Topanga State Park north side--3 rock and cave play areas--no ropes needed!

A NEW ROUTE --14 MILE HIKE TO THE 3 ROCK CLIMBING AREAS ON THE NORTH END OF

TOPANGA STATE PARK:

OK, I finished my law school midterm, so I'm ready to rumble again!

And I re-added the numbers and the hike is 14 miles, not 8 miles, and so we will be starting earlier--at 11 am.

NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO BAIL OUT EARLY, THE TRAILS ARE WIDE OPEN AND WELL-MARKED, SO IF YOU WANT TO JUST GO TO THE ROCKS AT HUB JUNCTION AND EAGLE ROCK, THAT'S ONLY 8 MILES AND 4 HOURS.

THE ROUTE:

UPHILL TO Reseda Blvd. to Temescal Ridge fire-road to Hub Junction (has porta-potty) and the Cathedral rocks: 2.4 miles and elevation gain: 500 feet--We'll stop here for climbing and lunch--leave about 1 pm

then south to Temescal Peak, and south to Trailer Canyon fire-road and DOWNHILL to the condos: 5 miles with elevation loss: 1500 feet

then UPHILL through Santa Inez canyon past the caves and rocks to the East Topanga Fire-road to Eagle Rock and its caves; 3.2 miles with 1300 feet elevation gain

then back to Hub Junction going up 200 feet, and then DOWNHILL to our cars via the Temescal Ridge fire-road: 3.4 miles with 500 feet elevation loss

HERE IS THE ROUTE ON A GOOGLE MAP:

"A" is the starting point....

http://tinyurl.com/reseda-to-santa-inez

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/b/3/8/event_103663832.jpeg

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/3/f/c/event_85749212.jpeg

PHOTOS OF THE ROCKS:

https://www.meetup.com/hiking-196/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=1036608

https://www.meetup.com/hiking-196/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=5368212

https://www.meetup.com/hiking-196/photos/all_photos/?photoAlbumId=2869371

LENGTH: 14 miles

DIFFICULTY: medium to difficult, mainly due to length. The elevation gain is relatively gradual and mainly in Santa Inez canyon.

FOLLOWED BY DINNER AT SOME AWESOME PLACE NEAR VENTURA BLVD.--TO BE DECIDED LATER

PARKING: there is a fee on the south end of Reseda Blvd., but it is free between the video-enforced stop sign and the "parking fee area" sign

AS USUAL: bring clothes, shoes, a hat, plenty of water (a gallon is recommended), your troubles, guitars, lunch and snacks

FOR A PRINTABLE TRAIL AND TOPO MAP:

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/e/a/e/highres_103100142.jpeg

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/4/e/3/6/event_103100022.jpeg

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LEGAL STUFF: finally, by going on this hike, you agree to assume all risks of this hike, and that no one at Meetup including the organizer is responsible for your safety. See the Meetup terms of service especially paragraph 6.2:

https://www.meetup.com/terms/

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You can see my blog at http://rare-earth-news.blogspot.com (http://rare-earth-news.blogspot.com/) for stories on new parkland purchases and other environmental battles, like the recent addition to Vasquez Rocks park.

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