My 18 year old daughter and I did a weekend camping trip to Los Padres National Forest, Mt. Pinos Campground.  This was our first time to Los Padres, which I always overlooked for the "real" So Cal camping/hiking in Angeles, San Gorgornio and Joshua Tree.  I was blown away! Los Padres is a jewel of a forest...it was so easy to get to from LA, the forest look really healthy and the mountain and valleys were abosolutely gorgeous!  We had a great campsite at 8000 feet on the edge of the mountain with a stunning valley view.  Did Mt. Pinos trail, Chumash WIlderness and other shorter local hikes.  We had the campsite almost all to ourselves on Friday and shared with half a dozen others on Sat.  The Camp Host, Don, was friendly, informative and in control, keeping the peace.  We are definitely coming again, and I am going to do some backpacking in Dick Smith and Sepse Wildernesses.  I almost don't want to log this trip because I want the Los Padres to remain undiscovered by the masses!