Forty for the Forest

Join RPL's Executive Director, Vic Thasiah, Co-President, Mike Scarber, and Board Member, Francois Appere to virtually run across the Sespe Wilderness to protect Pine Mountain. The Forest Service plans to expedite logging in proposed wilderness and across miles of old-growth forest and chaparral, deep in the Ventura County backcountry. This span of wilderness holds deep meaning for the Native Chumash as well as local communities for various outdoor activities. The proposal, located in a popular recreation area, was announced amidst the pandemic, economic crisis, and period of civil unrest. It would allow the logging of centuries-old trees, up to five feet in diameter, and the clearance of rare old-growth chaparral along six miles of the prominent ridge known as Pine Mountain stretching from Highway 33 to Reyes Peak.

The RPL team will be running a brutal yet beautiful 40 miles in the Sespe Wilderness. You can tackle this challenge with them by walking, hiking, and/or running a total of 40 miles over the course of the challenge. While they are running this in a day, we encourage you to get out over the set time frame in support of this same goal in protecting Pine Mountain. The challenge starts on Saturday, July 25th (the same day the RPL crew are undertaking this grand adventure) and ends on Friday, August 14th. You are invited to get your mileage in wherever you'd like, but we encourage you to explore new places in your county. 

Sign up now or anytime between July 25th and August 14th to participate! 

Follow us on Instagram (@Runners4PublicLands) for updates.

The public comment period to protect Pine Mountain ends on August 14th, which is also why we decided to end the challenge on this date. We encourage you to leave a comment. Please visit: https://forestwatch.p2a.co/vWmxfK0. 

All proceeds from the Forty for the Forest Virtual Challenge will go towards the Los Padres Forest Watch’s Pine Mountain Defense Fund. This includes registration fees, donations, and store sales. 

Uploading Your Mileage 
To upload and track your mileage, do the following steps: 
   1. Visit the "Results" section on our RunSignUp event page or by clicking here.
   2. Click the "Submit Virtual Results" button. 
   3. Use the Participant Lookup feature to find your name.
   4. Click the "Log Your Activities" button (you can log multiple activities at one time)
   5. If you hit the "Back to Results" button, it will take you to your individualized results page where you can see your cumulative mileage and where you would be if you were actually running the same Forty for the Forest route.