Gary-Summer: February 1, 2020 - Los Leones Canyon

Saturday, February 1, 2020

February 1, 2020 - Los Leones Canyon

Title: February 1, 2020 - Los Leones Canyon
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Trail head: Los Leones Canyon Tra ilhead

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail: Los Leones Canyon

Destination: About 5 miles in

Actual Destination: About 1.5 miles in

Distance: 3.16 miles

Start Time: 2:40

End Time: 5:50

Travel Time: 3:10 (1.0 mph)

Moving Time: 2:04 (1.53 mph)

Elevation Rise: 902'

Descent: 749‘

Maximum Elevation: 921'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Friday, the Granddog

I got up at 6:30 and took Friday, Rachel’s dog out for her morning business. I then went out for a walk of about 30 minutes. Sherri gets up while I am eating breakfast. After everything gets done, we put together some plans for Washington DC. By this time I am ready for lunch. So we do not get out of Rachel’s apartment until about 1:30.

Rachel has told us about a five mile trail called Los Leones which went up about 1,500’-at least that is what I heard. Sherri heard a different elevation gain. Anyway, it is about an hour’s drive to the trailhead in the Santa Monica Mountains. We probably take a bit more time.

Sherri and the entrance gate

We got started about 2:30 after finding a parking place. I can see that you really need to come here on the off hours. There is a nice gate leading you to the trail with a sign over it, but that is all. No sign or anything.

We start up the trail. It is a single track and a pretty popular trail. Almost from the get go, it starts to rise. In a short distance, there is a junction with a mileage sign. The first entry is 1.3 miles to the East Topanga Fire Road. We take the trail on the left.

Los Leones Canyon

The trail raises up at a pretty good incline, probably a consistent 10% or more. We are constantly being passed by those going up. This impresses us by how out of shape we are, but being passed also gives us mini-breaks to catch our breath. We do a steady, but slow pace.

Catalina Island

As we climb, we start seeing more of the area of the canyon. Then, the ocean appears. Today is a clear day. We overhear people saying that this is really unusual as I am assuming between the ocean mist, fog and smog, the view is more opaque.

Towards the end of the canyon, the trail starts to be less of an incline as it cuts across the ridge. I can still feel the strain in my legs and lungs, but not much. Our first goal comes into sight: Paseo Miramar Viewpoint. In about ten minutes more, we are there. This is the 1.3 mile mark, well short of the 2.5 miles.

Los Leones Canyon as the sun sets

The view is splendid. We examine some cities around us. Some students next to us ask us about some mountains. With Peak Finder, I look really smart when I name off Pine Mountain and Mount San Antonio. One person is from UC Santa Cruz.

After resting here for about ten minutes and having a Kind bar, we decide to continue on up. But this resolution only lasts about 15 minutes. We get to a place which has an even better vista. We go out and enjoy looking at things. Even more so, we sit down and gaze around. This is as far as we want to go, so we spend about 20 minutes just relaxing. I could feel the climb we did, so it would have been very easy to take a nap-I had found a comfortable place amongst the rocks. Sherri remained vigilant, or at least enjoying the view from our place.

While we are resting, I text my family with a picture. This starts off a text storm with almost all of them. Rachel throws in a few pictures of Capital Reef NP; David of a birthday party for Kevin. Great to have a family which will talk with each other.

But the sun was starting to get low and we have about an hour of getting down the trail to go. So we start back. The trip down is a lot easier than going up. We stop a few times for pictures, but not due to catching a breath. Even though we are moving faster, I am seeing a lot more of the area as we go down. Maybe because my head is not looking down or a particular perspective.

When we reach the car, the sky has turned dark. So we left right at the right time. We go back via Sunset Blvd and hit 405. We promptly hit traffic there. I ask Sherri, is she hungry? Yes. We decide on pizza. After wandering around-not finding one place and another being closed, we find a PizzaRev-sort of like a Blaze Pizza. We feel good about getting filled with pizza. A 15 minute trip back to Rachel’s apartment and liberating Friday and a shower. We feel good about the day.