"Middle Bear Meadow", Los Padres National Forest, Dick Smith Wilderness

"Middle Bear Meadow", Los Padres National Forest, Dick Smith Wilderness. 8 x 8 inches, acrylic on panel, $450

From the Sisquoc River we hiked a nice 6 miles up the canyon to the headwaters. As you go up in elevation the river comes down several 30 foot rock steps, all beautiful flowing waterfalls at the time. The switch backs that follow this river are incredibly steep. Honestly though with views of waterfall after waterfall it was the easiest hike on the trip. We made camp at Middle Bear, which has this amazing meadow. No water in the meadow but a short jaunt down the river water bursting right out of the rock. The next day I woke up before everyone else. Instead of waking them all up like I usually do I snuck away and hung out for a few hours as the sunlight slowly overtook the meadow. I was sure the bear was watching me from some hidden vantage point.