For me part of the fun of trail running is not always following “the plan.”

When the doors of the car slammed shut at Tunnel #1 on Kanan-Dume road we had no idea that about the time we expected to be back to the car, we would be scrambling among huge boulders in a dramatic gorge of volcanic rock sculpted by Malibu Creek. It wasn’t part of the plan.

The plan had been to do a point to point run to Tapia Park along the Backbone Trail. But at the top of Upper Solstice Canyon, standing in a misty rain, we opted to run over to the Bulldog “T” and down into Malibu Creek State Park. And there we were, at least a few miles from the Backbone Trail, ogling the convoluted and pocketed walls along the creek, wishing we had our climbing gear!