
Tuesday morning, after taking care of some business in West Los Angeles, I decided to go after Swingin’ Sullivan. I had tried to do this cache in November, but the access was closed because of a construction project in the canyon. Tuesday, no construction and no problem. No problem except for the parking situation. Most of the streets near the trail head are posted “No Parking 7 AM to 7 PM.” The few areas that aren’t posted had cars parked there. So I had to park a ways away. But, yea, I’m hiking, right?
Swingin’ Sullivan is a multi-cache. The first waypoint was an easy find–it directed me more than 3000 feet farther up the canyon. This was my first time in Sullivan Canyon. While I spent much of my youth one canyon west in Rustic Canyon’s Camp Josepho, this was my first visit here. I enjoyed the large oaks along the trail.
Swingin’ Sullivan’s final wasn’t too hard to find. I walked by it on the first pass, but the hint helped my get to the correct spot. Once that far up the canyon, I decided to go for the next 2 closest caches–curiously strong and Here, Ducky!
The only problem with that is that they are both UP the side of the canyon. By UP, I mean that the “trail” they are on was put in before switchbacks were invented. UP was about 800 ft of UP. However, the views of Santa Monica Bay and of Catalina were very nice. The photo above doesn’t do justice to the view. The “bump” at sea is the full length of Catalina.
The photo below is the trail of Tuesday hike. When I titled this entry “A Couple Quick Caches and One Not So Quick,” this is the cache that wasn’t so quick. However, it was a very nice hike. There is another cache is this area, but from the logs, it’s clear that the trail is steeper than the one I went up. I decided to return via the street streets in lieu of going down a dangerous trail alone.


April 10, 2013

April 5, 2011
Wednesday’s hike was a quick 1.9 mile out-and-back on a trail off of Tapo Canyon to find The Song Remains The Same. There are plenty of caches along this route, but The Song Remains The Same is the only one that I needed. I forget how nice it is to just hike–hike without stopping every 500 to 600 feet to look for a cache.
I’ve hiked this trail several times. I was struck by how dry the fields and hills are this early in April. The 2 photos above were taken 2 years apart. Dry now versus green then.
Below is Wednesday’s hike’s track.


Today’s hike was in Sage Ranch to collect Holey Sandstone, Batman! I enjoy Sage Ranch. It’s the home of my first geocache find and is only a quick drive from home. In fact, when hiking the Sage Ranch Loop, I can see my house.

There still are some wildflowers blooming at Sage Ranch. Here’s a sample of Bush Sunflower.

Casting a Giant Shadow

Holey Sandstone, Batman! is a nicely placed cache that is easier than I was planning on. The view above is from the cache’s GZ. Sometimes when a cache is hidden in the rocks, I can spend way too much time trying to find it. This morning, I walked right to it.


Vetch

Parking on Black Canyon Road is free. Parking at the top of the hill is $5.oo. Keep Abraham Lincoln in your pocket and walk up the hill. It’s not that bad of an incline and it will help you get warmed up for the rest of the hike. Sage Ranch Loop is the home of 14 caches and 2 more, including today’s Holey Sandstone are in the interior of the loop. If you haven’t been to Sage Ranch, come on up for a nice adventure. If you have been there, you know what a nice gem we have in the Simi Hills. Come on back.
