Ice House Canyon Hike

Another weekend, another great hike.  This time it was a bit more of a trek than usual.  Ice House canyon is in the Upper San Gabriel mountains, just north of Upland.  Steve, Laura and I left at 6:45 to get there! AM!  We picked up Laura's younger brother and headed into the canyon.  Usually it costs $5 to park but for some reason this weekend was free! Win!  The downside was that the parking lot was packed and we tacked on another half mile to our hike because we had to park down the road.  But I was just glad to see some trees! Pine trees nonetheless.  The air smelled incredible.  I think that's how air is supposed to smell. Fresh.  We started off at 5000 feet and started to climb over 3000 more.   

The weather was perfect and I was really happy to be in nature.  So I climbed a log.  And then I took this picture of Laura's brother.

I climbed this log too. So I could take this blown out picture.

There were a lot of cabin ruins along the first part of the trail.  This was one of the more substantial ones.  Most of the others were just chimneys.   

My future residence..could be a bit drafty in winter

A couple miles in we started to get to the switchbacks.  Let me just say I hate switchbacks.  Ok hate is a strong word. But sometimes you wish you could just go strait up.   

But I love these views. 

We finally made it to what a sign informed us was Ice House Saddle.  I'm not sure what that means, but it wasn't all that satisfying.  It wasn't at the top of the peak and we decided that we had to get to the top of the peak.  We took a break for lunch.  Not a bad view for lunch eh?

It was another mile to the very top and we charged it.  The air was getting thinner and the gravel was very loose, so it was not an easy ascent.  I have never seen this before, a pine cone with clear sap over it.  It looked like icicles were dripping down the cone. Pretty cool

I call it a Pinecicle

We were almost to the top.  I was ready to get there and I charged ahead. 

 I paused to catch my breath and found this cool wood formation.

Cool wood formation

Finally we made it!  There were no sign at the top so I decided to get out my sharpie and my pocket hatchet and make one real quick.

Ok, I kid.  The sign was already there.  But kind of ghetto right?  We hung out for a while and just admired the views.

After some group meditation we began our descent.  Going down was a lot quicker.  I was doing my patented "controlled fall" down the the mountain.  We were surprised at just how far we had gone.  When we neared the end of the hike we decided that it was time for some creek stompin'.  The water was crystal clear and so cold it was almost painful.

After some hesitation, I decided to just go for it and jump in.  I went all the way under and it took my breath away.  But it was so refreshing, especially after being sweaty and dusty.  Laura and her brother soon followed, but Steve wasn't feeling it.  We dried off and headed back to the car.  It was another successful hike.  I would highly recommend Ice House Canyon.  It is amazing how close it is to civilization and yet you never get the sense that you are anywhere near it.  We were lucky enough to go back to dinner waiting for us at Laura's house, and man did it taste good!
 

Sandstone Peak Hike

Last weekend my buddy Steve and I decided we wanted to do a hike that we hadn't done before.  I had heard great things about Sandstone Peak and so we headed out past Malibu and just barely into Ventura county.  Once we got of PCH, we crawled 6 miles up a road that was as windy as roads come.  But we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was sunny and about 70.  It took us about an hour to get out there, but it was well worth it.  Sandstone peak is the highest peak in the Santa Monica Mountain range, which still isn't all that high at about 3,000 feet.  But boy are there great views.

The rock formations were some of the coolest I've seen.  Huge jagged formation jet up from the rugged mountains.

Not even ten minutes into the hike I spotted a snake slithering across the trail.  Steve jumped into the bush with no hesitation and grabbed the snake by the tail.  Good thing that tail didn't have a rattle on it!  It was a harmless snake but it didn't like being held very much (there is some great video footage to prove it.  But this sucker was pretty big.  After some kodak moments, Steve set the snake free and it crawled away with a slightly bruised ego.

Here is video evidence. Please excuse my language.  I was frightened.

We marched on.  The wildflowers were all in bloom so it made for a beautiful hike.  Very romantic....wait, I mean, it was a very manly ascent to the top, look we even did some bouldering

It was surprisingly green for socal this time of year.  It doesn't look all that green to us norcal people, but trust me, this is pretty rare for socal when summer is approaching.

