Squirrel
Day 283: Wednesday August 24, 2011
Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park
Where: Moorpark, California
Distance: 7.0 miles +750 feet
Time: 2 Hours
Trailhead at Rustic Caynon Golf Course
Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks, take the 23 North and stay on the freeway as it becomes the 118 East. Just after the bridge, exit on Princeton Ave and turn left. Follow Princeton an eight of a mile to the end and turn left on Campus Park Dr. Continue straight into the Rustic Canyon Golf Course, you are now on Happy Canyon Road. Drive back another mile and stay straight all the way back to the golf course. Park your car and begin.
**I Google Mapped the area and discovered Happy Camp. I found a pdf map: Happy Camp Trail Map Problem is, I tried following the directions on the map on Monday and ended up somewhere else. This was mostly the fault of me being on my motorcycle but nevertheless, I hit it up my way today.
Leading up to the trailhead, there is a dirt trail following the street that you can take if you want to extend the mileage. I was not interested in this for I only had one water bottle and I'm still trying to get in shape.
Parallel the golf course for about a half mile
100% dry area with many Oaks
Easy slight up hill jog...
Looking back after about a mile into it...
The Gate
I generally jogged along the sandy first mile leading up to the gate. Just after this junction, you will encounter a fork in the trail. It appeared the heavier flow of traffic went right, so of course I tried my luck to the left...
Found a few shady spots on this 90 degree day...
During the rainy season, you can tell where the creeks are washed
Slowly above the next easy hill leads to another valley
My turnaround spot
If I had more time and water, you can continue following the trail around to the right. Next time... The trail is deeply sandy in some places which may be great for horses but it slowed down my pace. No big deal, it was still one of the easiest runs I have done, but damn it was hot :) I jogged most of the way back and called it a day...
Day 281: Monday August 22, 2011
Happy Camp Rd
Where: Moorpark, California
Distance: 2.75 miles +250 feet
Time: 45 minutes
Almost a trailhead
Directions:
Follow the driving instructions on the pdf: Happy Camp Trail Map However, instead of turning right on Broadway, stay straight on Happy Camp Road. Take this road to the end and then park,
There are no "No Tresspassing" signs, so proceed forward
Stay on the main road passing the Edison split on the right
After the Edison split, you will intersect a T-junction. Thee is an address pointing to the right, so I went left. This led to the picture above and a locked gate. I turned around and ran back to my bike. This was a very easy journey in the wrong spot. However, I did notice several other outlets from the road even before the trailhead. They look like equestrian trails but I am good at dodging manure so I may have to try them. Also, I believe they will connect to the back side of where I was originally trying to conquer. Bottom line, there are many doable trails in these parts, unlike the nearby Balcom Canyon. I just opened up a whole new map page to Ventura County... Not sure why they call this place Happy, because its mostly sandy and ashy, but thank you Ash for making me find the happiness on these days. Every hike is a new experience; ash or no ash :)
Day 282: Tuesday August 23, 2011
Arroyo Verde Park -- First Day of School
Where: Ventura, California
Distance: 3.5 miles +400 feet
Time: 1 hour
It was the kids first day of school. After work, I did a quick workout and then met up with the kids at soccer practice. In the early evening, Sammi and I jogged to the park from my house and we cut across some new thistles up top to get back. Yup, my legs are all scratchy and ashy now, but no big deal. It's been a "Happy" week...
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