DAY 180: Bronson Canyon (The Bat Caves)

DAY 180: Bronson Canyon (The Bat Caves)

Date: Saturday May 14, 2011

Miles: ~3.0

Elevation Gain: ~700 Feet

Time: 2 Hours

Difficulty: Less than a half mile of easy strides to the Bat Caves; Also, a wide road with constant incline in the other direction...

Reward: BATMAN!

Description: Explore the wide open caves and rock formations at Bronson Canyon

Where: Los Angeles, CA

Directions:From the 101 Freeway in Ventura County, head south toward Los Angeles.  Exit 9A at Vine and stay straight onto Franklin.  About a mile up, turn left on Bronson and follow that around to Canyon.  Turn left on Canyon, drive over the speed bumps and park in the very last parking lot before the gate.  If the lot is full, park in the lot an eight of a mile back.

We parked  in the smaller lot by this sign; Camp Hollywood Land.  Not knowing where the caves were, we followed the road beyond the locked gate, and hiked forever!  If you want to see the caves, the trailhead is actually just before this last parking lot.  Look for the turn off in the picture below:

 Trailhead to Batman

 ~50 Foot elevation gain, and you are there...

 These caves have been used on many Hollywood sets

There are many trails back here.  You can follow the road up and around and summit the top of the caves.  There is a sharp hill to the other side for a nice view of the Hollywood Sign.  Have fun and becareful; the dirt is loose in some places...

 The Road to the top

Prior to discovering the Batcaves, we hiked halfway up the mountain along the road.  There is a small stream back here and many interesting tree formations on the lower portion before you reach the desert like mountain.  According to signs from the street, you can't reach the Hollywood sign from this canyon.  However, another hiker mentioned a canyon named ~Beechwood, or something, one hillside over from here and you can reach the sign.  I will look into this for another time.  Meanwhile, we did not reach the top here or take any of the alternate single track trails.  There is much to explore up here:

At this point, I knew we had gone the wrong way because I read that the Batcaves were a simple hike and this road just kept going higher.  If I wasn't with my nieces and Ayden, I may have continued.  We also had an LA Galaxy Soccer game to get to, so we turned around, found the Batcaves, ate at Mac Donalds and watched David Beckham score a goal in the 87th minute...


***
Friday: DAY 179
--Short hike in Wildwood Park.  I hiked from the main entrance and looped around some of the footpaths that I have not conquered yet.  I still have many more trails here leading to the "underground" (off map sections).  Easy Friday from a long Thursday hike; maybe 3 miles just to keep the legs active.

DAY 178: Boney Mountain Wilderness (Fossil Trail)

Game 4404: SEALtheBeach.com

DAY 178: Boney Mountain Wilderness (Fossil Trail)

Date: Thursday May 12, 2011

Miles: ~8.5  **9.0

Elevation Gain: ~1200 Feet   **+2000 Feet

Time: 3.5 Hours

Difficulty:Long, not too steep...

Reward: Going the Distance

Description: Follow a well maintained trail toward the top of Boney Mountain

Where: Newbury Park, CA

Directions:From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks, exit on Wendy and head south.  Take Wendy all the way to the end and park your car (Portrero Road).

**Recalculated on Day 195

My last adventure to this area came on: Day 4: Hideen Valley Overlook

 Trailhead

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satiwa (Culture Center)

An alternate way to reach the Boney Mountain trailhead is to park your car at the main entrance of the State Park off Lynn Road.  The center that you see in the picture above is about a quarter mile hike from the parking area.  This would have been faster because we were already 1 mile into our hike at this point.  The parking area we started from would have been fine if we darted up the steep hill like I did on Day 4.  This would take you past the windmill.  However, we followed the Wendy Trail to the pond, turned left on the Satiwa Loop Trail and then right to the next trail to finally reach the picture below:

Normally I wouldn't stop for a rest but my buddies Mike and Mike saw the bench as a welcoming.  We had already wandered for 1.5 miles and we didn't even start yet...

No dogs allowed.  You will now begin the decline between the mountains.

 Easy water crossing

 Heading back up (10 push-ups each)

 Optional cut through (easy switchback trail recommended)

 Take a breath

We were in hot pursuit to summit Boney.  Thus, we bypassed the waterfall and monument.  If you have time, stop by these places but to find the Seal Treasure, head higher to the Fossil Trail.  (I will be back on another day to reach the monument and waterfall).

 Ocean views on a hazy day

 Seal Treasure ahead!

You will find the Seal Treasure 15 paces from this sign.  From the junction, stay straight on the trail that you came up from and stride 15 paces forward and look down and to the left:

I tucked the bottle behind the trunk of this small tree and then placed a rock in front of it.  This is easy to find and grab.  Please be sure that you replace the bottle exactly where you found it after reading the clue.

