Volunteers Clean Up Sespe Creek and Piedra Blanca

Thanks to this amazing group of volunteers for spending their time cleaning up such a special area.

On Saturday, November 4, a group of 16 volunteers (and one dog!) ventured out to Piedra Blanca in the Los Padres National Forest to clean up trash. This awesome group of volunteers hiked three miles and removed more than 100 pounds of trash from along the trail and around a popular swimming hole on Sespe Creek!

The weather was beautiful as the group set out from the Piedra Blanca Trailhead down into the Sespe Creek valley below. Our primary focus was around a swimming hole along Sespe Creek not far from the trailhead — an area heavily visited during the summer. There we found the usual: bottles, cans, wrappers, and the occasional decaying sleeping pad. One volunteer even found a seemingly bottomless cache of broken bottles wedged between some rocks.

Already veteran ForestWatch volunteers!

After cleaning up the swimming hole and surrounding area, the group set out for Piedra Blanca. Many of the volunteers were experiencing the gorgeous rock formations for the first time. We even had some young volunteers whose energy somehow increased as the day went on. Their enjoyment exploring Piedra Blanca was obvious to all.

Thanks to all who participated in this cleanup hike! We look forward to getting out to this wonderful area again soon. See below for more pictures from the trip, and be sure to check out our upcoming volunteer projects to find out how you can get involved!