will say that “fires are a necessary part of the life cycle” but it is a sad sight nonetheless.

Once upon a time it was a green and pleasant land.

In especially perfect years the side of the mountain is covered in California poppies. Quite the sight to see.

But today we trekked the endless switchbacks that take the explorer up and up from the valley floor.

Tobe Mule is a bit slower than the horses, mea culpa, I often ask him to stop and wait for photo opportunities.

And he, being an opportunistic fellow, uses those delays to find tasty grasses and herbs to nibble as we travel.

A lot of work has been done on the trails to clear away the downed trees.

I am particularly fond of the snake-like bark of the older oaks, that speaks of their decades of perseverance on the land.

And the lace lichen, an organism that hangs profusely from the oaks and is visibly similar to the Spanish moss in the American South.

The valley we have just ascended from, in unburnt verdant green.

And now.

Looking up and across it is easy to track where the fire burned, July 2024.

Right about now Tobe Mule and I are thinking this is about enough. But no point in that, we’ve just hit the middle of the trek.

And no doubt the view is worth the effort in climbing. That grey marine layer haze at the far right is the Pacific Ocean, as we are looking West out across the Space Force Base.

So now the trail angles downward, and we begin the long loop back to the trailhead.

Of course at this point the animals who are doing all the work are getting tired, and glad to recognize our turning back in the direction from which we started.

What look like snowdrifts are actually white ash, the cremains of trees once so dominant in this forest.

And what a welcome sight for a thirsty mule, a river tamed with small rock dams.

And we will proceed to follow it back towards the road and then the trailhead.

The ride ends with gratitude to the Midland School for access, and the Trails Council for setting up this ride and asking Otis Calef to be the trail boss on his trusty mule Pretty Boy Floyd. And my riding companion Jamie Buse and her feisty Mosca the racehorse, whose assistance in adventuring is vital to my success.

And most especially my gratitude to my own Kentucky stalwart Tobe Mule, who is my legs.