Buddies! And yes I realize that face isn't very attractive, but hey, it's hiking.
 It was a steep climb up the last push of the mountain, but we finally made it to the peak.  And apparently Sandstone Peak is also called Mt. Allen, which is really confusing. 

Don't do it Steve!!! The views were wicked awesome. We could see from Redondo beach to Santa Barbara.  We hiked around a bit more and came across these pretty sweet views.

Sandstone Peak was a fantastic hike and I highly recommend.  The views are magnificent and it really isn't that long of a hike or that hard.

Palos Verdes Hike (shipwreck trail... minus the shipwreck and the trail)

The Shipwreck trail! When I read about this hike I had this fanciful romantic notion of hiking a trail built into the side of the cliffs, danger at every turn, opening up to a secluded beach where we would find a perfectly preserved Spanish galleon, ripe for exploring and who knows, maybe even find some long lost treasure? Ok, maybe I wasn't that delusional.  But I at least expected there to be a ship....and at the very least, a trail!

 

Spoiler alert! We didn't make it to the "ship" and there was no "trail".  Still I don't mean to be a bummer.  I am thankful I got out for a hike at all considering Dallas Rains (local tool of a weatherman), was predicting rain all day.  In fact, as you can see, it was a perfect day.  The initial scenery was gorgeous and for those of you who haven't spent much time in the Palos Verdes area, I highly recommend you check it out.

My friends Nathan, Rachael, Laura and Joey started hiking along a rocky beach, thinking we would eventually come to the trail.  Bend after Bend, no trail appeared.  But it was still an enjoyable treck over the large pebbles....for a while.   One of my favorite aspects was the sound of the waves pulling the loose pebbles down the beach.  It made a very soothing rumbling, like a rain-stick or something.  There were also many interesting shells like this one Nathan found.

We walked and walked, the pebbles wearing us down.  Finally, most of the group couldn't take it anymore.  Nathan and I went ahead to try and glimpse some sign of this supposed shipwreck.  After 15 minutes we asked some people passing by about the shipwreck.  They said it was still quite a ways ahead and had collapsed on itself, making exploration impossible.  We walked back to the group a little discouraged.  But we relished in the fact that we got outside, discovered some beautiful shore line, and worked up an appetite.  Next time we are parking closer to the shipwreck.

 

 

Will Rogers Hike

So, a little update first....I did this hike the weekend before last.  Last weekend I went back to San Francisco and had a great long weekend in the City.  If the weather cooperates I might be going on two hikes this weekend... stay tuned.

It was raining the day Nathan and I wanted to do a hike.  We were considering blowing it off, but we decided to go for it.  As soon as we got to Will Rogers, the sun came out!  Will Rogers is right on the edge of Santa Monica.  It used to be Will Rogers' ranch and is now a park and polo field.  In case you didn't know (because I didn't) Will Rogers was a silent era movie star.

We got a late start to the hike, so we weren't able to go very far.  Still it offered some good views and it was just nice to get out and get some perspective.  We hiked to inspiration point and admired the view, which was similar to the Trippet Ranch hike view, but not quite as impressive.

We wanted to continue on the Backbone trail, but didn't want to get Nathan's car locked inside the park after sunset.  So it was more of a walk than a hike, but nice to be able to get out of the city so close to it. 

Temescal Canyon Hike

So I am playing catch-up here a little bit.  Did this hike last Sunday with my friend Laura.  We were trying to go to Will Rogers, but both of us neglected to look up specific directions.  So we were driving down Sunset and saw a sign for a trail and followed it into this neighborhood with some huge homes. We followed the trail and it ended up on what I think is the Backbone trail.

 

  

Unfortunately it wasn't as clear that day as it has been, so the views weren't as spectacular as they could have been.  The trail was also pretty crowded.  I really liked this rock formation and I did some climbing to get a better look at it.

 

And I also found my future home, complete with private tennis court and pool

 

All in all it was a good hike. Probably about 4 or 5 miles.  It was a little crowded and not as much of the nature as I prefer, but some good views for sure.  

Malibu Creek State Park

Ok, so it started to rain right when I started this hike, so I need to go back and explore further, but you can see from the two pictures (again from my camera phone....pretty good though right?) that it is a pretty cool area.  

It doesn't even look like SoCal.  The mud was so thick it looked like I was wearing snow shoes, except brown snow shoes.  And I ended up almost ruining my running shoes, but again, worth it.

 

 

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