Backbone from Hondo Canyon to Piuma

Distance: 12 Miles

Elevation Gain: 2000+ (mostly before lunch)

Difficulty: Strenuous

New Carpooling Location Please meet at the Park and Ride on the South side of the 101 at Kanan at 7:15 AM

29162 Roadside Dr, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 (Next to Jiff Lube)

LEVEL: Strong Intermediate hikers and above due to distance and gain.

Time 5 - 7 Hours depending on the groups pace

Pace: No faster than the slowest hiker, and we'll stop for snacks, lunch and to regroup periodically.

The Backbone trail is one of the true hidden gems of the Santa Monica Mountains. We will be hiking on one of my all time favorites section with tons of surprises around each turn.

Please carefully read this write-up to get the full gist of what we're doing for this hike.

The hiking route is: Old Topanga School/Henry Ridge, Hondo Canyon, Fossil Trail, Saddle Peak, Ben's Amphitheatre, and finally Piuma Ridge back to the cars.

This is a one-way hike using a car shuttle.

MEETUP LOCATION: We’ll all meet initially at the dirt parking lot at the southeast corner of Los Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Road and Piuma Road.

MEETUP DIRECTIONS FROM 101: Either exit at Lost Hills Road and drive south 1.1 miles and turn right onto Las Virgenes Road, or exit at Las Virgenes and drive south past the stoplight at Mulholland. At the next stoplight, Piuma Road, turn left and immediately right into the dirt parking lot on the south east corner.

MEETUP DIRECTIONS FROM PCH: From the PCH, travel 4.5 miles north on Malibu Canyon Road to Piuma Road. Turn right and immediately right into the dirt parking lot. The PCH on Saturday is unpredictable, so allow yourself a healthy margin for travel time.

MEETUP DATE AND TIME:Saturday, 17 January 2015 at 8.00 am Boots on, ready to go!

TRAIL DESCRIPTION: Almost all single track trail, there are a few sections that are quite rocky, and some others are steeply downhill (after lunch).

CAR SHUTTLE: From the parking lot off Malibu Canyon Rd. we’ll fill up as few cars as possible and head south on Malibu Canyon Rd. for 4.5 miles to PCH where we will turn left on PCH. We'll then head south on PCH for 7.4 miles until we reach Topanga Canyon Blvd. Make a left on Topanga Canyon Blvd. and drive north for 4.7 miles to Entrada Rd. We'll park the shuttle cars on the right side Topanga, 1/4 mile past Entrada Rd.After the hike, we'll need several volunteers to drive the shuttle drivers back to their cars!

Almost all of this hike is in either Topanga or Malibu Creek State Park, so unfortunately, no dogs.

Rain will not cancel the hike.

The Fine Print/Please Read!

Wear lug soled shoes, long sleeve shirt and long pants for brush and tick protection, and dress in layers for comfort.

Bring at least 1 liter of water per 3 miles, snacks, lunch (if posted), hiking poles (if you use them), camera and the "Ten Essentials".

Carry rain gear if the rain forecast is 20 percent chance or better.

Know your own capabilities and plan accordingly.

No guests or "plus ones" please. For liability reasons we must have everyone join the group, and agree to the standard Meetup "Terms of Service", especially section 6.2, here.

Be on time -- It is extremely rude to be late and expect 20 people to wait for you. Even if you call, it is still inappropriate to think that they should wait for you.

Don't be a no show -- How hard is it to remove your name? TAKE IT OFF IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT! The earlier the better so someone else that wants to go, can.

Any outdoors activity can be challenging, fun, or a painful experience, (often depending who you are with), even deadly and more painful depending on you, your abilities, circumstances and sometimes just bad luck. Accidents happen. Please do not sign up if you are not comfortable with what you are doing, or if you think you don’t have the needed skills for the event. You will be agreeing to take responsibility for yourself, your actions and not to hold organizer/group leader, participants, or anyone liable but yourself by signing up for this event.

Most importantly: Have Fun!