DAY 100: GRANDE VISTA TRAIL TO MT. REX
Date: Tuesday February 22, 2011
Miles: 2.5
Elevation Gain: 700 Feet
Time: 1 Hour
Difficulty: No kids allowed!
Reward: Reaching the top is always nice
Description:A steep
Where: Newbury Park, CA
Directions:From the 101 Freeway in Newbury Park, exit on Wendy. If you are coming from the south (L.A.), you will drive straight. You will see the "Wendy" street sign just above the road and it will appear that you are heading into the shopping area. If you are coming from the North (Ventura), you will turn right and cross the bridge. Make an immediate left under the Wendy sign. Once you turn in, make another immediate left on Grande Vista. This road will parallel the freeway. Drive all the way to the end and park on the street just after the post office.
There are no "no trespassing" signs so you are good to go! There are two ways to begin, before the cul-de-sac and from the cul-de-sac. Both dirt roads lead to the same point. Prepare to climb! I originally discovered Mt. Rex on DAY 81. The trailhead from Grande Vista is a much quicker and easier route. I's still a gnarly climb but it's less than a half mile to the top. As you reach the ridge the road will fork. Take the upper fork to the left. Each way goes to the Rex Ridge trail and you're going to turn left.
The Summit
Reaching the summit is a bit dangerous. A narrow trail zigzags the final 50 feet and you will need to push over a large rock to achieve the peak. No big deal for me but I wouldn't bring my son or dog here. It's somewhat comparable to Tangerine Falls or Montecito Peak, but the difficult part on those trails were much longer. I suppose Rex is a quick fix for a little challenge.
On Day 81, I stopped at the summit. Today, I continued across the ridge and then began to go lower. There was an obvious trail for about ten minutes but then it became distorted. Not many people come up here because they don't know about it but it would make sense if the park system considered endorsing this route to have a footpath connect Camarillo to Newbury Park. The Camarillo Springs Trail satisfies the job on the ocean side of the 101, but this trail could be a big hit in Ventura County. I suppose the danger around the summit could present an issue, but there is a lower route that hikers could take to bypass the peak. In fact, the entire system links up to Wildwood Park and it's not necessary to cross any roads to do this! I am still working on my map of the Rancho Conejo Open Space and I will publish it to this blog when I have it completed!
The Proposed Lower Route
Truck Stop and the 101 Grade
View of the Grande Vista Trail linking to Rex Ridge
I explored for awhile beyond the far ridge. Burnt trees over the weigh station printed the evidence of a recent fire. ***Wow, 100 Days in a row!!! I did it!!! My mission is 10% complete. In my honest opinion, I have overachieved what I intended to do. There is so much more to see and there are so many things that I can do with this blog. If I only had the time! If I only had a better camera!! I don't know if you can tell, but there are some blurry spots on this camera from the water damage. I'm cropping them out the best I can but the electronic components are also struggling. It's just frustrating, but it won't stop me from hiking. Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, but I'll figure it out :)
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