Moments in Dirt and Ink

Malibu Creek State Park Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area After hiking around the lower canyon, it is a good time to head up to the end of the road to hike around the upper canyon. Really, I only want to do a little loop in the canyon itself, then take off along the one trail here that I have not really hiked on, the Backbone to the east. The parking lot is nearly empty today, but there are a couple young women looking for "Jim Morrison's cave" with instructions from Yelp, of all things. My prejudices show as my mind instantly suspects it is a place covered in graffiti and trash. The only help I can offer is that they are on the only trail going southwest from here, so that is probably where they want to start their search. I turn up the motorway instead and climb to the saddle at the top to look out over the valley. Poking up to the view at the top. Catalina Island in the mist.

Malibu Creek State Park (map link) For a $12 day use fee (or free parking along Mulholland Highway and a bit further to walk in with more hills), Malibu Creek State Park offers quite a lot of easy hiking past popular swimming holes to the extremely un-Korea-like part of an old Paramount movie ranch where MASH was filmed. (A number of other movies and shows were also filmed there and in an old 20th Century Fox movie ranch on the way.) It seems like an excellent hike for an extremely hot day. A sign points to the "backcountry trail", which seems a bit of a stretch for the set of stairs leading down to an initially paved road leading to a large visitor center past a detailed information sign. The road crosses over the first swimming hole, a deep spot just below it in Las Virgenes Creek, then launches into the dry and hot park past the first of many signs pointing the way. It tells me that if I go a little further, I can visit something called "Reagan Ranch" ...