A scenic Rustic Canyon hike

I don’t know what got into us when we decided to do bushwhacking hikes the last few weekends. They were actually more off-trail detours than bushwhacking, since we didn’t break any new trails, but there was plenty of overgrown trail and the accompanying hazards (ticks and poison oak). That said, we had the little-used routes pretty much to ourselves and got to check out some beautiful areas and artifacts far off the beaten path.

Last Sunday’s off-trail extravaganza was a 6-mile round-trip loop in Rustic Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains. The canyon is a lush cleft of wilderness on the edge of Brentwood, parallel to Sullivan Canyon, home to a rocky ridge trail much-beloved by mountain bikers, close to the Governator’s spread.

We started and ended our Rustic loop at Will Rogers State Historic Park in Pacific Palisades, a green oasis sandwiched between Rivas and Rustic canyons. As tempting as it was to just laze away the day there, checking out the newly restored ranch house — once home to humorist Will Rogers in the 1920s and '30s  — and watching some polo (there are matches on weekends in the spring and summer), the hills beckoned.

We started off on the trail to Inspiration Point. There are several ways to access this easy, scenic 3-mile loop (a must for any out-of-town visitor); we began just above the ranch house, on the left side of the adjacent lawn.

After about a mile of gradual ascent, a sign on the left marks the start of the Backbone Trail. And I do mean start —  this is the eastern terminus of the nearly completed 65-mile Backbone Trail that extends west to Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County. Before turning onto the Backbone, though, it’s worth detouring on a spur trail on the right to Inspiration Point itself, with its stunning ocean views. After the obligatory stop, it was back on the trail, turning onto Backbone and into Topanga State Park. Things got a little fuzzy later on, but this part of the hike was easy to follow, especially with a Tom Harrison Santa Monica Mountains East map, which we (um, not me) forgot in the car. More on that in a bit.

White-bloomed yucca dotted the slopes and there were clumps of orange-sherbet-colored monkeyflower and pink Mariposa lilies lining the sage-scented trail, which ascended 480 feet to our next turn, an unsigned trail to the right into Rustic Canyon. Keeping eyes peeled, we found the turn a few hundred feet past the metal bridge over Chicken Ridge, at top. For those alert enough to remember to bring the Harrison map, it’s marked as a 0.4-mile dotted line. The trail narrowed and we descended down, down, down 650 feet into the canyon through a thick canopy of sumac, toyon and other shady chaparral. After crossing the creek, which actually had a trickle of water, we soon came upon a dilapidated cabin surrounded by chain-link fence. This was reportedly a weekend spot used by Rogers and his pals back in the day. Bits of concrete and asphalt are remnants of a road to the cabin.

Continuing on through the sylvan setting, we shortly came upon chunks of rusted steel and concrete, evidence of other structures that must have been getaway pads way back when. We were not the first to discover this: there are jarring signs of modern-day hieroglyphics in the form of graffiti all over the ruins, along with a tepee-shaped sculpture, above, of rusted metal and ceramic (one piece of a sink or toilet was marked with the year 1950).

From here we briefly got off-track, following what turned out to be a driveway to the upper part of another house. We backtracked a bit and found a narrow trail back down to the creek. Upstream is Camp Josepho, a boy scout camp.

Our goal was to close a loop and end up back at the polo fields, so we headed right, downstream (south) on a barely-there trail along the creek. Luckily the water was low, so we rock-hopped whenever the trail became nonexistent. Here’s where a very good topo map would have come in handy. We got to a check dam, about 3.5 miles from our trip’s start, and thought we’d have to turn around, but bushwhacked ahead, down the bank and around the dam, plucking ticks off our T-shirts.

We later found out we should’ve continued down the creek, which narrows considerably before widening again and leading to a trail to the polo field. Instead, we emerged from the canyon onto a wide-open but densely-chaparalled trail that ascended back to the Backbone Trail. Though unsure exactly where we were, we were treated to ocean views and got a good workout huffing up the slope.

It was a relief to see that we ended up where we started and even more of a relief to finish off the day with a latte at the Peet’s in Brentwood. We’re hoping to return to Will Rogers and Topanga state parks soon — if budget cuts don’t close down these treasures. Next time I think we’ll stick to the trails, though.

— Julie Sheer

Photos by Julie Sheer

Comments

[sasjeh]

We did this trail beginning of last fall. The trail in the canyon itself was in the same bad condition as you found it (so do not blame it on lots of rain this spring, washing away the path). We also had some difficulty at the dam to found our way. We also went had to back track several times. We found our way to the polo fields eventually, but since we started the hike late, with the sun setting behind the mountains at our back and not having any light with us, the end of the hike, when we still could not find civilization, no clue if we were still on the right path spoiled the whole experience a little bit.

I have found that most trails that are not the backbone trail (and even the backbone trail as we discovered this weekend near Newton Canyon falls gets crossed by so many trails that are dead ends, that we never figured out which of all the trails was the right one) in the Santa Monica mountains are not well indicated. I understand that for some people this is part of the fun. If I am going on a short hike, and I know this beforehand, I do not mind climbing over a few rock, backtracking a few times, but for a nice longer hike, I just want to know where I am and how I will be getting back to the start point/continue to the end point. The best indicated trails and easy to follow trails, even based upon a sketch are those at Mugu state park. That was a very enjoyable hike, even if I could only see 10m in front of me, because of ocean fog.

With all the nature lovers here in LA and outdoor clubs, it should be doable to maintain better trails close to home.

[Ya Boo]

Why don't you stay in hollywood, kook.

[Marcos El Malo]

Sounds like a fun hike. It's been some years, but I used to go "bushwhacking" up in the Angeles Crest, either solo or with competent hikers. Night hikes during a full moon were the most fun, although you really want to not go solo. I had a couple of hairy experiences where I wondered if I was going to end up on the news, either with dramatic rescue footage or in the obituaries!

Another time at night, up around Colby Canyon (just past Switzer's), I was treated to the spine tingling screams of some cat type animal, possibly a cougar, that came echoing down the canyon.

I've found that even when one goes off trail they're still following some kind of path more or less, even if it's just a deer trail or coyote run. If one moves nimbly and quietly, one can come across wildlife you don't normally see on the trail.

[Mike Pondrom]

Hey guys!

I hiked this trail with my buddies this past Saturday and the views were great. We also enjoyed a little tagging in the secret Nazi spy bunker that you pass on the way back down, as well as refreshments in the dry river bed. It really was a great hike, except the last 1/3 of the trip, which took us along the side of a stream, on slippery uneven paths. I sprained my ankle when I foolishly left in the air with my arms out, like Batman or Rambo, and landing awkwardly on a misplaced pebble. I toughed it out, though, and fought through the pain as we hiked back to civilization. It was the thought of my Italian greyhounds, Jovi and Elvis, that pulled me through.

-- Mike