A 100 foot tall Chimney cave, a kings's crown & oranges and rocks at Sage Ranch

CAVE-CLIMBING TO A ROCKY PEAK IN THE WEST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, WITH LUNCH AT THE PEAK: 3 HOUR HIKE

THEN OFF TO NEARBY SAGE RANCH FOR A 2 HOUR LOOP HIKE TO MORE ROCKS AND VIEWS ALL THE WAY TO THE OCEAN (if it's clear...)

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(above: Sage Ranch)

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(Above: the Cave of the Munits)

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(above: CASTLE PEAK)

Castle Peak and Cave of the Munits—hike is about 3 miles (the Cave is 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 through the cave) and it will lead us back down to the trail crossroads and to the cars.

WE THEN DRIVE ABOUT 15 MINUTES NORTH TO SAGE RANCH FOR A 2 MILE LOOP HIKE ON THE ROCKY PEAK.

Difficulty: Sage Ranch has only about 200 feet of elevation gain and the trails are wide and civilized. We will do a little bit of rock exploration at the start of this hike.

WE'LL BE BACK AT SUNSET, AND WE CAN TAKE DINNER SUGGESTIONS...