BackBone Trail First Half and Cumulative Review
Author's note
I hate to write this post. In some ways it's frustrating to see change and to change but this started as a hiking blog and I must address that.
In the beginning, several years ago, I became enamored by the outdoors, by the world beyong our duplexes and concrete mania that many people call life. There was this ideal I could remember when I was kid by which everything around me in nature held an indescribable amount of wonder, and all I wanted to do was to step into that again, even for just a moment. Every tree trunk had another branch I could climb, and every path led to another adventure. All the time I walked into the unknown, and I constantly experienced fear and curiosity, after all the stakes are high when you encounter a spider at four years old. Like a glowing treasure chest, life was coated in a sweet golden aura, and so as I became interested once more in the outdoors my purpose became to taste that wonder again. And arguably, I did.
Maybe I scratched that itch, or maybe I also came to understand that I couldn't return to that place. I am a different person now, a much older one with much more knowledge and influential experiences that layer my life with a different meaning but a beautiful one nonetheless. By attempting to feel the awe of my inner child, I think that I became stuck in the past in my endeavers to chase something that could only be felt genuinely in the present.
All that to say I am not as enthusiastic about hiking, and this hike in particular made me realize that. I wanted to get that out of the way before I wrote about it so it wouldn't infuse my writing with a depressing syrup, cause the pancake of a journey underneath is still pretty good.
The First Half
Early on a spring morning, Joe and I grab our stuff and throw it in the van, then travel the hour or so to Will Rogers Trailhead in LA. Unfortunately, once again our friend Kyle wasn't feeling great, though like a champ he still drove us out and considered hiking the last third.
See, our whole deal was that we wanted to see where our progress was in our goal to hike all of Backbone in one day. I mentioned this before in another post, but Backbone is a 69 mile collection of trails which form one long continuous path from Will Rogers Trailhead in LA to the beach at Ray Miller trailhead in Point Mugu state park which altogether has you climb over ten thousand feet of incline (it varies depending on which direction you go). Hiking it all in one day is borderline impossible for anyone who isn't an ultramarathon runner, but my friends and I are young and decently fit so we figured we may as well try.
Anyway our game plan for the day was to hike from Will Rogers to Kanan Road with a stop at Malibu Canyon Road to reevaluate how we were doing and decide if we wanted to keep going. We estimated the whole thing would be something like thirty-six miles with 4-5 thousand feet of gross elevation gain, that way we would both be able to do the 20 miles of BackBone which we hadn't previously hiked and get a feeling for how prepared we were to hike all 70 miles. Kyle could join us for the last fifteen miles, and If something happened or we felt too exhuasted to finish, we could always meet up with him and just go home early at the 2/3rds mark. It was going to be extremely hard especially because we were planning to jog, since that would be necessary if we were to hike the whole trail within one day later on.
On the day of the hike, we arrive at the trailhead and start finding our way up this hill. It's somewhat confusing because there's still some houses and other recreation fields around, but as soon as you hike far enough up the hill you realize there's really only one trail that goes up into the mountains. We take that, and like most of these hikes it's nice for the first two to three miles. The crisp morning air brushes our faces, and it fills our noses with the sweet scents of eucalyptus trees and other native plants. Birds chirp at our arrival, and the bugs go about clicking in their little orchestra. And while our packs are still considerably heavy given we're looking to hike all day, they're much lighter than they were when we hiked during the summer and had to carry almost double the water in the afternoon heat.
Soon though, the trail decides it doesn't
want to go downhill, and we find ourselves jogging uphill for like 7 or 8 ridiculous miles. We cross one trail junction, where we take a rest and go to the bathroom, but other than that it is nonstop. For the most part, this first part of the trail is pretty straightforward, though there are also several times where we just have to make an educated guess on which direction to go and hope we are right. I knew this could happen on Backbone, so on this part that I didn't know I made sure to memorize all the trail crossings and chapter trails (the smaller trails that made up Backbone Trail) we'd be walking on, in addition to drawing certain confusing intersections and areas on my notes sheet. Even still it proves to be no walk in the park.
The one really rewarding aspect of this part of the hike I will say is the continuous view of the LA skyline. It is so cool to see the skyscrapers poking through clouds in the distance even though you feel quite solidly out of civilization. I think if this part of the trail, which was called Rogers Road trail, was done at a comfortable relaxed pace it could be a lot of fun, especially since it connects to another path that descends into rugged pastures and horse ranches. Around this section, which consists of several hills and valleys before Saddle Peak, we find a bathroom at Dead Horse Trailhead, which surprisingly is quite nice.
