Category Archives: trails

Cranking Up Las Llajas

Connector from Las Llajas Canyon to Rocky Peak Rd.

Ran a variation of the Chumash-Las Llajas loop this morning. One of the reasons for the run was to check out one of the larger vernal ponds in the Rocky Peak area and see if it had water. It didn’t.

Another reason is the loop is part of the grueling Bandit 30K/50K course, and the February 20th race date will be here before we know it.

The hill the MTBers are cranking up covers about miles 12 to 13 on the Bandit 30K course, and follows a gradual — but long — uphill in Las Lajas Canyon that gains 600′ of elevation over 3 miles. It’s just one of the fun parts of a tough 30K course, and 50Kers get to do it twice!

Some related posts: Bandit 30K Course Preview, Running Rocky Peak Road, Bandit 30K 2009, Bandit Country

Simi Valley Open Space

View northwest from Rocky Peak road in Rocky Peak Park.

The view is northwest from Rocky Peak road in Rocky Peak Park. In the distance is Marr Ranch Open Space, Tapo Canyon Regional Park, and Whiteface Open Space. The Ventura Mountains are shrouded in clouds.

From today’s out and back run from Chatsworth Oaks Park, near Chatsworth Reservoir, to “fossil point” on Rocky Peak road.

Waiting for the Sun

Chumash Rocks Sunset

The temperature was in the low fifties, but with a 20 mph wind it was cold. I had just run up the Chumash trail, and was on my way down. The sun was nearing the horizon and hidden by a band of clouds. It had been like that since I topped out at Rocky Peak road. I hoped by the time I reached a vantage point of Chumash Rocks the setting sun would break underneath the clouds and illuminate the formation.

Nope. When I reached the viewpoint, the rocks were still in shadow. And the wind was even stronger. Squeezed between two hills, it rushed through the little col in cold, turbulent gusts. Buffeted by the wind, and chilled to the bone, I waited for the sun.

And waited. It was too cold to just stand there. I took a few photos, but the sun and clouds were not cooperating. At some point, minutes away, the sun would set, and that would be that. The photo just wasn’t going to happen. I returned to the trail and began to run down the hill.

In the lee of the hills the wind lessened, and it was not so cold. It was still a few minutes before sunset, and as I rounded a corner I could see a bright glow at the edge of the clouds.

I was several hundred yards down the trail when the first hint of sunlight appeared on a distant hill. It was veiled and muted, but it was sun. Maybe there was time. I turned and hurried back up the trail.

Ladyface the Long Way

Ladyface from Heartbreak Ridge
Ladyface from Heartbreak Ridge

I wasn’t familiar with the routes on Ladyface, and wasn’t certain I could get to the peak directly from the Heartbreak Ridge trail. But that’s part of the fun of an adventure run. I had a general idea of what I wanted to do — an out and back from the Phantom trailhead in Malibu Creek State Park to the top of Ladyface. And I had an idea of the time available to do it — about four hours. The details would sort themselves out along the way.

Or at least that was the theory. It was now three in the afternoon, and I was one hour and 56 minutes into sorting out those details. Theoretically, I was supposed to be on the summit of Ladyface in about four minutes.

View from Ladyface to Heartbreak Ridge and Ventura Frwy.
View from Ladyface to Heartbreak Ridge and Ventura Frwy.

Earlier, I had run out of trail descending Heartbreak Ridge, and had used a network of coyote paths to get down to Cornell & Kanan roads. But then I chosen the wrong “trail” to start the climb of the peak.

For sure the route would follow one of the prominent ridges on the east side of the mountain. Since the descent of Heartbreak Ridge left me on the northeast side of the peak I had looked for a route there. One car was parked at the start of a dirt road, and a street vendor had indicated he’d seen people start the climb there. My thought was that maybe an established trail would work up the canyon and onto the northeast ridge.

Wrong Charlie Brown! The trail, which (ha!) turned out to be a freeride course, was a dead end. Following it burned about 10 minutes and a good chunk of elevation gain. I ran down and jumped up onto the northeast ridge, where I found a use trail.

Hikers descending the east/southeast ridge of Ladyface
Hikers descending the east/southeast ridge of Ladyface

Low on the ridge it looked like this trail might go to a subsidiary peak and not the true summit of Ladyface. Whatever it did, I was now short on time, and committed to this approach. I would follow it until either I ran out of time, or reached a summit.

The face was deep in shadow and wet from Friday night’s rain. Still a couple hundred vertical feet below its top, I zig-zagged up through the steep outcrops of Conejo volcanic rock. It wasn’t how I had pictured the trail on Ladyface, and I hadn’t expected to be climbing on wet, mossy holds for the second weekend in a row.

Two hours and 3 minutes into the adventure I scrambled onto the summit. A surprised hiker asked, “Where did you come from?” I explained, and he commented, “I’ve never climbed Ladyface that way.”

I jogged down the well-used, but somewhat manky trail on the east/southeast ridge, followed Kanan back to Cornell Rd., climbed back up Heartbreak Ridge, and made it back to the car a couple of minutes after five o’clock.