Exploring the Backbone Trail: Ray Miller Trail to Big Sycamore Canyon
Exploring the Backbone Trail by Charlotte Parry
Section 1: Ray Miller Trail to Big Sycamore Canyon
Welcome to an occasional blog on my new year project to walk the 67-mile Backbone Trail (BBT) from Pt Mugu State Park to Pacific Palisades. I’m taking on this challenge with my wonderful husband, the Man with the Camera.
As a 50-something fairly regular hiker, I’ve been enjoying the Santa Monica Mountains and Conejo Valley trails over the eight years that I’ve lived in the area. These hikes tend to be maximum six miles, but the Backbone Trail requires a bit more commitment. I’m therefore approaching this challenge with some trepidation.
The Backbone Trail can be through-hiked, but that is more of a challenge than we are prepared to take on as campsites are few and far between. For each section, unless you do an out and back hike, you will need two cars, parking one at each end. For our first hike, we left one car at Sycamore Canyon then drove together to La Jolla at the trail’s western end.
Section one, winding west to east, starts at the Ray Miller Trail in Pt Mugu State Park. It covers 6.4 miles of the BBT and a three mile walk out along Sycamore Canyon and back to the Pacific Coast Highway.
The hike begins with a climb of just over two miles (1,140ft) to the top of the hills towering above the ocean. The bright, sunny day offered sea views and glimpses of the Channel Islands that were breathtaking. At the top, as you turn inland, the awesome Boney Peak dominates the landscape to the right.
We continued along the Fire Overlook Road for a couple of miles and enjoyed the rolling pasture lands of La Jolla Natural Preserve below to the left – bright green in the spring sunshine. And, with the help of a useful app, checked out quite a range of plants along the trail. Blooms were starting to appear on some of the shrubs. However, as it’s late January, it will be a few more weeks before more of the wild flowers appear.
In bloom, we saw white flowering Ceanothus, pinky-purplish Wishbone Bush, and Purple Nightshade. Black Sage, Poppies, Yucca, Stinging Lupine and Scorpion Weed were also dotted around a landscape that is full of shrubs and grasses, in some cases over five foot tall. We also saw tiny, white Spurges at ground level clinging to the side of the trail.
At the junction with the Wood Vista Trail, we turned right to start the descent into Sycamore Canyon. This is a rough, narrow trail that poses an exciting challenge for mountain bikers who enjoy the steep, twisting descent into the canyon below. Watch out!
After 1.75 miles, we reached Big Sycamore Canyon. Most of the year, this canyon is dusty and dry. But in spring, after the rain, the sight of green everywhere helps encourage weary legs on the long, flat trek back to the car.
This hike is a wonderful introduction to the BBT with ocean and inland views all on one day. Looking forward to the next section in our BBT adventure, driving home enjoying the long shadows of early evening light and listening to The Eagles seemed an appropriate end to an awesome day of SoCal hiking.
With thanks to the Man with the Camera for the day’s photos and The Complete Hiker’s Guide to the Backbone Trail by Doug & Caroline Chamberlin which we’ll be using throughout our adventure.
For more info about the Backbone Trail check out the National Park Service videos.
