Old Topanga Canyon Road was initially a stagecoach trail through the Santa Monicas south of Calabasas that terminated at the Pacific Ocean just N of the Palisades. Off Old Topanga Canyon Road, is a nearby canyon so ancient and beautiful and odd that there were times that Barbara and I stopped on the trail and did a head-shaking 360 at the rock formations. We chose this hike because we wanted a new-to-us adventure with Mother Nature. We certainly got new-to-us, but the huge, hard sandstone outcroppings with inter-bedded siltstone we saw along the trail and in the distance, preserve fossils that date back to the Miocene epoch, FIFTEEN MILLION years ago. Incredibly interesting, the random formations of massive rocks as a whole, and the up-close collections of  kaleidoscopes of multi-colored stones and rocks embedded in each formation felt other-worldly. The first 0.02 of the hike begins in Red Rock Canyon Park and goes along Red Rock Road, a fire road blanketed with toyon, laurel sumac, mountain mahogany, sycamores, and oaks. Early on we encountered a rock shelter that I dare you to pass without climbing up the small staircase to explore a cave or two. Echo? Cold? You must explore to find out. (I did.) At 0.02, the trail diverts off the fire road and heads up into the mountains. A climb, but not steep. The challenge is the narrow trail covered with small loose rocks, a slipping danger. A few times we had to slow down to navigate around small, slippery slopes of rock. All doable, but be careful. This is NOT a hike for the rainy season. Though it's a short, 2 mile hike, its winds and dips make it feel longer. No shade on a sunny day was a challenge (unfortunately no caves on that part of the trail.) No ocean or valley views, just a visit into a totally cool and other-worldly canyon, so impressive that iPhone photos just don't tell the story. Awesome hike.