Because we were walking so furiously and I was wearing older hiking shoes, blisters had already formed along the edge of my heel, so I took some time at this stop to apply several bandaids.
The next section consists of several hills and a meandering trail as well as a short bit which had the steepest incline of the entire day. After skirting a water "tower," Joe and I start on the climb up Saddle Peak. This part quickly asserts itself to be maybe the hardest single section on BackBone trail since you ascend so much for so long, which makes my legs and feet start to ache irredeemably. Seriously, I felt like Tin man with no WD-40 trying to do agility exercises. It also didn't help that we had hiked roughly twelve miles already at this point and the climb up Saddle takes at least five. It's an absolute beast. You know, one of the those hikes where you look up at the mountain and you don't feel any closer than you were thirty minutes ago. Beautiful and some stunning views but holy cow is it a grind.
One of those really fascinating sights is this massive gray military observation post at the top of the peak that must be forty or so feet high and is decked out in a complex network of rope lattices and some camo looking material. Like something straight out of the Mandalorian, it feels like an imposing Galactic Empire fort which Joe and I are sneaking up on to infiltrate, or at least that's what I tell myself in my head to justify pummeling my feet till they feel like dead salmon.
Too many minutes later, we make it to the top, and low and behold we are in the saddle part of the mountain which I'm pretty sure gave it its name, right at the Topanga Lookout Trailhead with a pretty nice view. Here we take the electrolytes we had packed and put them in one of our waters, which we drink and wash down (what is the equivalent phrase for food?) with some gummies and other snacks. Because we are trying to go as fast as possible, after only fifteen minutes or so we pack our bags and cross the road to continue on the trail.
As we start to descend, the trail runs its normal course of switchbacks. Like interest in the GOP among squirrels, there really isn't much going on here, which honestly kind of drove me nuts. However, the one very interesting thing that does happen is that we come across a baby rattlesnake.
Not more than three feet long, it relaxes idly directly in the middle of the foot and a half wide trail. We can't go around it, since bushes clog the surrounding hillsides and the terrain is much too steep, so Joe snaps off a branch of a nearby bush and kind of fences with the serpent until it notices us. When it finally does, (dude must've been on NyQuill it took so long) it coils up in a ball and hisses, though eventually it slithers off into the grass. We can't see it though, and so because we aren't sure how far off trail it had actually gone we retrace our steps to have space for a run-up and launch ourselves over the area of the trail where it had been just to be safe.
Five to ten minutes later, we pass a solo female backpacker, though because she shocks us out of our hiking stupor with how pretty she is, we barely even manage to stutter a hello (you really don't expect someone to look that good while hiking). About five minutes later, I realize our potato brains hadn't thought to tell her about the freaking snake that was potentially further up the trail waiting for her, so I try to yell back up the mountain. I felt really bad, even though the snake had probably moved far enough off trail by that point and had a rattle for just that occasion in which it hadn't
As these thoughts ebb from my brain, we arrive at a road and cross a creek, where we see these two older men just hanging out and drinking coffee, which again given my exhaustion is kind of surreal to see after hiking several miles on the same type of trail almost completely alone. Around this time I look at my watch and with delight see that we have just finished hiking over twenty three miles, and about an hour later as we are meandering through this oak-tree filled valley I look down and see we have officially passed the marathon mark. Besides feeling vindicated for my salmon feet, I am especially excited to have reached this benchmark because it means this is the longest I have ever hiked.
Shortly after the wooded section where I have this realization, the trail empties into an animal sanctuary of sorts, and we don't know where to hike to get to Malibu Creek Road, though we know we were close because we can see the water reclamation facility on the other side of it. We end up walking along what looked like a trail to the left of one of the buildings, which leads us to a creek across which is a road. After walking down the stream a bit. we decide we have to cross the water and get onto the pavement, which we find out later to be part of the trail. Once there we have a mixup with Kyle, who we are supposed to meet, and after ten minutes of chasing each other around this block like a skit straight out of Abbot and Costello, we finally rendezvous and decide not to hike the remaining fifteen or so miles, since that would bring our total to around forty three if the last part was even fifteen miles, which we couldn't be sure about given we'd already underestimated the first part.
With the hike complete, we hop in a Prius and get some burritos, verified legends.
Cumulative Review of Backbone
So having now hiked the entirety of Backbone, what do I think of the whole trail, and which parts of it are the best and the worst? Well, it depends on what you're after.
