Day 53-54: Silver Strand Beach/Camarillo Water Tower

Day# 53: Silver Strand Beach
Silver Strand Beach
Oxnard, CA
Monday, August 17th 2015
Time:  53 minutes
Pace: 26:12/mile
Distance: 2.05 miles
Elevation Gain: 61 feet
Dogs Allowed?: Yes, except between 9am-5pm

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Ventura:
Exit Victoria Ave and head south for 6.7 miles to San Nicholas Ave
Turn Right onto San Nicholas Ave and continue for 0.2 miles to the parking lot at the end of the street. 

Today was another hot day in Thousand Oaks so I headed down to Oxnard, grabbed my dog and headed down the beach.  Silver Strand is almost exactly 1 mile long, so I headed from one side to the other and back again. My dog Marley loved running along the beach and meeting some other dogs along the way.  It was a bit overcast and gloomy but at least that kept it slightly cooler and made for a nice walk.  We even saw some dolphins on the way back to the car!

Info sign at the end of the beach

Marley running down the enbankment

 Day# 54: Camarillo Water Tower
Water Tower Service Road
Camarillo, CA
Tuesday, August 18th
Time: 1 hour, 12 minutes
 Pace: 47:48/mile
Distance: 1.53 miles
Elevation Gain: 187 feet
Dogs Allowed?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Camarillo:
Exit Camarillo Springs Rd and on the north side of the freeway the trail begins just before the northbound onramp to the freeway.  I had to park down the road a bit to find enough space to get all the way off the road.

Today I was hanging out with friends in Ventura and needed to get my hike in on the way home. I saw some geocaches here on the map and figured this would make a good little night hike with nice views of the Conejo Grade and Camarillo at night.

I parked down the road a bit and started following the geocaches up the hill. This is a short but steep little climb to the top but the reward is great. The lights of Camarillo where great up here and looking the other way gave a great view of the cars snaking up the grade. After finding all the caches I headed back down the hill to my car.

The Conejo Grade

Camarillo at night

 

Day 52: Baseline Trail

Day 52: Baseline Trail
Baseline Trail/Lower Santa Rosa Trail
Camarillo, CA
Sunday, August 16th 2015
Time: 1 hour, 21 minutes
Pace: 27:04/mile
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation Gain: 177 feet
Dogs OK?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Camarillo:
Exit Pleasant Valley Rd/Santa Rosa Rd and head Northeast on Santa Rosa Rd for 7.1 miles to trailhead on right.  Trailhead begins at a dirt turnout on a trail paralleling the farm fields.

Another short hike before work today. I headed down an easy stretch of the Lower Santa Rosa Trail by starting on the Baseline Trail off Santa Rosa Rd.  After a short stretch paralleling the road, you turn south and continue following the fields to a junction. At the fork you make a right to continue on the Baseline Trail as it continues following the border of the farm fields.  Once you get to the end of the field the trail rises up to the base of the hills and follows the base of the hill heading west.  Fun little trail with minimal elevation for a easy hike for all ages.

I continued down this for about a mile until I reached the last geocache I needed and headed back the way I came. 

 

Trail follows the farm fields

Nice singletrack along the base of the hills

Some old farming equipment

Trail continues all the way back to Wildwood Park

Day 51: Satwiwa Loop Trail

Views of Big Sycamore Canyon

Day# 51: Satwiwa Loop Trail via Wendy Trail
Wendy Trail/Big Sycamore Canyon Fire Road/Satwiwa Loop Trail
Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa- Newbury Park, CA
Saturday, August 15th 2015
Time:  1 hour, 13 minutes
Pace: 21:27/mile
Distance: 3.43 miles
Elevation Gain: 283 feet
Dogs Ok?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks:
Exit Lynn Rd and drive west for 3.9 miles to Wendy Dr
Turn Left onto Wendy Dr and continue 0.6 miles until the road ends at Potrero Rd.
Parking is directly across Potrero Rd in the large dirt area.
Trail starts in the dirt parking lot.

 Today I had to work down in Malibu so I did not have much time, so I headed to a close trail to grab a geocache that I had been meaning to get for a while. I started at the Wendy Trailhead to get some extra mileage in and headed straight across to the top of the large hill leading into Sycamore Canyon.  From here I took a small use trail along the ridge to the cache and some great views down into Sycamore Canyon.  I headed back on the lower portion of the Satwiwa loop to my car. I did not have much time so I kept a pretty quick pace to make sure I got to work on time.

