Category Archives: trails|smmc open space

photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|smmc open space

Boney Mountain Western Ridge & Loop

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Part way up the western ridge route on Boney Mountain's north side.

Two routes are commonly used to climb the rugged north side of Boney Mountain. One route ascends a ridge to the east of the Danielson cabin site, and the other a rocky ridge to the west of the site. Today, I was planning to do the western ridge, and then continue up and over Tri-Peaks to the Chamberlain segment of the Backbone Trail.

The day was chilly. In the deep shadows along Danielson Road, puddles of water were frozen, and frosty soil crunched underfoot. Shadow turned to sun at the turnoff to the cabin site, and I paused for a moment to enjoy the warm sunshine and gaze at the rocks towering above Danielson’s canyon. This impressive formation straddles the western ridge and I wondered just how spectacular the crags would be.


Crags on the western ridge route of Boney Mountain.
Spurred by a small surge of adrenalin, I turned and continued up the Old Boney Trail. From its highpoint I followed a use trail to the top of benchmarked “Hill 1918.” The first big outcrops loom above this point, and they mark the start of the more challenging part of the western ridge.

Although some sections were a bit overgrown, the route was fairly well defined. Despite appearances, there was no significant bushwacking, and only a little scrambling up, or across, short sections of low angle rock. By usual mountaineering standards the climbing was not difficult — class 2 to marginal class 3 — but some skilled route finding is required. It was fun finding my way through the imposing outcrops of angular and pocketed Conejo volcanic rock.


Pt. Mugu State Park, the Channel Islands, Oxnard Plain, and the mountains of Ventura and Santa Barbara
Higher on the ridge the route played tag with the edge of the precipitous cliffs of the Boney Mountain escarpment. At various points there are craggy views of Pt. Mugu State Park, the Channel Islands, Oxnard Plain, and the mountains of Ventura and Santa Barbara. Eventually, the route emerges from a steep thicket of red shanks at a small saddle north of Tri-Peaks.

From here, I continued to Tri-Peaks and was soon enjoying the superlative downhill of the Chamberlain Trail. This time, instead taking one of several routes down to Big Sycamore Canyon, I looped back on the Old Boney Trail to the start of the climb. From here I retraced my route on the Danielson Road back to Satwiwa and the Wendy Drive trailhead.

The course worked out to about 16 miles with an elevation gain of over 4000 ft.

Some related posts: Boney Mountain – Big Sycamore Canyon Circuit – Coyote Trail Variation, Clearing Clouds on Boney Mountain

nature, trails, trails|smmc open space

Fossil Trail – Pt. Mugu State Park

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Shell impressions on the Fossil Trail in Pt. Mugu State Park.

The Fossil Trail is a steep, approximately mile-long trail in Pt. Mugu State Park that connects the Upper Sycamore Trail, near its junction with Sycamore Canyon Road, to the Old Boney Trail. The most obvious fossils are shell impressions and remnants found in an exposed layer of sandstone about a tenth of a mile below the Old Boney Trail junction. Some of the shell impressions are palm-sized and larger.

The shells appear to be a type of cockle (Anadara devincta) that is an indicator of Miocene-age formations. (See the Oregon Sea Grant publication “Fossils You Can Find on Oregon Beaches.“)  In this case, the fossil exposure appears to be in the Lower Topanga Formation, which is believed to have been formed in the middle to early Miocene, about 20 million years ago.

The shape, thickness and ribbing of this type of shell increases its strength and resistance to crushing — improving the shell’s chances of remaining intact when buried in sediment, and during subsequent geologic processes. This may be one of the reasons it is a prevalent indicator fossil.

The photograph is from Sunday’s run from Wendy Drive to Serrano Valley.

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Serrano Valley from Wendy Drive

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Descending to Serrano Valley in Pt. Mugu State Park

Scruffy clouds clung to the mountain ridges and summits, confirmation that a weak cold front was moving through the area, cooling temperatures and stirring up the wind. The forecast for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area had mentioned 25 to 35 mph winds with gusts to 60 mph. So far the weather in Pt. Mugu State Park had been nearly perfect — breezy and little chilly, but without the impenetrable winds that can take all the joy out of running.

Earlier we had climbed the Fossil Trail, a steep mile-long trail that connects the Upper Sycamore Trail, near its junction with Sycamore Canyon Road, to the Old Boney Trail. With only a few weeks remaining to the Solstice, shadows in the canyon were long and the light wintery. I thought we might have missed the fossils, but we happened on a nice exposure about a tenth of a mile below the Old Boney Trail junction.

About 5.5 miles later, we turned off the Old Boney Trail and descended to the rolling grasslands of Serrano Valley, another “must see” area of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Located on the east side of Big Sycamore Canyon, Serrano Valley is a more rugged counterpart to La Jolla Valley, just three miles to the west. Overseen by the castle-like summits of Boney Mountain, its vistas have a roughhewn edge, reminiscent of the most wild areas of the western U.S.

Here is a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of a GPS trace of our approximately 19 mile route to Serrano Valley and back to Wendy Drive.

Related posts: La Jolla Valley & Mugu Peak from Wendy Drive, Fossil Trail – Pt. Mugu State Park

nature, nature|weather, photography, photography|landscape, running, running|adventures, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

T-storms and Trail Work

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Old Boney Trail in the Boney Mountain Wilderness

When I woke to the rumble of thunder, rain pounding the roof, and wind roaring in the trees, I wondered if a planned run of the Boney Mountain Half Marathon course with John Dale was going to turn into an epic. Radar and satellite imagery showed subtropical moisture streaming in from the southwest, producing bands of showers and thunderstorms. Things don’t always look as bad at the trailhead as they do on weather radar, so I grabbed my gear and headed for Wendy Drive.

