Blazin' Trails

I've been eyeing this hiking group on Meetup for months (ok, years), but I was too chicken to go out and try it. I was worried about (a) not keeping up, (b) not making friends, and (c) not being able to take pictures (because let's face it, taking pictures is still my biggest motivation to get up in elevation).

Today, I decided to be brave and go meet some new people. (Full disclosure, I asked a friend to go with me first, but she was out of town.) I joined The Weekday Trailblazers on a 6-mile hike through the Santa Monica Mountains. 

I loved hearing the stories from my fellow hikers. We talked about work, cocktail recipes, the dating scene, donkeys and snakes (the actual animals). I can't wait to get out and join them again!

Oh, and there was a killer view of Boney Mountain. 

Whoops!

Kanter Fire Road/Whoop-De-Doos, Pacific Palisades

I've had this hike bookmarked in my phone for over a year! It was a relatively short hike, but the views were spectacular! 

Downtown LA - Pacific Ocean - Santa Monica Mountains. 

There were a bunch of towers and this cool triangulation station box.

And at one point, I was even swarmed by a bunch of dogs! Pretty sure that's what heaven is going to feel like!

My favorite part: the benches at the top. I love finding benches on hikes. Something special about someone deciding they liked the view so much that they wanted to sit down and soak it in...

Named after the Mexican outlaw Joaquin Murietta

Murietta Canyon, Ojai

According to the interwebs, Joaquin Muretta (or Murieta) (or Murrietta) was the Mexican Robin Hood. If only we could figure out how to spell his name, we could make a Disney movie!

Look carefully, do you see the butterfly in the middle?

We took our borrowed Ventura County Hikes book and headed up into the hills of Ojai.  There are a bunch of trails that all connect, but we started here at Murietta.  It was a nice low grade stroll with a surprising amount of green!

Aaron thought he had found the perfect walking stick.  Maggie agreed.  It's perfect for her! 

We came to (yet another) empty river bed and decided to add a little zen to the place.  Perhaps it will summon the rain...

...It's been 1.5 months since we took the picture.  No rain yet.

We skipped the swimming holes and went straight for the hills!

Aliso Trail, Santa Barbara

We aren't exactly sure if the swimming holes would've even had water.  Everything else is dried up, including the river bed here...which made for a nice Robert Frost moment.

I'd like to take a moment to thank the inventor of switchbacks. Freaking genius. Interesting fact: Switchbacks are uncommon on the east coast. Those New Englanders prefer to go straight up the hill! Weird. 

So up, up, up we went. And it was beautiful. 

You don't realize how far you've gone...

...until you see the other side of the mountain you've been climbing. 

Not just 1, but 2 lakes!

Pentachaeta Trail, Westlake

It was a Wednesday afternoon and the sun was out.  I had to make a trip out to Agoura Hills, so I figured I could find a new place to hike.  Yelp suggested I try out this hidden beauty!

Admittedly, it was a rather bland landscape at first.  The only highlight was the little lizard that came to say hello.  He's my second lizard friend in recent weeks (the other lived in a cute pair of shoes in my garage.  May not be the roomiest, but damn if it ain't great decor!)



I'm still not super impressed with the view, but it's growing on me.  I looked back to see a good chunk of Westlake Village in sight!



Trudging just a few more feet up the hill, I notice something shiny on the horizon.  Step after step, it reveals itself -- a LAKE?!  Up here??  Crazy!

There were also some interesting flowers to shoot.  I liked the spikes on the left one, the feathery petals on the middle one, and the spiked balls of the right one.

All in all, pretty great little hideaway.  Thanks, Yelp!

A little limerick to go with my Jameson

Long Ranch (SW), Simi Valley

There once was a girl who went for a hike

She hit the trail on foot, not on a bike 

She admired the flowers

And big rock towers

And after the day, it was good for her psych(e)

She wandered up and around the trail

Lizards following close on her tail

She ran toward the setting sun

The wind in her hair -- so much fun! --

Like an ocean breeze catching a sail

 

She looked to her left, and excitement arose

When she spotted a trail as narrow as her nose

Up, up, up she climbed

Anxious to see what she'd find

Anticipation swelling from the tips of her toes

At the top, the view caught her by surprise

The first hues of pink across the sky 

She admired it for a sec

Then panic grasped her chest

As she thought, "where the fuck am I?"

She told herself it would be okay

And promised never again to stray

A half hour back to the street

(And a pretty manhole at her feet)

She made it home, poured a drink, and called it a day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Remember, not all who wander are lost...but sometimes they are. 

Hello, 7:03 Sunset!

Long Canyon (NE), Simi Valley

Thanks to daylight savings, I now have the time to get up in the hills while the sun is still out.  

It wasn't until I'd wandered up to the grassy top that I realized I was hiking solo for the first time in a couple months...and I'm okay with that!

I did what any normal person hiking alone would do: took some selfies (as documented above), sang to myself, and rehearsed what I'd do and say if an attacker sprang out of the long grass. (Super glad no one appeared...my makeshift plan was impuissant.)

I made it up to my little bench just in time to watch the sky turn orange. 

And back down in time for the purple skies. 

Pi Day, Hike Day!

Challenger Park, Simi Valley

It was way too beautiful out to stay indoors today! We dragged ourselves off the patio furniture and over to Challenger Park.

The grass was green and the flowers were in bloom!

At the tippy top, we soaked in a little sunshine where one of us got burned (it wasn't me) and took in the great views. 

On the way down, we passed the strangest fruit!

And met our new St. Patty's Day friend: Guinness the Green Gaterpillar. He told us to go home and drink more, so we did. 

Mulholland dirt is fancier.

Mulholland Drive, Woodland Hills

Every time I drive Mulholland (or Reseda, or Ventura Blvd, for that matter), I can't help but sing a little Tom Petty.  As we walked along, and I scanned a very crowded San Fernando Valley, all I heard in my head was I wanna glide down over Mulholland. I wanna write her name in the sky. Gonna free fall out into nothin'. Gonna leave this world for a while.

Sing it with me now! And I'm free, free fallin'!

As a side note, I kind of want to hike back to each these places and raise a 12 flag at the top of all of them! SEA-HAWKS!

My shoes got dirty...

...so I'm calling it a hike. Well, technically two. 

Santa Susana Park, Simi Valley

There's no better way to finish breakfast at Old Santa Susana Cafe (banana pancakes = deliciousness), than to stroll around this park. If you haven't been, they have the coolest rocks there. I was too busy walking THROUGH them to take a picture, but it's worth seeing.

After going under the railroad tracks, in a very reverberant tunnel, I might add, we hit a trailhead...or a worn down path up some rocks. So neat to watch the clouds moving across the hills!

Sage Ranch, Simi Valley

Fast forward a few hours, and up into Woolsey Canyon we go. The first time I was up here, the sun was setting on Conejo Valley and you could see for miles. There are big rocks, green grass, and 360 views. On a summer day, this is where I'd like to pack a picnic and spend some time with a good book.