We take the viewridge trail, drop into Santa Maria canyon and explore some rock formations and caves. And split! There are a bunch of cliffside caves, sort of like a highrise condo with a wide open front window. We will drop down to the last really interesting cave near the creek, but where the poison oak starts is where we will stop. There is a very pretty trail following the creek going upstream which I will point out but we'll leave that for another day. The creek trail deadends into a mess of poison oak about 1/4 mile upstream so until someone hacks their way thru that, I'm not stupid enough to go thru it. Maybe a little crazy, but not stupid.
TIME/DISTANCE: 3 1/2 hours, from 8:30 am to noon.
FOLLOWED BY OPTIONAL BUFFET LUNCH AT DELHI CAFE ON TOPANGA CANYON BLVD IN CANOGA PARK, AT SHERMAN WAY--$10
AND SECOND 3 HOUR HIKE TO THE CAVE OF THE MUNITS AND CASTLE PEAK--posted separately, FROM 1:30 4:30 PM
ELEVATION GAIN: We go up and down with about 300 feet max each time.
Purchased by the State of California for $20 million in 1994, this 662 acres at the top of Topanga was once threatened with bulldozing into a country club in the last major development threat to the canyon. When L.A. County's politicians were about to decide the fate of the project, the owners, heirs of a daughter of Walt Disney, saw the light and sold it to the public. The property includes a major stretch of the crest of the Santa Monica mountains and the Summit to Summit motorway. In the south side are rocks and cliffs, and a trail that may eventually connect to Topanga State park.
