Topanga Canyon Hike

I was feeling restless and adventurous on a Sunday afternoon in January, so I decided to go on a hike.  I grabbed my film camera, loaded it with some B&W film and headed out to Topanga Canyon State Park.  Having never been there before I got lost twice.  Finally I arrived at Trippet Ranch.  I parked along the road before entering like everyone else that day.  I am a big supporter of State parks, but do they really have to charge $12 to park your car?  I would be alright with $5, but $12 is excessive.  No wonder the parks are closing.  

Anyways, the weather was perfect.  I hiked in shorts and a T-shirt.  In January. Score one for LA.  I hooked up with the backbone trail towards Muholland Drive, and hiked towards the ocean.  The trail was wide and the hike was not too difficult, but there was definitely some change in elevation as I hiked through the Santa Monica Mountains.  

There were great rock formations along the way and I got my geology fix of sandstone formations and giant conglomerate outcrops. Finally I got my first look at the ocean. 

 

 I was surprised how green the hills were, and this was before the big storm we just had.  I had no idea how far the trail went, or how far I should take it with the sun getting lower in the sky.  But I kept going, my sense of adventure taking over rationality.  And I am sure glad I did.  The view just kept getting better and better...

  

You could see mountains in the distance with snow on them.  Oh, I should mention that all these photos are taken with my camera phone.  If you remember from the begginning, I took my film camera with black and white film.....what a terrible decision.  Because I was there at golden hour, when the sun was setting and the colors were amazing.  I kept going, and finally made it to a point, with 360 degree views of the Pacific Ocean and the LA valley.  It was stunning.  And the pictures hardly do it justice.

 I didn't want to leave but the sun was setting and I had a 5 mile hike back alone.  So reason took over at somepoint, but I still took it all in for longer than I should have.

 

The sun was setting pretty fast and I was almost jogging back.  I would say there was about a mile where I was hiking in pretty low light.  

 

I was almost to the end of the trail when I saw a pair of eyes off to the side.  I froze and for a split second I thought it might be a mountain lion, because I had seen warning signs at the trail head.  But they were deer, one was a stag with horns, and they jumped right in front of me across the trail.  

I walked back to my car in complete darkness, but totally satisfied with the day.

If anyone wants info on how to do this hike let me know.  I highly recommend it!

-Schu