Zuma Canyon

Two Saturday’s ago (August 23, 2003) I went on a hike up Zuma Canyon. I left Pasadena around 8am, left a bike at the top of the canyon and drove down to the trailhead in Malibu. Here is a picture of the Zuma Canyon from where I left my bike:
The hike is quite beautiful, involving some simple bouldering and bushwacking. It took about four and a half hours of pretty serious climbing. The lower creekbed was very dense with brush, but the middle and upper sections were relatively brush free. Here are some of the boulder’s which I scrambled up:
The ride down from the top of the canyon on a paved road is a bit tight (the road has a few places where there is not much of a bikepath), but it is great to get to the bottom and to be able to go for a swim at the beach after such a strenuous hike.
Professor Chris Brennen has a nice description of this hike on his website.
Unfortunately, in spite of all the warnings on websites, I did not wear long pants or long sleeves and thus ended up getting poison oak. Not a serious case, but even today, nearly two weeks later, I still have some remaining rashes. Such is the price for my stupidity.