**The sun was going down so it's going to take a fast hike/jog pace to get back to the car before dark.  Our goal to reach the top failed!  --I'll be back!

 Heading back across the water

 Taking the Windmill Trail

 Sunset

Flashback from DAY 4

Earlier in the week:

Day 175: Monday May 9, 2011
Revisit to Camarillo Oak Grove Park.   DAY #106
The weather today was a good 10+ degrees cooler than it was a week earlier; perfect for hiking.  I came here to scope out new ideas for the trail that I want to build to connect Camarillo to Thousand Oaks.  I stepped over private property for a moment but the good news is, a trail can be made without the disruption of farmland.  It's open space.  I only ventured out a half mile or so beyond the park limits and could see Mt. Rex in the distance...

Day 176: Tuesday May 10, 2011
Lynn Oaks Park: Located about 5 minutes from where I work, I discovered this place on DAY 99
Instead of hiking the Spring Trail like I did that day, I hiked along the trail through the open field to jog around the dirt track on the north side of the park.  I spent about an hour building up a good sweat and possibly achieved 4+ miles... 


Day 177: Wednesday May 11, 2011 
The Avenue Trail to the Cross: On DAY 76 I discovered the Avenue Trail with my wife and son.  This was my first time back since (101 days later), and likely my last time.  I have been to the Cross several times and it dawned on me that I could connect the two areas.  It was slightly steep, but this post confirms the connection.  The round trip did not exceed an hour.

Seabridge on Mother's Day (Day 174)

Day 174: Sunday May 8, 2011

5 mile+ Bike Ride.  Happy Mother's Day!  We rode from the cousins house in Oxnard, through the streets and ended up at Seabridge.  This newer community begins at Victoria and Wooley, in Oxnard.  You can ride around the outside of all the boat docks all day if you choose.  You can link up all the way to Channel Islands Harbor.  We had a great time but the only disappointing moment was when we expected to eat Funnel Cakes only to find out that the place was closed for the holiday.  Bummer...

DAYS 168 - 173

Another Week of Hiking:

Day 168: Monday May 2, 2011
The return to Mt. Rex.  This is the nickname for the sharp moutainlike hill over the Northside of the 101 Grade.  If you "search" Mt. Rex on this blog you should be able to read articles and view pictures of this cool spot.  Today was my third official visit.  I hiked in from North Wendy and linked up to the Rex Ridge Trail.  I have updated the map of the Rancho Conejo Open Space but I am not yet ready to publish it to this blog.  Stay tuned...


Day 169: Tuesday May 3, 2011
Ventura Beach by the Promenade and Pier.  The Downtown Ventura Beach is a rocky and filthy place if you ask me.  "C Street" is a surfers hangout located on the northside by the fairgrounds.  I went to the beach today because it was too darn hot to do anything else!  I went during lowtide and hiked the rocky/sandy portion from Surfers Point to the pier.  The southside of the pier is considered a state park, and the sand is much nicer down here.  I hiked round trip about 3 miles and now my feet are killing because of it!  I had the option to walk the promenade back but since my feet were already wet, what the heck...


Day 170: Wednesday May 4, 2011
Arroyo Verde.  Venturing off beyond the Radio Stations today.  The hike took over 2-hours round trip.  I ended up nowhere with much more to go.  The distance between peaks is deceiving.  I will need to commit an entire afternoon to really stretch some distance beyond the park...


Day 171: Thursday May 5, 2011
Dos Vientos.  Day-54-Sierra-Vista-T  The weather has been amazing.  It's been in the upper 80's all week.  Today I revisited the quick Sierra Vista Trail.  I ventured off into the brush to search for what in the world the mysterious man was looking for on Day 54.  The only thing I found was a bunch of scratches all over my body.  Nothing special, no real trail, but gaps between the thick; a mistake...  After thinking about it, I should have hidden a water bottle up here... Maybe next time.  By the end of my 1-hour+ adventure, the temperature began to cool off.  The heat wave was ending...

Day 172: Friday May 6, 2011
 Arroyo Verde.  Finding new ways to reach the beyond... I cut my visit short today because we are filming at our house on Saturday AM, and I needed my yard up to speck.

Day 173: Saturday May 7, 2011
The AM Hollywood shoot at our house went well.  I designed a water slide on the hill in my back yard.  Last year I created a trail to the top of the hill and today, using a slip n slide, the kids plunged down the hill into a baby pool.  Crazy!!  The whole family also jumped on the trampoline and we spent a couple hours of family fun followed up with one on one interviews.  Sorry, can't tell you what the shoot is for...

