Category Archives: santa monica mountains

Sunlit Rocks Along Castro Peak Motorway

Rock formation along Castro Peak Mtwy fire road.

As I worked up the Bulldog climb on this morning’s run, I started to reminisce about the original Bulldog 50K course. When I reached the top, instead of making the usual turn to the left on Castro Peak Mtwy, I turned right, toward Castro Peak.

Barrier marking the private property line on Castro Peak Mtwy fire road
Barrier marking the private property line on Castro Peak Mtwy fire road.

Prior to 2004, this was the route of the Bulldog 50K. Back then, the 50K course worked over the shoulder of Castro Peak to the top of Upper Solstice Canyon, and then followed the Backbone Trail back to the top of Corral Canyon. The course had to be changed when the landowner closed a short stretch of dirt road on Castro Peak.

Today, I ran a bit more than a half-mile before reaching the razor and barbed-wire-laced barrier blocking the road. Then it was back to running the Bulldog – Phantom Loop combo and enjoying the spectacular Fall day.

Some related posts: Sean O’Brien 50K Training Run, Bulldog Training Run 2022, Bulldog Loop Plus the Phantom Loop

Bulldog Training Run 2022

Runners east of Corral Canyon on the Bulldog Loop

When I parked at Malibu & Piuma to do the Bulldog Loop on Sunday, I didn’t know that I was going to be swept up in a Bulldog Ultra training run.

I had just started up Bulldog Mtwy fire road when the first group of speedy runners swarmed past. The strenuous climb to the Castro Peak Mtwy gains about 1750 feet over 3.4 miles. Much of its infamy is due to the oven-like conditions typically experienced on the second loop during the Bulldog 50K.

New bridge extension across Malibu Creek on the Crags Road trail, east of the M*A*S*H site.
New bridge extension across Malibu Creek on the Crags Road trail, east of the M*A*S*H site.

This morning, the climb was a little warm in spots, but not bad. There was a good turnout for the training run and nearly everyone was enjoying the run.

On the way up I had an interesting conversation with a runner that had just done their first 100 miler and was going to pace someone in the AC100 this weekend.

In case you haven’t heard, State Parks has finally come up with a solution to the repeatedly washed-out footbridge across Malibu Creek, east of the M*A*S*H site. An extension was added to the massive block of concrete that formed the foundation of the old bridge. No more shaky log crossings — at least for a while.

Common Madia (Madia elegans) at the bottom of the Bulldog Mtwy fire road.
Common Madia (Madia elegans) at the bottom of the Bulldog Mtwy fire road.

Here’s an interactive, 3D terrain view of the Bulldog loop. The map can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. To change the view, use the control on the upper right side of the screen. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Poor weather and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.

Good luck to all the runners doing Bulldog — especially those doing their first trail race or ultra!

Some related posts: Sunlit Rocks Along Castro Peak Motorway; Trees, Bees, and a Washed-Out Footbridge on the Bulldog Loop in Malibu Creek State Park; Bulldog Loop Plus the Phantom Loop; After the Woolsey Fire: Bulldog Loop

Encelia Eruption

Bush sunflower (Encelia californica) along the Secret Trail in Calabasas

The bush sunflowers (Encelia californica) above are along the Secret Trail in Calabasas. While there have sometimes been showy displays of bush sunflowers along this trail, I don’t recall any quite as prolific as this. There were many other wildflowers as well (slideshow).

It’s been another bizarre rain year. While California water managers worry about water supplies, chaparral plants in the Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains seem quite happy with this season’s rainfall. There is a lot of new growth and plants appear to be playing catchup from last year’s dismal rain season. From the trail it looks more like an above average rain year, rather than the somewhat below normal rain year actually recorded.

High Point (Goat Peak) Via the Rivas Ridge Use Trail

Rivas Ridge use trail
Rivas Ridge Use Trail

My run started at the Top of Reseda. I’d used the Backbone Trail to run over to Will Rogers State Park (~10 miles) and then picked up the Rivas Canyon Trail on the west side of the park.

