On Saturday morning, about 20 L.A. Times subscribers attended our fourth Times subscriber hike, this time a 3.5-mile trek to Sycamore Canyon falls in Point Mugu State Park.
It was a crisp, cloudy day, and I was heartened to meet Times subscribers who traveled near and far to attend, including a family from Fullerton with impressive walking sticks and kind hearts.
We started our jaunt on the Wendy Trail in Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa, which is national parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains where Chumash people lived for thousands of years.
Two representatives from the Santa Monica Mountains Fund hiked with us, and shortly after starting our journey we paused near a meadow. A restoration technician with the fund pointed to the oaks and other trees that the organization has planted over the years. She explained how the organization is working to restore this pasture to its pre-ranching glory, reestablishing oak woodlands and coastal sage scrub habitats.
We trudged on, working our way up and down the steep inclines. This was the most technical subscriber hike we’ve had, and everyone did great navigating the hills and rocky terrain. That said, we were happy when we entered Point Mugu State Park land and then reached the waterfall, which was thankfully still flowing.
The group rested at the waterfall, including one hiker who put his hand on some poison oak. I pulled out my first aid kit and handed over my soap that removes the oils. (I’m super allergic and always have it.)
After a nice rest break at the waterfall, we hiked back as the sun started coming out.
Please keep an eye out for our next subscriber hike, which will be sometime in the fall. In the meantime, want to learn more about the L.A. outdoors? Subscribe to The Wild, our weekly outdoors newsletter, where I provide you with the best places to hike around L.A. County. See you out there!
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