Hike Figueroa Mountain via Davy Brown and Munch Canyon Loop Los Padres National Forest, CA

Apr 24, 2023 — I determined I could combine some of the trails on the north side of Figueroa Mountain to form a nice loop, the summit being my halfway point. I decided to ascend via the Davy Brown Trail and Willow Spring Trail, then descend using the upper reaches of the Davy Brown Trail, followed by the Munch Canyon Trail. My main excitement for visiting the mountain was to see the peak's reported insane wildflower bloom. Rather than drive to the summit to see the flowers like most seem to do, I set out from the Davy Brown Campground (marked on some maps as "Davey Brown"). Any car can get to the trailhead, though there was a small section of rutting early on along Happy Canyon Road, but it was short-lived and likely will be fixed at some point. Davy Brown Campground requires a day use fee, even if you're not camping, so you may want to consider parking farther east along the road somewhere to avoid the fee.

A prominent sign warned of changed conditions on the Davy Brown Trail, but I arrogantly walked past it, my mind already set on the route. The hike began with a grassy clearing with lovely views offering an inviting start. The trail narrowed into the forest, following the babbling Davy Brown Creek. A couple of crossings of the creek and navigating around downed logs were no big deal, but then I noticed the ubiquitous poison oak I'd somehow failed to ackowledge earlier. I picked my way along the trail more carefully now, certain I could manage to avoid it. The trail was actually overall in pretty good shape, considering the clear lack of recent maintenance.

I tripped on a root trying to avoid a patch of poison oak, haplessly catapulting myself into a smaller stalk of the stuff on the opposite side of the trail. Lovely. I guessed I might as well just keep going at this point. The day after I thought I was in the clear. "Ah-ha! I must be immune!" And a day after that, my irritated leg forced me to realize that I didn't, in fact, somehow obtain an immunity to poison oak. My friend Chris joined a few days later and was completely covered from knee to buttcrack from during his own adventuring, so I couldn't complain too much about my light exposure in comparison.

Anyway, after some hiking through minor overgrowth and gaining elevation along the Davy Brown Trail, I reached a signed junction. Left continued along the Davy Brown Trail and ultimately up to Figueroa Mountain Road, while I took the Willow Spring Trail to the right, leaving Davy Brown and his nasty plants behind. Of course that wasn't the case. Plenty more overgrowth and poison oak greeted me along the Willow Spring Trail, but now I had the benefit of also enjoying a steep ascent through a tunnel of foliage. At one point the trail was totally washed out and I got turned around relocating it.

The trail improved dramatically after about 3000', but of course this was well into the hike already. I reached a junction at Willow Spring where a tent was set up, but without an occupant. A trail saw rested nearby, and I'd soon learn this person had been clearing part of the Willow Spring Trail, just not the lower section. From the junction, I continued to the right where a sign pointed toward Catway Road. This portion of the hike was wide and recently fixed up. I ascended slowly along the slope, all easy walking. It was quite a different endeavor and I immediately felt spoiled, though grateful, for people who maintain these remote trails. The Willow Spring Trail made a few steep switchbacks along a glorious wildflower-covered slope before reaching the dirt road higher up.

An unofficial trail leads up to Figueroa Mountain from here, a steep affair on loose terrain. After all my effort, I found myself in the midst of cars and a small crowd at the summit of Figueroa Mountain. I don't blame people for not wanting to put in all that effort. It's a great viewpoint and if there's a way to see it without hiking, do your thing. I was thrilled to see Hurricane Deck to the north, a gorgeous summit from earlier in the day.

I wasn't looking forward to the Munch Canyon Trail since there was so much unknown regarding its quality, but at the summit I had some cell service so I read Valerie Norton's lovely trip report. She outlined the disrepair of the portoin of the loop I'd just done, but spoke highly of the second half still to come which leads down Munch Canyon. Thrilled my loop would still be viable, I set off briefly along the Figueroa Lookout Road. All throughout my hike I'd intended to hike down the road just to check out the superbloom, but by the time I got here the reality of walking along a busy, dusty road to see wildflowers didn't appeal to me anymore.

I headed southeast along the ridgeline when the road bent the opposite direction, a social trail leading me onward. At the end of the ridge, the slope dropped dramatically to the upper Davy Brown Trailhead just below. I slowly made my way down toward it, keeping the slope grade as reasonable as I could. Alternatively, you could follow the Figueroa Lookout Road down, adding a mile or so to the hike, but skipping this overly steep section. Once at the upper Davy Brown Trailhead, I started with glee into a grassy meadow. The trail narrowed into a drainage complete with flowing water and a unique erosion pattern that pushed through fun rock layers. This was already a much more interesting endeavor than my ascent was.

I met with Davy Brown Creek again, following it to a muddled trail junction. Left was the Willow Spur Trail and straight continued along the Davy Brown Trail, so both would lead me back to my ascent route. I didn't want that. The Munch Canyon Trail was hidden by a downed tree on the right, and I was surprised to find it would be ascending for a few hundred feet out of the Davy Brown drainage. There were lovely views toward the green hillside on the way up, and then the Munch Canyon Trail descended north through yet another overgrown portion of trail. The brush was non-offensive and smelled pretty nice, so I didn't mind. I was dumped into a clearing within Munch Canyon, and then back into overgrowth. I found myself hunched over, the trail a tunnel through the tall brush.

I reached a final junction with a rusted gate. The Munch Canyon Trail heads west and parallels the Sunset Valley Road, but I was getting tired of being whacked in the face by pleasant-smelling flowery limbs, so I decided to just use the unmarked trail alternative to get back to the road, an easier undertaking. The road walk back to the trailhead was lit up by the sunset and I didn't regret my decision at all. Overall this was a nice little adventure, but not a relaxing trail jaunt like I sort of had hoped for.