Читать книгу 101 Hikes in Southern California. Exploring Mountains, Seashore, and Desert онлайн

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On the Indian Creek Trail, you pay your debt to gravity by ascending nearly 300 feet in about 0.7 mile. The beautifully tangled array of live oak and sycamore limbs along this trail keeps your mind off the climb. At one point, you can look down into a deep ravine where an inaccessible mini-waterfall and pool lie practically hidden. When you finally reach Avenida de los Arboles, turn left and then return a short distance to the trailhead parking lot.

HIKE 2

Happy Camp Canyon

Location: Near Moorpark and Simi Valley

Highlights: Prime oak woodland and strange rock formations

Distance: 11 miles (loop)

Total Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,300'/1,300'

Hiking Time: 5 hours

Optional Map: USGS 7.5-minute Simi

Best Times: October–June

Agency: SMMC

Difficulty: Moderately strenuous

Trail Use: Suitable for mountain bikes

Happy Camp Canyon nuzzles in a crease between the long, rounded ridge called Big Mountain, just north of Simi Valley, and Oak Ridge, a taller parallel ridge to the north. These ridges and plenty more, like the Santa Monica Mountains, are caterpillarlike, parallel segments of the Transverse Ranges, which stretch from Santa Barbara County in the west to San Bernardino County to the east.