Birthday Trail Run

I dearly love the Sierra Nevada and often find myself wishing that I lived in Mammoth Lakes or Bishop. The abundance of superb rock climbing, incredible mountain trails, fantastic skiing and the breath taking play of light on the valleys and peaks are the stuff I dream about. The thing is, however, is that the Los Padres offers a lot of the same things (although without the depth of snowpack are height of peaks!). For my birthday I went for a run on one of my favorite trails in my hometown of Ojai - Gridley Canyon - which accesses the summit of Nordhoff Peak. My twin brother and brother-in-law rode their mountain bikes while I ran. It wasn't an ambitious outing, but it was a great opportunity to be in the mountains with family and feel the flow of running up mountain trails. All told it is 14.6 miles round trip with 3,300 ft of gain. I couldn't have asked for a better day or a better way to spend my birthday. Not to mention that the view from the summit includes the Sespe Wilderness and the Pacific Ocean. Although we are only an hour-and-a-half north of Los Angeles, we are surrounded by wilderness and tremendous potential for outdoor adventures.