Craig R. Carey and Bryan Conant, two wanderers of our local hills, valleys and forests, are teaming up with the Ventura Land Trust for a fast-paced, informative and often hilarious lecture highlighting their outdoor adventures at 7PM on Thursday, Sept. 13 at the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd.

“Amazing Backcountry Adventures” features outdoor author Craig R. Carey and, Bryan Conant, cartographer and director of Los Padres Forest Association (LPFA), sharing adventurous tales gathered from more than 60 combined years of hiking in our local backcountry. They have experienced mountain lion encounters “as cool as you please,” close encounters with backcountry raptors, being stuck in a tent for 14 hours awaiting better weather, to-die-for sunrises and sunsets, miles of mapping trails with only canines for company and working to create the proposed Condor Trail.

Carey credits his kids for bolstering his passion for the great outdoors because, “they allow me to view the wilderness and its gifts through fresh eyes and remind me to not see it as a project, but rather as a refuge and a place full of wonder.” Carey shares that passion by taking youth outdoors, many of whom have never been on a trail. His book, Hiking and Backpacking Santa Barbara and Ventura, has been updated with GPS coordinates designed to help hikers customize their own adventure.

Conant started his “love affair” with our local backcountry after some friends took him to the swimming holes at Red Rock in Santa Barbara County. Realizing existing maps of the local wilderness areas were not good enough, he decided to create his own. “It was the perfect opportunity to blend two of my passions: backpacking and cartography,” he said in an interview.

The community lecture, Ventura Land Trust’s third installment in their 2018 Environmental Speaker Series, is one of many ways VLT works to educate the public about important environmental topics. A suggested donation of $10 per person will be collected at the door to go toward fire restoration work at Big Rock Preserve.

Reservations are highly encouraged. Click here to RSVP

This installment in the Environmental Speaker Series generously sponsored by Sunrun