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

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Now you begin a nearly 2-mile stretch of boulder-hopping (and possibly wading), 2 or 3 hours’ worth depending on the conditions. Other than a few rusting pieces of pipeline from an old dam and irrigation system, you may find that the canyon is completely litter-free; please keep it that way.

The great variety of rocks that have been washed down the stream or have fallen from the canyon walls says a lot about the geologic complexity of the Santa Monicas. You’ll scramble over finegrained siltstones and sandstones, conglomerates that look like poorly mixed aggregate concrete, and volcanic rocks of the sort that make up Saddle Rock (a local landmark near the head of Zuma Canyon) and the Goat Buttes of nearby Malibu Creek State Park. Some of the larger boulders attain the dimensions of mid-sized trucks, presenting an obstacle course that you must negotiate by moderate climbing with your hands and feet.

In another 1.3 miles, pass directly under a set of high-voltage transmission lines—so high they’re hard to spot. These lines, plus the graded road built to give access to the towers, represent the major incursion of civilization into Zuma Canyon. If you can ignore them, however, it’s easy to imagine what all the large canyons in the Santa Monicas were like only a century ago.