Category Archives: photography|landscape

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Exploring Calabasas Peak’s Southeast Ridge

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Topanga Ridge, Lookout and Saddle Peak from Calabasas Peak's southeast ridge.
Topanga Ridge, Lookout, and Saddle Peak from Calabasas Peak’s Southeast Ridge.

On the way down from Saddle Peak last Sunday, the “knob” at the end of Calabasas Peak’s southeast ridge caught my eye. For some time, I’ve been curious about the ridge and the unique sandstone ribs that form its backbone. The odd knob at the end of the ridge just increased my curiosity.

Calabasas Peak from the Stunt High Trail. (thumbnail)
Calabasas Peak from the Stunt High Trail.

This morning found me running (and hiking) up Calabasas Peak Mtwy. fire road towards Calabasas Peak. My rough plan was to do Calabasas Peak, explore the rock formations along the peak’s southeast ridge, and then do Topanga Lookout Ridge Loop and Saddle Peak.

Near the top of the fire road, I stopped to take a photo of the rock formations and rising sun. The marine layer created a peculiar veil of fog and haze that accentuated the rocks and ridges.

After a quick ascent of Calabasas Peak, I returned to the viewpoint at the top of the fire road and started working down the southeast ridge. A steep, brushy, convoluted, little-used path wound down and around the tops of the rock ribs along the ridge to a small clearing at a saddle below the “knob.”

Sandstone rib on Calabasas Peak's Southeast Ridge. (thumbnail)
Sandstone rib on Calabasas Peak’s Southeast Ridge.

It turned out that it was not a knob but another rocky rib that looked like a knob when viewed head-on. It was relatively easy to access the rib from the clearing. I ascended the rib until I ran out of rock, then descended it to a point below where I had joined it.

I briefly debated continuing down the ridge but decided to retrace my steps and return up the ridge to the viewpoint.

Once back on the fire road, I jogged down to its junction with Red Rock Road and started up Topanga Lookout Ridge. The rib at the end of Calabasas Peak’s southeast ridge doesn’t look anything like a knob from Topanga Lookout Ridge!

Later in the run, when I was on the way down from Saddle Peak, I looked across the canyon at the “knob” on Calabasas Peak and smiled. Checking it out had been an enjoyable adventure.

landscape, malibu creek state park, photography, photography|landscape, running, santa monica mountains, trails

Brent’s Mountain, Malibu Creek State Park

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Brent's Mountain, Malibu Creek State Park. Photography by Gary Valle'

Brent’s Mountain from Mesa Peak Mtwy fire road in Malibu Creek State Park.

The peak and several other locations in the area appear to be named after Edwin James Brent, a furniture store owner in Los Angeles.

“Brents Mountain” is noted on the U.S.G.S. 1929 Solstice Canyon topographic map. The rocky peak towered above Brent’s Mountain Crags resort, which was acquired in 1939 by the Salvation Army.

Adventurers driving to the remote resort likely would have stopped at the Shell gas station at Brent’s Junction — the intersection of Ventura Blvd. (Hwy 101) and Las Virgenes Road.

The photograph of Brent’s Mountain was taken on a recent run of a variation of the Bulldog Loop.

Some related posts:
– Clearing Clouds, Santa Monica Mountains
– Turning California Sycamore Along Malibu Creek
– Reagan Ranch at Sunrise

clouds, landscape, los angeles, malibu creek state park, nature, nature|clouds, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, santa monica mountains, trails, weather, weather

Clearing Clouds, Santa Monica Mountains

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Clearing clouds along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains. Photography by Gary Valle'

Clearing clouds along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains from Bulldog Mtwy fire road. The photograph was taken on a recent run of a variation of the Bulldog Loop.

Some related posts:
– Turning California Sycamore Along Malibu Creek
– Reagan Ranch at Sunrise

landscape, malibu creek state park, photography, photography|landscape, running, santa monica mountains, trails

Reagan Ranch at Sunrise

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Reagan Ranch at sunrise from the Cistern Trail in Malibu Creek State Park. Photography by Gary Valle'

Reagan Ranch at sunrise from the Cistern Trail in Malibu Creek State Park.

The photograph was taken on a recent run, near the start of an extended version of the Bulldog Loop.

Some related posts:
– Late Start on the Bulldog Loop
– Exploring Lake Vista Trail and Ridge
– A Displaced Bridge, Exceptional Backbone Trail Views, and a Card Table Along the Bulldog Loop

adventures, backbone trail, landscape, photography, photography|landscape, pt mugu state park, running, running|adventures, santa monica mountains, trails, trails|pt mugu state park

Sunrise Over Boney Mountain

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Sunrise over Boney Mountain in Point Mugu State Park

As I reached the benchmark on the top of the first hill on Boney’s western ridge, the sun creeped over the crest of Boney Mountain.

It had taken me about an hour to reach the benchmark from the Wendy Drive trailhead. It would take another hour to scramble up the ridge to the high point on the crest (unofficially “Boney Point”), and then another hour to work over Tri Peaks to the Backbone Trail and the summit of Sandstone Peak.

La Jolla Valley, Anacapa, and Santa Cruz Island from Boney Mountain (thumbnail)
La Jolla Valley, Anacapa, and Santa Cruz Island from Boney Mountain

From the crest there were splendid views of Sandstone Peak, Tri Peaks, and the Channel Islands. Captivated by the vista, my thoughts drifted to a trail run on Santa Cruz Island, where I had enjoyed the reciprocal view of Boney Mountain from El Montañon.

Once again, I got to the summit of Sandstone when no one was on the peak. After recording a video panorama from the summit, I scrambled back down the peak and then headed west on the Backbone Trail to the top of the Chamberlain Trail. Boney Bluff looms above the trail here and marks the beginning of the long descent to the Old Boney Trail.

On the way down Chamberlain, I talked to a hiker that was also doing an adventurous loop from the Wendy Drive Trailhead. At the top of the Chamberlain Trail he was planning to take the Tri Peaks Trail to Tri Peaks, and then work over to “Boney Point.” From there, he was going to descend the Lost Cabin Trail.

Western escarpment of Boney Mountain from the Chamberlain segment of the Backbone Trail
Western escarpment of Boney Mountain

At the bottom of the Chamberlain Trail I turned right on the Old Boney Trail and continued down to Blue Canyon. I hadn’t been through Blue Canyon since January and was curious to see how it fared after all the rainy season storms. The canyon is filled with rocky debris from millennia of flash floods. Flooding in the canyon sometimes obliterates sections of the Backbone Trail. Today, it looked like use and trailwork had reestablished washed out sections of the meandering trail.

Here’s a high resolution, interactive, 3D-terrain view of my route from Wendy Drive to Sandstone Peak and return via the Backbone Trail, Sycamore Canyon, and the Upper Sycamore Trail.

Some related posts:
– Not So Busy Sandstone Peak
– Looking for Boney Mountain
– Looking for Boney Peak
– Looking for Boney Bluff