Journey to (Not Really) Sandstone Peak

The view was good

I've been pushing it pretty hard at [school]work lately, and in combination with a touch of the bug that's going around, I was pretty exhausted when this weekend arrived. After a full slate of Fri-Sat Trojan sports events, I fell into a blissfully deep sleep early on Saturday night, and found myself in the midst of a flying dream when Sunday morning arrived. As an aside, flying dreams are awesome, and according to this source (which may or may not have any real credibility) indicate that I am "on top of a situation," "have risen above something," and/or "have gained a new and different perspective on things." Or it could be my subconscious telling me to buy a paraglider:

La Jolla, March 2006. This looks fun.

Anyhow, I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen to cook some breakfast, because my friend Tad was about to show up for a Sunday hiking adventure. I really glad he did, because I really needed to get out and about, and without the extra motivation probably would have kept flying all morning.

After some banana and blackberry pancakes (friends know I don't play games with breakfast), we hit the road for the Santa Monica Mountains and Sandstone Peak. As previously documented here, Sandstone is the highest point in the Santa Monicas, albeit at a modest 3111'.

What hasn't been previously documented is that Sandstone Peak in fact is not made out of sandstone. Turns out it's actually part of the Conejo Volcanics, a ... wait for it ... volcanic formation dating to around 15 million years ago. Geo nerds can read more here. This reminds me of giant, snowy volcanoes.

While I'd been there before, it was foggy and so I hadn't seen the advertised 360deg, panoramic views (well actually I guess I had; it's just that it looked panoramically gray for all 360 degrees). With the windstorms of the last few days, the air was relatively clear and we figured our chances were better.

In a little over 40 minutes (~1.5mi, +1100') from the trailhead, we arrived at the summit and indeed found a spectacular vista. I took this panoramic photo as an attempt to capture the scene, but of course it doesn't do it justice:

Sandstone Summit Pano - download full size

The most striking part of the scene was the clear visibility of seven of the eight Channel Islands, including (south to north) Santa Catalina, San Clemente, Santa Barbara, San Nicholas, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and Santa Rosa (just barely, hiding behind Santa Cruz). Again as an aside, some claim that a missile was launched from San Nicholas last Monday night, while others think it was just an airplane contrail. Had I been at this spot, I'd be able to tell you for sure. As an aside to the aside, Cal State Channel Islands has one of my favorite college mascots, a fighting dolphin - certain to be formidable in swimming and water polo. Maybe not so much volleyball and tennis. Nonetheless, here's some information on "Becoming a Dolphin."

Back to the subject, the view extended from Pt. Conception, some 90 miles to the north to the peaks of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto (120-140 miles to the east), including the Sierra Madre, Topatopa, Santa Susana, San Gabriel, San Bernardino and Santa Ana mountain ranges. The Oxnard Plain and Las Virgines Reservoir were also prominent, along of course with the many peaks, canyons, and P.O. groves of the Santa Monicas. It was definitely one of the most sweeping views I've seen in southern CA.

So we stayed and enjoyed it for a while, until the crowds arrived. Then we bailed. Enroute back down the trail, we spotted this precariously perched rock:

Balanced rock

I was impressed by the rock, but even more so by the hovering, crooked moon. How does it do that?!

Our round trip distance/elevation for the day was a modest 6.5mi/1100'. More important was the great scenery, great company, and pure joy of being outdoors. Now for some dinner, and to get back to that flying dream...