Poison oak along the Rivas Canyon Trail
Poison oak along the Rivas Canyon Trail

Roughly 11 miles into the run, I’d turned off the Rivas Canyon Trail and onto the Rivas Ridge use trail. This path is an alternative to the High Point use trail, which I’d used to climb High Point (Goat Peak) a few weeks before.

Now, I was about a mile up the ridge and the run/hike was going well. The use trail was a little overgrown in places, which resulted in a few pokes and prods, but no real bushwhacking was required. As on the High Point Trail, there were some steep sections and loose cobble, but there were runnable sections as well.

I’d done a long run in Pt. Mugu State Park the previous Sunday and some good miles during the week, so my legs were feeling the steeps. Poles would have helped with that.

Bush sunflower along the Rivas Ridge use trail
Bush sunflower along the Rivas Ridge use trail

Climbing up one of those steep sections, I stopped to take a picture of a familiar section of the Backbone Trail — the Chicken Ridge Bridge. I reached for my phone, and I felt the color drain from my face. All I found was an empty pocket.

Instead of the zip pocket designed for the phone, I’d used a bottle pocket for easier access. The phone must have slipped out when I’d reached down for something or ducked under a limb, or?

For a moment I just stood there, then in a rapid-fire sequence, several thoughts came to mind:

“How far back down should I go?”

“Where were those limbs I crawled under?”

“Hope I have all the 2FA backup codes I need.”

“How many hours do I have to look for the phone?”

“Find My iPhone might work here…”

“Where did I take the last photo?”

Losing a phone can REALLY be a pain. The one question I didn’t ask was probably the most important: “When did I last do a FULL backup of my phone?”

In the middle of this rush of thoughts, and despite the whining of my legs, I started back down the trail.

The phone HAD to be somewhere between here and the last place I took a photo. That didn’t make me feel any better. That was a ways down. I’d gone off-trail into relatively thick brush to take a photo of a large patch of bush sunflowers.

When you’re descending a steep trail you’ve already climbed, and know that you’re going to have to climb back up it again, every step seems a long way down.

Down, down, down and no sign of the phone. Where was that patch of sunflowers anyway?

After being decoyed by another patch of flowers, I finally reached the point where I left the trail. Incredibly, I found the phone sitting on top of a thick mat of brush, where I had crawled under some limbs. L U C K Y!

Backbone Trail and Chicken Ridge Bridge from the Rivas Ridge use trail.
Backbone Trail and Chicken Ridge Bridge

Rejuvenated by the adrenalin of a successful search, the remainder of the run went surprisingly well. The trail topped out on the High Point use trail, on a peak just north of High Point/Goat Mountain. It didn’t take long to get to the top of High Point, and soon I was headed back north on the High Point Trail, and then retracing my steps on the Backbone Trail back to Reseda.

Here’s an interactive, 3D terrain view of a GPS track of the route, zoomed in on the keyhole part of the loop. The map can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. To change the view, use the control on the upper right side of the screen. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Poor weather, and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.

Some related posts: Goat Peak and the High Point Trail From the Top of ResedaWill Rogers – Rivas Canyon – Temescal Canyon Trail Run, Racing the Weather to High Point (Goat Peak) and Back

Trippet Ranch Loop Plus the Santa Ynez Trail

Creek crossing on the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail

I had just waded down a 50 yard stretch of creek where the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail used to be. Three hikers working up the canyon were trying to find a way past the flooded section without getting their boots wet. That wasn’t going to be easy.

Debris at creek crossing in Santa Ynez Canyon.

I had been doing the same thing higher in the canyon. It was a chilly morning, and I had no great desire to soak my shoes in cold water. The usual rock and limb crossings had worked well until the trail ended in a broad area of flowing creek. Once my shoes were wet, it simplified the process.

That the trail was flooded following several days of rain wasn’t that surprising. What was a surprise is that there hadn’t been higher flows and more damaging flash floods in the canyon.

Creek crossing near the Santa Ynez Canyon Trailhead, on Michael Lane.
Creek crossing near the Santa Ynez Canyon Trailhead

Santa Ynez Canyon was the focus of the Palisades Fire, and a large part of the drainage was burned to a moonscape. Burned slopes often amplify runoff from heavy rain, producing damaging flash floods and debris flows. While there was clearly high flows in the canyon, the levels were less than what I’ve seen in similar circumstances, in other burn areas. One possibility is that unburned trees and brush along the streambed higher in the canyon had attenuated the flow.

