|
THE TRAIL The Stagecoach Trail is approximately one half mile in length. The trailhead begins on the eastern side of Lilac Lane off of the Old Santa Susana Pass Road and extends northerly over the hill to the Santa Susana Pass Road just east of the Rocky Peak Interchange and the 118 ( Ronald Reagan) Freeway. While short, it yields a complete exposure of the geology and plants of the area. This trail was built and is maintained by the Rancho Simi Trail Blazers (RSTB) and various volunteers on land owned by Rancho Simi Open Space Conservation Agency. (RSOSCA) HISTORY Before there was a stagecoach route over Santa Susana Pass ("kashiwee," meaning "the pass" to the Chumash Indians), there was an Indian Trail. We know from Fernandeno Indian ethnography that the trail ran up the side of the ridge from what is now Chatsworth Park, then along what is now part of Lilac Lane and down the Canyon ("la Rivina" to the Spanish) into what is now Corriganville Park. A Fernandeno Indian shrine in the area resulted in the name for "Devil's Slide." The Indian trail became the Spanish trail, the first El Camino Real (King's Highway), the Stagecoach Road and then for more than 20 years the only way in and out of Simi Valley to the east. Prior to the establishment of the Coast Stage Route in 1861, it is unlikely that wheeled vehicles ever traversed the pass. The stagecoach route was used until 1875, at which time it was moved to the Conejo Grade because of the difficulty of getting over the Santa Susana Pass. Local residents and other travelers continued to use the route until the new pass route was finished in 1894. The Stagecoach Trail was constructed in the mid-1990s to parallel Lilac Lane, i.e., the old stagecoach route. Eventually, it will connect to a trail that will extend from Chatsworth Park to the Ventura County line over National parkland. GEOLOGY The Stagecoach Trail extends through massive sandstone outcroppings that are called the Chatsworth Formation. The formation is of Cretaceous age, locally 68-75 million years old. The formation extends to the end of the Cretaceous Period, at which time much of the animal life on this planet became extinct, including the dinosaurs, due to the impact of a large meteorite where the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico is now located. The Chatsworth Formation is composed primarily of light gray, fine-to medium-grained sandstone strata, which are from a few feet to 20-30 feet thick. When exposed to air, the sandstone weathers to a warm tan color. Occasional beds of siltstone and cobbles are present. The formation was deposited in the deep ocean, at a depth of 4,000-5,000 feet, by turbidity currents, i.e., massive submarine landslides, from the continental shelf into deep sea canyons. Those turbidity currents were often a half-mile or more in width and tens of miles long. As a result, few fossils survived the grinding action of the long journey into the ocean depths. Between these catastrophic events, there were quiet periods without turbidity currents when silt and clay particles rained down from the surface of the ocean as fines carried out to sea from heavy runoff from the land. Those fines became the siltstone strata. The formation is part of the North Pacific Plate, which is moving northwest at a current rate of about 2.5 inches per year. Because of the collision with the North American Plate along the San Andreas fault, the margin of the North Pacific Plate has been uplifted and locally tilted to the northwest by 17 degrees. Because of this unfavorable bedding angle, there are many landslides along the Old Santa Susana Pass Road in the area. PLANT LIFE The Chaparral Plant Community dominates the Stagecoach Trail. The community is made up of evergreen shrubs with small, hard leaves. This fire climax vegetation is adapted to periodic burning. Chaparral plants readily sprout new growth, thereby out competing other perennial plant seeds which must germinate with rains following fires. Chaparral species grow on thin infertile soils and, when mature, present a solid leaf canopy that successfully limits soil erosion. Many chaparral species produce seed germinating inhibiting chemicals, which preclude other plants from competing for the limited supply of water and nutrients available in any small area. From mid-summer through late fall, mature chaparral is extremely dry and loaded with volatile hydrocarbon compounds. When ignited, especially during the dry northeasterly and easterly Santa Ana winds, devastating wildfires can result. Perennial plants that may be seen along the trail include:
Some plants can be hazardous. Poison oak is present along the northern end of the trail. Avoid touching the plant or letting it brush up against your clothes. Also avoid encounters with yuccas. Their spines are sharp and painful. The yucca (Yucca whipplei ssp. intermedia) is of special interest in that the Ventureno Chumash name for the plant was "ta'apu." The Chumash Indian village in Tapo Canyon was named after the plant, and the name of that village comes down to us in the form of Tapo Canyon, Tapo Street, etc. ANIMAL LIFE Animals that may be observed from the trail include birds, such as:
|
