DAY 14: THE VENTURA BARRANCA

DAY 14: THE VENTURA BARRANCA

2.5 Miles  +50 Feet

14 Day Summary: 55 Miles  +11,550 Feet

Don't forget to check out the 3-minute video at the bottom of this post.

I felt like a kid again after hiking the barranca with my son.  We parked at the community park on Kimball, a favorite place for my wife to run and where I did most of my marathon training.  From the 126 Freeway in Ventura, exit Kimball and you are there.  Park near Telephone Road and then walk west and exit the park.  The barranca begins on the right.

 This area is quite fun if you have a small dirt bike.  There is an dirt bike trail with a series of jumps.  Some of the jumps were far too extreme for my 7-year-old to attempt.

 After playing around for about 30 minutes, we headed back up to Telephone and then crossed the main road to the other side.

This stretch between Telephone and Ralston was paved and perfect for an afternoon stroll between the neighborhoods.  We then ducked into the barranca and went under the Ralston tunnel.  At first, the other side was similar to where we just were, but then the cemented trail ended...

You got the sense that we were not supposed to be here.  There were so many spiders and their webs crossed our path often.  I carried Ayden's bike as we trampled the overgrown.  I had webs all over my hat and face; it freaked me out!  Then finally, the barranca made sense again and Ayden was exhausted, but not for long:

We then went thru the Bristol Road Tunnel and continued following the barranca.  It was easy going from here on out...

After the rail tracks, there became a bike path to follow the barranca.  I was tired of carrying Ayden's bike, so what a relief.  Finally, civilization!  Want to see a movie?

Back into the wash area.  From here, the barranca dumps into the Santa Clara.  We began our voyage but then the wife met us back at this spot.  This was a perfect drop off/pickup trip.  We went back about a quarter mile just to check it out:

So that's it.  From looking at the map before we left, I anticipated stopping at Barranca Vista Park and Harmon Park for my son.  However, those parks were 30 or so feet above us and fenced off from the barranca.    No big deal, we had a good time.  Check Out the 3-Minute Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glOT65tGvTk