Later that day, we took a ride out to Anaheim.  We hiked the streets near Angel Stadium and then witnessed the TRIBE beat the Angels!  GO CLEVELAND!!!

DAY 167: Hueneme Pier

Day 167: Sunday May 1, 2011

For directions on how to get here, read: DAY 92

At the Hueneme Pier, you will pay $2.00 an hour to park your car.  Or you could drive across the street to the Bubling Springs and park for free (Day 92).  If parking at the springs, you will surely pass the ducks:

 Aw, it's a baby...

 Mommy duck waddles away when I take a pic; baby tries to follow

 Jess fed the mamma some bread

 Hmm, daddy comes charging but stops short...

 Noooooo!!!!!!!!!

 Bad Seagull!!!!

I'm scarred for life!  Unbelievable.  If I hadn't been taking pictures, this never would have happened.  I am so freakn mad!!  I feel horrible.  The Seagull flew in from nowhere and just swooped up the baby duckling.  He flew across the pond.  A biker witnessed it and chased the bird.  After a few minutes, we the seagull dropped the duckling, but it was too late!  We disposed of the baby, but I just feel awful.  I can't help but think what the parent ducks were thinking, really!  They were there protecting the baby because they knew the danger.  I never imagined that a seagull would do that; now I know.  Now I understand why people throw rocks at seagulls, but I never will.  It's the law of nature and it's the way it has to be.  But did it have to be today, in front of me, because of me!

In my title picture at the top of this post, you will notice a young girl sitting on a statue of dolphins.  For the record, the 7 year old girl is my niece Katelyn.  In fact, her birthday party was later that afternoon.  She is sitting on this monument symbolizing a plane crash off the Island of Anacapa.  So, today was edumacational: I never knew Seagulls killed ducklings and I never knew of this plane crash.

The names of all 88 passengers are listed around the clock.  There was a four-month-old on board.  How sad :(  ... Sad day...

 Nice warm weather, gentle wind and clean beach

  Lady Bugs around the Bathroom

Caution lady bugs can fly and they swarms like bees, without the sting.  The bathrooms here are like open jail cells.  I have pictures, but I thought otherwise.  There is a little place to eat here, but we chose 7-11 hotdogs today.  We didn't hike along the beach, but from the looks of it there are miles to explore.  Instead, we wandered around the cement trails above the sand and looped back to Bubbling Springs.

We were in Oxnard this weekend for Alyssa's soccer Tourney.  Her Ventura Vipers won all 4 games; Alyssa scored about 9 goals and her team did not yield one.  She is amazing and her team is phenomenal.  

DAY 166: North of Oxnard Shores

Day 166: Saturday April 30, 2011

On DAY 28 I hiked all of Oxnard Shores with Ayden to the end of Hollywood Beach.  It took us 3 1/2 hours to cover more than 6 miles of sand (both ways).  I had some pretty cool pictures from that day, but it was during the time that I could not upload pics on this blog.  The pics can be seen somewhere on my Facebook page or better yet or on my December Video, which I just checked on YouTube...and it was taken down!!  However, you can still link to it: December Video (on Facebook)

Today was a much cooler day than back in December.  It was quite windy and the water was frigid, especially compared to the warm Hawain water.  As the kids played at the beach with my wife, I hiked alone to the north...

I trekked another quarter mile past the power plant and decided to turn back.  I cover about 3/4's of a mile of new beach.  I figured that I could finish this stretch of sand one day entering from McGrath State Park.  --There was not a single person out on this section of beach.  Moreover, there were very few footsteps indicated that people don't venture out this way much.  After walking back past the plant, I turned toward the dunes:

It looks like the Snowy Plover is being protected.  Hmm, there is so much open space here and beach access is never limited.  My question, why allow people like me in this part ever?  Based on the graffiti and broken sign, shouldn't the nesting area be protected year round?

I saw a person's head in the nesting area.  Based on the signs, no one should be here.  I walked further and then up, over and through the closed section.  I heard a bird chirping, likely a baby waiting for it's mother to feed it.  I felt bad that I crossed but on the other side were two dogs and a trail.  **There was also a guy walking these beautiful creatures...  I walked back to 5th street with him and along the way we passed a homeless man sleeping in the sand.  Honestly, the guy looked 95% dead but when we asked him if he was already, he made a noise so we let him be.

***Interesting place but not too exciting.  I think it would be a good idea to create a trail from the end of this path to the beach to prevent people like me cutting through.  If we do this, it would be fair to say that the nesting area can remain protected entirely; but that will be another campaign...

Before I leave, I uploaded some photos from December:

Surfing Dog

Swing at Hollywood Beach

Anacapa Island at Sunset

Can Somebody Please explain this.  A floating rock?