After doing the out and back on the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail, I continued down to Trippet Ranch and then, like last week, returned using the Musch, Garapito, and Bent Arrow Trails.

One of several sections of the Bent Arrow Trail damaged by slides. January 2,2022.
Section of the Bent Arrow Trail damaged by a slide

There were a number small rock slides, sluffs, and sediment flows along the trails and roads. A couple of people were working on clearing the limbs and small trees that had fallen across the Garapito Trail. The collapsed oak at the bottom of the Garapito Trail had settled, and was easier to get through this time.

The trail that really took it on the chin was the Bent Arrow Trail. Several sections of the trail were damaged by slides.

I usually do the Santa Ynez Canyon Trail as part of the Trailer Canyon – Santa Ynez – Trippet Ranch Loop. Tacking on the trail as an out and back addition to the loop was slightly shorter, but had a little more elevation gain/loss.

Some related posts: Trippet Ranch Loop After the Palisades Fire, Clouds, Canyons and Wildflowers, Running Between Storms on the Trippet Ranch Loop, Go Figure

Goat Peak and the High Point Trail From the Top of Reseda

Goat Peak and the High Point Trail
The High Point Trail

Like many that enjoy our local mountains, I’m always on the lookout for new trails, new peaks, and interesting loops. A couple of months ago, after running to “The Oak Tree” on the Rogers Road segment of the Backbone Trail, I checked out the upper part of the High Point Trail.

This 2-mile long unofficial, unmaintained, use trail connects the Backbone Trail to the Rivas Canyon Trail. My thought was that I could use the trail to do a variation of the Will Rogers – Temescal Canyon Loop. Instead of running down the lower half of Rogers Road Trail to Will Rogers SHP, I could descend the High Point Trail, pick up the Rivas Canyon Trail, and then finish the loop by the usual route. On paper it made perfect sense.

Steep step in Cretaceous-age cobble on the High Point Trail
Steep step in Cretaceous-age cobble on the High Point Trail

As sometimes happens, it wasn’t quite as straightforward as it looked on the map. Blame the dinosaurs. The trail has several steep sections where eroding Cretaceous-age cobble does its best to take you for a ride. Plus, I happened to be using shoes worn smooth by nearly 500 miles of running.

More than one hiker going up the trail commented about my choice to descend the trail. Being careful not to do anything stoopid, the descent — and the rest of the loop — worked out OK.

Since doing the High Point Trail in the wrong direction and with worn-out shoes, I’ve wanted to go back and do a different loop that climbs UP the trail. That’s what I was doing this morning.

Hazy view of Santa Monica Bay from the High Point Trail
Santa Monica Bay from the High Point Trail

The first half of the run was the same as the Will Rogers – Temescal Canyon Loop. However, instead of continuing to Temescal Canyon on the Rivas Canyon Trail, I picked up the High Point Trail at the “cactus garden.” This is about 11.5 miles into the run. (The start of the High Point Trail has closely-spaced steps that have been eroded by runoff.)

As you might expect, going up the High Point Trail was much better than going down. Care was still required, but it was a far more enjoyable experience. Between the steep sections there was a surprising amount of runnable trail.

Chaparral on the High Point Trail.
Running through chaparral on the High Point Trail.

This time my shoe choice was the HOKA Speedgoat. These have a full-length, sticky-rubber outsole. I’ve had many pairs, and it’s my trail running shoe of choice for more difficult terrain.

From the top of Reseda, the Goat Peak High Point Trail keyhole loop worked out to about 20 miles, with about 3300′ of elevation gain. Here’s an interactive, 3D terrain view of a GPS track of the route, zoomed in on the keyhole part of the loop. The map can be zoomed, tilted, rotated, and panned. To change the view, use the control on the upper right side of the screen. Track and placename locations are approximate and subject to errors. Poor weather, and other conditions may make this route unsuitable for this activity.