Home » Adventures » Santa Monica Mountains

• Foreword
• The Plan
• The Trip
• The GPS

Foreword

Almost invariably, before I begin one of my crazy adventures (Apostle Islands, Smoky Mountains, etc) I am blissfully ignorant of the dangers which lie unforeseen ahead of me. For this expedition, however, I was quite apprehensive of my trip into the jungles of Los Angeles. Am I becoming wiser in my post-college years…or am I just that afraid of hippies? Read on to find out.

The Plan

I would fly into L.A. Christmas night and stay at the cheapest hotel I could find. The next morning I would take a city bus to Santa Monica Pier. From there I would hike along the beach to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and pick up the Backbone Trail for most of my backpacking. The first night I would stay at Musch Camp, followed by Malibu Creek State Park, Circle X Ranch, La Jolla Valley, and finally Leo Carrillo State Park. By then it would be New Year’s Eve when I would hike down the coast to Point Dume, catch another city bus to LAX, and fly back to Chicago. I would land with just enough time to get home, clean up, and celebrate New Year’s. Spoiler: Only about two things went according to plan.

The Trip

I tried writing down slightly more detailed descriptions while actually on the trail, in order to try to record a more compelling account and better capture how I felt at the time. I am not sure whether I accomplished either.

The GPS

This was my first trip where I got to play around with my GPS. The results are in my GPS tracks from the trip.