The weather looked promising driving through Agoura, but the further west I drove, the more ominous the skies became. Somewhere around Lynn Road KNX announced that the NWS had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Santa Clarita area, with cloud to ground lightning, heavy rain, possible damaging winds and dime-sized hail. It was with that thought in mind, and a shower pelting the car, that I pulled into the parking area on Potrero Rd.

If anything, weather is fickle, and sometimes that quirkiness can work for you. There was an area of heavy rain to the west, but the activity appeared to be skirting the area, so we opted to start the run.


Thunderstorm marching northeast from the Santa Barbara Channel across the Oxnard Plain.
There were a few sprinkles as we jogged down the blacktop into Big Sycamore Canyon, and a few more as we did the first easy mile of the Hidden Pond Trail. Down in the canyon it was hard to tell what the weather was doing, but after gaining some elevation we reached a better vantage point. Just a few miles away thunderstorms were being swept northeast from the Santa Barbara Channel, across the Oxnard Plain, and into the Ventura Mountains.

Skies darkened and the shower intensity increased as we ran down Ranch Center Fire Road. The wind was blowing in the fitful gusts that precede a thunderstorm, and it felt as if the sky might fall at any moment. With a slight shift in the track of the thunderstorms we might be running in a deluge, dodging lightning strikes.

But it didn’t shift. Following the shower, the sun broke through the clouds just long enough to add glints to the raindrops dripping from the leaves of sycamores and oaks in Blue Canyon. Under overcast skies, we climbed up the Old Boney Trail and into the Boney Mountain Wilderness.

We had not seen a hiker, runner, or rider since turning onto the Hidden Pond Trail early in the run. So it was a bit of a surprise when we rounded a corner and ran into Ed Reid and several other volunteers with the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council doing trail maintenance on a section of the Old Boney Trail.

Just about any weekend of the year, dedicated members of the SMMTC will be somewhere in the Santa Monica Mountains, working on a trail. To get a better idea of the amount of work done and the number of trails involved, take a look at this list of recently maintained trails! How many of these have you hiked, run or ridden?

There are several ways to help support SMMTC:

  • Volunteer to do trail maintenance.
  • Join the SMMTC.
  • Make your REI purchases using the REI link on the SMMTC web site. REI will donate a percentage of the purchase to SMMTC.

See the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council web site for more info.

Some related posts: Boney Mountain Half Marathon, Return to Hidden Pond

nature, trails, trails|smmc open space

Rocky Peak After the Sesnon Fire

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View southeast toward Porter Ranch from the summit of Rocky Peak following the Sesnon Fire.

My run to “Fossil Point” on Rocky Peak road, and side trip to Rocky Peak, was not the appalling experience I’ve come to expect when investigating a wildland area that has been overrun by a Southern California brush fire. Much of the chaparral along the fire road was not burned. Here are a few photos:

View southeast toward Porter Ranch from the summit of Rocky Peak (larger image).

View north toward Rocky Peak where the trail levels out, about 1.4 miles from the trailhead.

Burned area near viewpoint of Simi Valley about 2.3 miles from the trailhead.

View north from the summit of Rocky Peak. Rocky Peak fire road is on the far left, and the Johnson trail is on the right.

Unburned area along Rocky Peak fire road about 2.8 miles from the trailhead. Rocky Peak is the peak on the left.

False color image of slopes on the southwest side of Blind Canyon. The image has been modified to emphasize burned and unburned areas.

Some related posts: Chumash Trail – Sesnon & Simi Fires, San Fernando Valley from Rocky Peak

nature, trails, trails|smmc open space, weather, weather|southern california

Chumash Trail – Sesnon & Simi Fires

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Scorched yerba santa along the Chumash Trail.

This weather worn sandstone boulder is a familiar landmark to those who do the Chumash Trail. It’s a little less than a mile up the trail, and is at the point where the trail turns east and continues its climb along a cobble strewn divide. The chaparral here and elsewhere along the Chumash Trail was burned last week by the western front of the Sesnon fire.

In the areas bordering the Chumash Trail, the Sesnon Fire appears to have been much less intense than the 2003 Simi Fire. In the case of the Simi Fire, it had been about 15 years since the area was burned, the fuel load was moderately high, and the fire intensity was such that nearly all plant materials were consumed down to the mineral earth.

Recovery from the Simi Fire has been primarily through the slow processes of basal-sprouting and seed germination. Just prior to the Sesnon Fire, common chaparral plants such as chamise, yerba santa, toyon and holly-leaved cherry had recovered about 70% to 90% of their 2003 size.

The recency of the Simi fire appears to have reduced the fuel load available to the Sesnon Fire. In many cases grasses and other annuals (many invasive) were consumed, but adjacent chaparral shrubs were only scorched. Many of these shrubs look like they will probably be able to recover through foliage replacement, rather than crown-sprouting. One exception might be laurel sumac, which appears to have been less fire tolerant.

Update 12/23/08. Only a small percentage of the scorched Yerba Santa are recovering through direct foliage replacement. Most of these plants are recovering through the process of crown sprouting.

In addition to reducing the fire danger, a little light rain would help jump start the recovery process. Computer weather models have been hinting at a change in the weather around November 1, and now seem to be converging on the possibility of a shower in Southern California around Halloween, followed by a front and some rain later in the weekend. That’s still a week away, so we’ll have to see!

Here’s a Google Earth image and Google Earth KMZ file of the perimeters of the Sesnon and Simi Fires, as well as GPS traces of some of the trails in the area.