Wildwood Canyon Pt. 2

We are nearing the one year anniversary of this blog, if you can believe it. I started posting in November of last year and went on my first "hike" after Turkey Day. I might have an anniversary post coming up but first, how about a true hike report post?

See that above? That was as sunny as the day got in SoCal, a real rarity. The wind was whipping, the sky was dark

but as I started up from the canyon of Wildwood, I thought, not so bad.

I had wanted to explore the real Western Verdugos ever since doing the first part of Wildwood Canyon. This time around, I thought, I will take an easier trail up to the ridgeline, WRONG. If you want to do Wildwood, no matter where you start, be prepared for calves to be burned during any particular .5 of a mile.

It looks so flat eh? Nope.

After getting myself up on the ridgeline, its an easy amble to the trail junction to get you up to the Verdugo Motorway and more importantly, to this tower.

While getting out in nature for nature's sake is great, its also great to have goals and I wanted more than anything to summit this puppy and get up to that tower.

To get there, you go along the aforementioned ridgeline until you get to this trail junction.

Make sure you take a left/angle up from there and then its game on. According to the maps, the Vital Link Trail is a one mile but that is a dirty, dirty lie. This trail consists of multiple switchbacks and much brow wiping as you make your way up. Still, as you make your way up, the entirety of LA County unfolds before you.

And with the clouds, it was an amazing day to be on the mountain.

This one was my fav.

One of the interesting things about this hike wasn't that it was just straight up but instead after multiple switchbacks, comes out on relatively flat ridges to give you a breather.

Still, I ain't gonna sugarcoat it, there are switchbacks and due to erosion concerns, it is best you stay on the switchbacks instead of going more straight up the mountain which is the quicker way. Some example of what you will encounter:

Almost there!

As I was making my way up the mountain, I could tell that the views I would see from the summit would be top notch and it got me to thinking, someone should really schelp some chairs up here. Well someone was thinking the way I was because your reward for climbing this sucka is indeed, a chair!

This chair was in memorium of someone and while saddened at the loss, was glad that this was the memorial, its so fitting.

The views were really breathtaking. Golden sun shimmering off the ocean (maybe Santa Monica?) downtown LA, and clouds racing against the bigger mountains to the North

Sadly, I did not pack appropriately and had only a short sleeved shirt with me for the summit. MISTAKE! It was damn nippy up there. I wanted to just lounge at the summit but a lack of fleece betrayed me. I hiked around a bit of the Motorway to the West which was fun but short lived.

Eventually I made my way down the path really happy I did this hike. I recently got some good news and making the summit on this puppy really put the cherry on the ol life sundae and is well worth your time if you are looking for a short but taxing hike with great views.

Check out Wildwood Canyon Here: http://www.lamountains.com/maps/StoughWildwoodVerdugo.pdf

Also a few more pics.