DAY 195: Peter Strauss Ranch

Cali's largest swimming pool in the 1930's

DAY 195: Peter Strauss Ranch

Date: Saturday May 28, 2011

Miles: 1.5

Elevation Gain: 200 Feet

Time: 1 Hour

Difficulty: Easy

Reward: 

Description:History and a loop trail

Where: Agoura Hills, CA

Directions:From the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, exit on Kannan and head toward the ocean.  A few miles down you'll see the brown Peter Strauss sign.  Turn left on Troutdale Drive.  Take that to the end and you'll run right into the ranch.  Turn left on Mulholland and the parking lot is on the right.

Before heading down Kanan, we stopped at the store and met some guys out in the parking lot:

 Caught at Leo Carrillo Beach

Dinner for two

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For thousands of years, this area was occupied by the Chumash Indians.  I spoke to a park ranger and he explained that in the 1930's, this place was known as a fairyland retreat for adults and children.  Years later, a dam was built on Triunfo Creek and a small lake formed known as Lake Enchanto.  In the decades ahead larger amusement parks like Disneyland opened and diminished the popularity of Lake Enchanto.  Finally around 1960, Lake Enchanto closed for good.

Peter Strauss was an actor filming the TV series Rich Man, Poor Man at Malibu Lake.  He loved the natural beauty of this surrounding and purchased the ranch in 1976.  In 1983 he sold it to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreational Area...

From the parking lot, head back toward the street and walk to the left across the bridge.  You will see the trail sign.

 The Old Place across the street

 The Ranch

 The old Aviary

 The old stage

This trail loops into the mountainous hill above and then comes back down the other side.  I hiked this years ago when my kids when they were wee bit little, and I seem to remember a spur trail that leads off the loop higher into the mountain.  However, today we did not complete the loop.  We stopped by between games during Alyssa's Soccer Tournament in Thousand Oaks.  Alyssa's Ventura Vipers beat Simi Valley 1-0 in the first game and then took out the Conejo Valley team 5-0.  Alyssa scored 3 total goals!  This was her first exposure playing 11 on 11 on the professional size field.  We go back today (Sunday) to take on the undefeated and relentless Camarillo Eagles...

Regarding Saturday's hike; carcasses of small rodents turned away my wife.  There were several park rangers in the area today but they seemed to only care for the cleaning of the restrooms rather than tend to the needs of the trail.  Spider webs and stale leaves made for an eerie feeling in the air.  Just like the last time that we visited, it was a beautiful day for a hike but no visitors around.  Either people don't know about this site or they just don't care.  Still, I'm glad it's here and I will come back to climb the hill above.

***Use your own discretion viewing the next few pictures.  They are disturbing pics of injured & dead rodents:

***

 Missing a foot

 Dead in his tracks

 Never had a chance

DAY 193: Thursday May 26, 2011
Beyond Hueneme Pier:  1 mile  +25 feet

My legs were sore from the long hike to the top of Mt. Boney from Wednesday.  The weather up in Thousand Oaks where I worked was hot and sunny but by the time I reached Oxnard, it became cool and windy.  Nevertheless, I took off my shoes and walked the beach from the pier to the Pt. Hueneme Base.  The cold water felt refreshing on my swelled feet.   


DAY 194: Friday May 27, 2011
Caterpillars at Arroyo Verde:  3 miles  +500 feet

 
Theory has it that these caterpillars will turn into a beautiful flying object.  --I don't believe it :)
**Today, I hiked down from my house to the park (the normal way) and then ventured off trail into the lower thick off the "rattlesnake trail".  My legs have been restored from the long hike so I was in the mood to explore.  The only noteworthy discovery are the pictures above.    



Rewind:

A few days ago I bought the map to the of the Pt. Mugu State Park (Boney Mountain Wilderness).  I retraced my footsteps on Day 178.  Turns out we hiked about 9 miles and climbed +2000 feet of elevation.  For tracking purposes, this adds 0.5 miles & +800 feet to my totals.  I will edit the post but because my last summary was done after this day, I will have to keep this as a side note.  In final, my blog just reach 9,992 hits.  It seems I am averaging about 50 views a day.  I have no idea who is viewing this, but thank you!  I am not getting paid for it but reaching 10,000 hits is like a celebration.  I compare it to the movie where Facebook achieved 1 million members.  **Hey, whatever works!