If you are looking for a smaller hike, say shorter than 9 miles, there's a bunch to choose from. The first that comes to mind is the climb up Sandstone Peak from Mishe Mokwa trailhead, which I talked about in my "Backbone 2nd Half" post. After a bit of difficult but straightforward climbing along a wide path, you arrive at the craggy top of Sandstone Peak, which serves as the highest point in the Santa Monica Mountains and offers stunning views (along the way you should totally check out another lookout point which if I remember correctly is called "Inspiration Point"). Quite a bit of scrambling is required for the last bit of the climb, but that's what makes it super fun in my opinion. Plus there's a little monument at the top with papers and cards you can write notes on and leave for other hikers.
My second choice along Backbone for this type of length would be to do something out by Trippet Ranch near Topanga Road because, as I've mentioned previously, I found this area to be notably beautiful even given the high density of ranches and people. In general, if you want to do a shorter hike along Backbone east of Malibu Canyon Road I would stick east of Saddle Peak. I'm sure if you want to do like a two mile excursion or less there's some fun ones in the saddle part of the peak that you can't go wrong with.
Other than that I can't say Backbone is great for short hikes because its paths, in spanning so much territory, don't circle back on each other to create easy loops, and because several long stretches of the trail are also frequented mountain bike routes. I would go so far as to say that there's much better short hikes elsewhere in those mountains, notably the Chumash Trail, the Grotto Trail at Circle X Ranch, Bulldog Motorway (we summited a great sub-peak at the intersection of Bulldog and Castro Peak Motorways), and anything out by Mesa Peak Motorway near Tapia Park.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a trail say between 9 and 15 miles, Backbone is perfect. There's so many good stretches between the major roads, but my favorite has to be from Malibu Canyon Road to Kanan Road, which starts out with a mountain climb but after that stays relatively low in some valleys, where the vegetation is more lush. I hope to hike that again, and when I do I'll make a post covering it since that is the only piece of Backbone I have yet to write about. Another great hike would be to go from Mulholland Highway to Kanan Road, since it starts pretty high up and descends into a lovely green area by a creek. You would just have to keep an eye out for mountain bikers in the first section from Mulholland to Encinal Canyon Road, but that's no big deal.
And finally, if I had to take my pick of the 15-30 mile hikes, the big boys, the baller behemoths, my number one choice without a doubt is the trek from Mishe Mokwa to Ray Miller trailhead, which is situated along the PCH. This hike summits Sandstone, walks alongside Mount Boney and the Tri-Peaks, and ends with around 5 miles of switchbacks with unbelievable ocean views. That maybe 7 mile section where you descend from the clouds down into the valley and to Sycamore Canyon Road is an especially surreal experience I will remember for the rest of my life--you're on a path with ocean views that few people ever see striding down a mountain that is visible all over Ventura County, including Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Oxnard, Somis, Camarillo, Saticoy and the outer reaches of Ventura. You feel so incredibly alone, so completely separated from the bustle of surrounding society, and yet that ethereal detachment also yields a closeness to the California wildlife that I've felt seldom elsewhere, if at all. You flow into this valley, ford a stream, climb another small mountain (here's another place you should keep a good eye and ear open for mountain bikers), and galavant down to a beach near where they often film commercials because it's so picturesque.
But don't just read this, do these hikes and see for yourself.
A Quick Note on Safety:
I talk up this last hike a ton, and it really is worth it, but please know yourself and be safe about it. Any hike over ten miles is no joke, and one like this which is twenty miles or so with upwards of a thousand feet in elevation should be done only with extensive preparation. You should know the area like the back of your hand and have plenty of backup plans in case things don't work out. Tell people where you're going and at what time they should get worried if you aren't back, and never go alone especially on a hike of this magnitude. Have an idea of what you're going to do if a storm comes through or if you're there overnight or if you get injured (bring a gosh darn first aid kit). Have plans B C D and E so you can completely enjoy plan A. Know your fitness level, don't let your ego guide you, and prepare enough food, water and sunscreen for the season in which you hike (I'd recommend not hiking this particular hike in summer for instance).
Remember that safety is a factor of fun. If you get to a point where you're worried about dying, you won't be enjoying the experience, and that goes both ways. On one hand, don't put yourself in a situation where your life is in danger, because the joy of that hike will be replaced with fear. On the flip side, if you let fear control you by blowing anxieties out of proportion instead of addressing them in a rational and practical manner, you'll never be uncomfortable enough to grow and experience new things. It's just as stupid to never hike because one time you received a mild rash from poison oak as it is to not look at the forecast before you go out on a trail.
So please, be safe and please be smart about what you do. I feel responsible to write such cautions because a young guy died near Boney Mountain several years ago and too many others have died elsewhere in the Santa Monica Mountains.
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