What a treat! Today Barbara and I took our first hike to the amazing Escondido Waterfall deep in Escondido Canyon. Our only excuse for taking so long to do this must-do Malibu waterfall hike is drought, dryness, or fire drying up the flow of water from the top of the multi-tiered, 150 foot falls, the tallest waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains. And to add to the fun of it, we were joined by former KIIS-FM radio newswoman and "Radio Links" host Lori Lerner. A canyon resident, Lori added the color to the hike only a local with intimate knowledge of the trail can spot, from the colors of the flora and fauna to descriptions of the trail at dawn, after the rain, and after the fires. We explored, we rock-hopped across Escondido Canyon Creek five times each way (and kept our socks & shoes dry thanks to our hiking poles!), and for the first time ever got photos with both me and Barbara in them. The valley and waterfall are named Escondido, Spanish for "hidden" as in Hidden Valley, but in early 2006 the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy renamed the trail the Edward Albert Escondido Canyon Trailhead to honor actor and environmental activist Eddie Albert, Jr. (1951–2006). The son of actor Eddie Albert of, ironically, "Green Acres" fame, and Mexican actress Margo, Eddie Albert, Jr. had a decent acting career, but was more politically recognized as a Native American Rights advocate, especially for the Chumash who populated the SoCal coastal areas for thousands of years prior to to the arrival of the Spanish. Albert Jr. also served on the powerful California Coastal Commission a the California Native Heritage Commission. This gorgeous canyon, green and lush today thanks to the January rains, hosts oak groves, sycamore trees, sage, and poison oak. Lori once actually saw a lion up in a tree on a hike! A sighting to brag about but not hope for. Thanks to Lori, her husband, and others who care for the trails along with the MRCA, except for a few slippery muddy spots, the trail was clear and well maintained, the hike simple to navigate, and the waterfall payoff at the turnaround impressive and beautiful in its grandeur. Parking off PCH at Winding Way is $12. Because Escondido Falls are at the top of the Malibu waterfall hikes after a rain, this one is a must go—but go early to avoid crowds.  We loved every step!

   

   

   

Barbara and I chose this hike for its closeness to Studio City-Sherman Oaks-Encino, a simple out and back trail marked 'easy' where we could try out our new hiking poles and be done before lunch. How in the world, after 335 hikes did Barbara and I not know about this place? Canyonback Trail has to rank in the top 5 of in-the-city hiking views, better than Fryman and Runyon and Franklin. Utterly breathtaking from start to finish. Internally, it's a no-shade, dirt fire road with multiple offshoots—a mountain bikers' playground and a 3+mile doggie off-leash dream trail. For the hikers, a jaw-dropping, 270-degree view from the valley to DTLA to the pacific coastline out to Catalina. Barbara and I saw the sweeping valley view first,  then, even on a hazy morning it was "there's downtown, wait, is that Century City?" And then "is that the OCEAN or haze?" I did a compass check, the Santa Monica to Palos Verdes shoreline came into view...from Encino! It was awesome. The mountains and valley show off a pallet of lush greens, and Mother Nature had put out her early offering of purple-with-a-touch-of-yellow wildflowers. Easy access from the valley side: down Havenhurst south of Ventura Blvd. to trailhead off Encino Hills Drive. Westridge-Canyonback Wilderness Park is part of the 20,000 acre Santa Monica Mountains' "Big Wild" starting just west of the 405 above the Sepulveda Pass. You'd never know unless you go. My iPhone camera just can't capture the distant views, so the pix aren't even close to what we saw in person. The hike is challenging in places but not hard, but most of all, the view is stunning. Go! 

Barbara's and my first outdoor hike of 2026 came with a little drama, a big coincidence, some good history, and SoCal's phenomenal January hiking weather. The contrasts of white clouds in a clear blue sky over a canyon filled with rain-fed green made for an utterly gorgeous hike. Drama opened the morning—we originally planned a different hike a few miles north. However, AllTrails was unaware that the trailhead is inside a gated Calabasas community. No access! Fortunately the guard sent us down to Vanowen Street and a quick turn west took us straight to El Escorpión Park and the trail. Free parking and all. We found the park in AllTrails and started up the trail. Looking around, it is hard to imagine why some hungry developer hasn't $natched up this space for condos and a business plaza. The Tongva-Fernandeño and Chumash Ventureño tribes of the Simi Hills inhabited this space for 8000 years until the Spanish showed up. Portions of the DeAnza expedition party, the OG party of California hikers, passed through here. The canyon passed through many hands, including a 1920s-30s stint as the Lasky Mesa silent and talkie movie ranch. The developers tried and tried and failed, and finally in 2003, the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy stepped in and saved the land for the people. Our first historically significantly sighting followed us along the trail: Castle Peak, altitude 1,475 ft. is a geographic landmark. The name is an American form of its Chumash name, Kas'ele'ew. Because of its visibility from a distance, during the time of the Chumash, a village at the base of Castle Peak served as a meeting and trading point. Not too far in along the trail, we realized we were in the same green space as the Munit Caves, a hike we did—get this—as our first hike of 2020. Total coincidence! Today we hiked the floor of the valley instead taking the trail up to the caves. A Munit is a Chumash Shaman who lived in the caves and was killed after murdering the son of a Chumash chief. In addition to some fun climbing around it that's for you, it's said the caves are haunted by the Munit's spirit. Our hike was a simple in and out, North to South on El Escorpión Trail to Hunter Allen Trail and back. A very popular local hiking spot, we met hikers, happy dogs and their walkers, and a number of dirt bikers. Parts of the trail split into layers, other parts rutted and cracked by the rain, and barely, if any shade. Up and around all of it, a breathtaking view of fields and really cool caves. 

