2 PM: Castle Peak and Cave of the Munits—3 miles (a 100 foot tall chimney cave--has a hole in the top where you can see the sky).
HIKE DIFFICULTY: CASTLE PEAK: Medium--we will be ascending through a chimney cave which does not require ropes or climbing equipment. This requires using your hands, however. When we climb out the top of the cave, we will continue up a hillside to a notch in the ridge. (total gain of 700 feet). Just over this notch is the civilized trail that will take us east to Castle Peak. From Castle Peak, we will go back on the same ridge trail (not going down thru the cave) and it will lead us back down to the trail crossroads. At the crossroads, there is a trail heading east to the cars or south to Ahmanson Ranch.
THEN at 4 PM: 4 to 6 mile loop in Ahmanson Ranch/Upper Las Virgenes Canyon
If you want to bail and go back to your car here, that's OK. But we will head south from here toward the Victory Blvd trailhead parking lot and the rest of the Ahmanson Ranch trails. The Ahmanson Ranch trails are all fireroads or civilized single-track trails. Elevation gain is gentle there.
(Ahmanson Ranch was once slated to become 3000 homes until the State of CA bought it in 2003 for $150 million.)
WE'LL BE BACK AT SUNSET, AND WE CAN TAKE DINNER SUGGESTIONS...
DIRECTIONS: Castle Peak Park—located at the west end of Vanowen Avenue (take the 101 freeway to Valley Circle offramp, go north to Vanowen, turn left (west) and park in neighborhood)