Heading down the Wendy Trail across the grassy meadows

Old Boney coming into view as I approach Satwiwa

Looking toward the Fossil Trail that I hiked on Day 1

Use trail along the ridge to the cache

The windmill on the Satwiwa Loop Trail

Heading back to the car just after the windmill

 

Day 50: Cable Tower Hill

Day#50: Cable Tower Hill
Cable Tower Hill
Agoura Hills, CA
Friday, August 14th 2015
Time:  1 hour, 15 minutes
Pace: 35:50/mile
Distance: 2.1 miles
Elevation Gain: 419 feet
Dogs Ok?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills:
Exit Reyes Adobe Rd and head north to Thousand Oaks Blvd
Turn Right onto Thousand Oaks Blvd and continue 0.9 miles to Grey Rock Rd
Turn Left onto Grey Rock Rd and continue 0.7 miles to Ridgeway Dr
Turn Left onto Ridgeway Drive and continue 0.2 miles to trailhead on left.
Park on the street, trail heads up the hill following the drainage canal

 Today was another quick hike to grab some more local geocaches I wanted to find.  I started out on Ridgeway Dr and headed up the little trail that follows the drainage canal until it meets up with the road heading to the top. I headed up the road to the top of the hill and then headed south on the trail until I reached the end. Just a short, quick hike with some excellent views of Agoura Hills and beyond.

Views over Oak Park

Ladyface Mountain

Heading down the trail with great views of Ladyface

 

Day 49: Modelo Trail

Tons of Huge Oak Trees Here

Day# 49: Modelo Trail Loop
Modelo Trail/Palo Comado Canyon Trail/Chesebro Canyon Trail
Agoura Hills, CA
Thursday, August 13th 2015
Time:  1 hour, 38 minutes
Pace: 28:37/mile
Distance: 3.44 miles
Elevation Gain: 324 feet
Dogs Allowed?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills:
Exit Chesebro Rd and head north on Palo Comado Canyon Rd
Turn Right onto Chesebro Rd and continue 0.7 miles to the entrance to Chesebro Canyon
Follow the dirt road into the parking area.  Information sign and restroom at the trailhead. 

Today I set out to get some information on some geocaches in the area so I planned a loop of the lower part of the Chesebro Canyon trail system.  I started in the main parking area and headed out on the Modelo Trail that heads due north from the parking area. This is a nice little trail that gives you some moderate elevation gain and some great views over the Conejo Valley. Once you climb the first hill, continue north on to stay on the Modelo Trail and follow it over the rolling hills of the ridgeline. 

Heading up the first climb

Looking north along the rolling ridgeline

 I followed the Modelo Trail north until it dead ends into the Palo Comado Canyon Trail.  I took a short side trip west on this trail for a cache, then turned back east and followed it down into Chesebro Canyon.  At the bottom of the hill you meet the Chesebro Canyon Trail. I turned right here and followed this through the beautiful canyon full of endless grasslands with giant oak trees dotting the landscape.  This trail leads all the way back to the parking area to complete the loop.  

County Line

Great oak trees down here

Heading through Chesebro Canyon

Rolling grasslands and Oak Trees as go on forever

 

Day 48: Unmarked Trail Near The Bay Club

Day# 48: Unmarked Trail from the Bay Club
Unmarked Trails
Thousand Oaks, CA
Wednesday, August 12th 2015
Time: 54 minutes
Pace: 51:20/mile
Distance: 1.06 miles
Elevation Gain: 223 feet
Dogs Allowed?: Yes

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks:
Exit Hampshire Rd and head south to make an immediate right onto Willow Ln
After about 0.6 miles turn Left onto Conejo Ridge Ave
The Bay Club is the first parking lot on the right. Park in the far Northwest corner of the lot and the trail starts faintly from the edge of the parking lot.

Today I did not have much time for a hike, so I headed over to Thousand Oaks to a small hill area that had some geocaches on it and the faint old trails form a nice little 1 mile loop. I started off in the Bay Club parking lot and headed down the trail heading toward the freeway. The trail parallels the freeway for a bit, then turns steeply uphill to the top of the ridge.

Heading up the hill

At the top of the hill the trail intersects with another trail. If you turn right it will eventually meet up with the Los Robles trail system, but for today I turned left to loop back to the parking lot. A few wildflowers where blooming and the views of Thousand Oaks are pretty good up here. Not a bad hike for a quick 1 mile loop. 

Views of Thousand Oaks

The 101/23 interchange

Wildflowers in bloom

  

Day 47: Hollywood Beach

Marley heading down the beach

Day# 47: Hollywood Beach
Hollywood Beach
Oxnard, CA
Tuesday, August 11th 2015
Time: 35 minutes
Pace: 26:44/mile
Distance: 1.35 miles
Elevation Gain: 5 feet
Dogs Allowed?: Yes, except between 8am-5pm

Directions:
From the 101 Freeway in Ventura:
Exit Victoria Ave and head south for 5.4 miles to Channel Islands Blvd
Turn Right onto Channel Islands Blvd and continue for 0.5 miles to Channel Islands Blvd/Harbor Blvd
Use the Left Lane to turn Left onto Channel Islands Blvd/Harbor Blvd
Make a slight left to continue onto Harbor Blvd and drive 1.0 miles to Santa Ana Ave
Turn Right onto Santa Ana Ave and park at the end of the street.  There is beach access at the end of the street here.

Today was another very hot day in the Conejo Valley so I headed down to the beach for a short hike. My dog lives with my ex wife near here so I picked her up and we headed down the beach for a short little 1 mile trek.  Nothing too special here, just a walk down the beach with my dog. Had a fun time and she enjoyed running around in the sand.  On to the next one......