   

   

Barbara and I closed our 2025 hikes by showcasing how lucky we are to live and hike in Southern California. Point Mugu State Park hosts the end of the Santa Monica Mountain range that sweeps across Los Angeles County from Griffith Park to the nearly impassable Pacific shoreline end point we hiked above today. Thanks to Mother Nature, every inch of trails were coated with thick, and sometimes deep, mud from last week's rains. And because of the rain, the mountains and canyon around us were painted green. Winter is the prettiest hiking season here, and we got the full show today. 

The Chumash occupied this land for 6,000 years prior to the Spanish invasion in the 1850s, and named the point "Mugu" from the Chumash "Muwu," meaning "beach." Point Mugu State Park's 13,300 acres contain 5 miles of shoreline and 70 miles of hiking trails. The Sycamore Canyon Campground sits across PCH from the beach and has straight access to the mountain trails. The conditions are great except for the occasional mountain lion. Keep the kids close and the pup on a leash. If you see the rare lion, do not aggravate, and everything should be fine. Other wildlife? Barbara and I saw one California Scrub Jay perched at the very top of a tree, watching us pass. We hiked the loop counterclockwise, starting on the Sycamore Canyon Fire Road then turning left (west) onto the Overlook Fire Road, a series of switchbacks climbing higher up the mountains—an easy climb. Overlook took us to the western edge and a stunning view of the Pacific. The clear blue morning sky above the icy blue ocean swept the eye from Catalina to the Channel Islands. Just so very pretty. Because the trail into the mountains lacks trees aka shade, doing this hike during the winter months tempers brutal heat of the summer. We warmed up fast, and the gloves and hats we thought we needed in the initial 50 degree temps, quickly ended up in our pockets. We picked up the pretty Scenic Trail at the turnaround point for the hike back down into the canyon. Wear your oldest shoes for the muddy trails or in case you miss the opposite bank of the stream hop like I did. So very pretty. Go for the hike or bring your tent for an overnight. We are so lucky. 

In July, 2018, Barbara and I followed Charles Fleming's hike posted in the L.A Times for our first hike at Paramount Ranch, one of the most famous of all Western movie and television settings for just about 100 years. Paramount Pictures purchased the 2700 acres of the old Rancho Las Virgenes in 1927 to use as a movie ranch, starting with "It Girl" Clara Bow in that year's Get Your Man. Filming continued through the war with films like Bob Hope's 1941. Caught in the Draft, through 1950's TV westerns like Cisco Kid, and became the permanent home to later series like 1993-1998's Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, and finally to HBO's Westworld, still in production in 2018. Barbara and I had no idea that three and a half months after our July hike, the Woolsey fire would ravage the valley and destroy the entire western movie town set with the exception of the church built for HBO's Westworld and the train station. Today, fences surround new building sets under construction, and, on posters near the entrance, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area promised to restore Paramount Ranch and the town to its prominence as a film location soon. Today's hike took us around the perimeter of the valley, showing us the jaw-dropping reasons why this beautiful area earned 571 film credits in IMDb and portrayed settings from the American West to colonial Massachusetts, ancient China, the South Seas, Africa, and San Francisco. The green valley is utterly lovely and lined with coast live oak and valley oak. Despite the absence of a western town to investigate, Mother Nature entertained us. The Westworld church (minus the steeple to prevent duplication) still stands, but with a clan of acorn woodpeckers busy pecking perfect, straight lines of holes on the cladding. Straight lines. Like they were typing out messages. The trail winding around the hills, still thick with mud from recent rains, are an easy trek but we had to keep our eyes on the ground, Paramount is a popular equestrian location—we met three riders and horses on the trail—but horses drop off their own kind of messages: green horse apples. I hear the gifts are lucky. A flight of parakeets squawked it up on a burnt tree. Also in the clear sky above, we watched a small black crow relentlessly chase a red-tail hawk away from a tree—and won. The sweeping views across the open grassland are enough. Paramount is great for hiking, biking, riding, and dog-walking. And, when the town is rebuilt, movie making. Fun hike.