2025

JANUARY

January 5th – Mt. McCoy up and back

5 hikers met at the carpool point near the intersection of Royal Avenue and Madera Road on a pleasant winter morning and then (since trailhead parking is quite limited) walked from there to the Mt. McCoy trailhead on Washburn Street a few blocks to the west.
The hike began along the trail heading south but it quickly began climbing gradually westward along the well-maintained (but frequently “cut” by bicycle riders) trail leading to the summit via a series of switchbacks. We took our time as the trail rose up the mountainside; we were rewarded with views of the western end of Simi Valley, including Sinaloa Lake, Wood Ranch, and the Bard Reservoir. There is a white concrete cross (erected in 1941) as well as two concrete benches at the summit, from which the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library can be seen. After a short break to enjoy the panoramic view of the desiccated landscape, we returned the way we came completing a 3.25-mile hike with 650’ of elevation gain/loss

January 4th – Wildwood Park: Mesa Trail to Tepee Trail to Wildwood Canyon (Paradise Falls) to Lizard Rock Trail Loop

It was a chilly foggy winter morning (which warmed up nicely during the hike) when we met at 8:00 AM at the main Wildwood Park parking lot at the west end of Avenida De Los Arboles in Thousand Oaks. Heading westward, we began our clockwise loop hike along the Mesa Trail. There were no other hikers and no bicyclists (presumably because it was New Years Day). Shortly after we began our hike we turned left (south) onto the Tepee Trail and followed it down into Wildwood Canyon, stopping to visit the “Little Cave” along the way.

Upon reaching the canyon’s bottom, we turned right (west) and followed the Wildwood Canyon Trail downstream toward the year-round Paradise Falls waterfall. When we reached the stream immediately above the waterfall there were at least two dozen mallard ducks “camping out”; also, we spotted a dozen or more blooming seldom-seen Dudleya Live Forever “chalk plants” on the vertical rock wall across the stream.

We descended to the foot of Patradise Falls and admired it for a while. Then we continued on downstream, crossing flowing water several times on short wooden bridges. When we reached Hoegeman’s Hollow, there were several picnic tables (and bathrooms). We took a short break and then continued on downstream until reaching the Hill Canyon Treatment Plant where we turned north onto the Lizard Rock Trail and followed it up to its junction with the Mesa Trail which we followed eastward back to our vehicles, thus finishing a pleasant 4.83-mile hike with 900′ of elevation gain/loss.

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