Known as the home of Spike and as the Paris of the Western World, Needles is also home to a historic railway station.
If you haven't been busted for bringing bug-laden fruit into California, El Garces makes for a good stop because it hearkens back to when California was actually good. See this for the history.
It was another pleasant Simi Valley Saturday there in steep ridge land...
I did the "Las Llajas Canyon and Ridge Loop" (link) and it was... OK. There were four basic parts to it and the first was the best. That was a couple miles of at times steep sections. Not as steep as the Lawlor firebreak but steep enough to give you a good calf workout. I probably wouldn't want to descend that section if I could avoid it.
I failed the first time, but this time I got the sheep.
This was on a trip with a group of tigers from the Sierra Club so I didn't have to worry about navigation. Unlike the first try which went up the AllTrails route, this went up a canyon to the south and it was a little bit easier. But, it was still a rough scramble up one rock, down that rock, up another rock, over and over for over two miles.
Near the top there was a brief Class 3 move.
What is that, a railway? And, what's with the asterisks?
All will be explained!
After going to Big Dome last week, this time I continued my rambles in the Santa Monica Mountains by taking the "Mishe Mokwa to Tri-Peaks and Sandstone Peak" route (link).
The Mishe Mokwa trail branches off from the trail that goes to Sandstone Peak, and it shortly goes through a canyon with some climbing activity.
I came back for more of the Upper Cabin trail but this time I took a rougher route up. The route I took is here, but I did the loop portion in the reverse order.
Mt. Baldy - highest point in L.A. County at 10,064' - is currently closed due to the Bridge Fire which, as you'll see in a later post, I saw happen from the summit of Baldy.
While waiting for Baldy to reopen, here are pics from the rather steep Register Ridge trail. It gains about 2500' in about 1.2 miles. The trail starts just after the metal register you see on the Ski Hut trail, and then it ends on the Devil's Backbone trail just below Mt Harwood. So, after climbing up the steep part, you still have about 700' of gain to get the Baldy summit.
The Vital Link is a fun, short-but-steep trail in the Verdugo Mountains. It's 3.8 miles & 1700' of gain round trip so it's fairly steep. I've hiked it a few times and I have to believe that I have better photos of it somewhere, but these will have to do for now.
On Feb 1, 2025, parts of the Angeles National Forest reopened after the devastating Eaton Fire. The next day I drove up the Angeles Crest Highway to Red Box and, aside from a faint smell of smoke in the air at Red Box and Mt Wilson Road being closed to vehicles, things were as they were before in that area.
I kicked off my Great Summer Road Trip 2024 Extravaganza by hiking the River Trail to Thousand Island Lake in the Sierra Nevadas. It's a pack trail so it has an even grade, it's fairly smooth, but there are also mule artifacts to be dodged.
This is more of a road walk than an hike, but it is to the highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains along the north edge of the San Fernando Valley. Due to the wildfires I needed somewhere to go and that seemed like the best option. I just drove up there and, because I'd had Oat Mountain on my list, I looked that up and went to the trailhead.