We did it! All 67 miles of the Backbone Trail were traversed; we actually added 8 miles to the total with our couple of detours. It’s been such a great experience, seeing new parts of the gorgeous Santa Monica Mountains and revisiting favourite sections. Check the ‘backbone trail’ tag to see all the journal entries.
Big thanks to my BHBF (Best Hiking Buddy Forever) for sharing the adventure.
A & I returned to the Backbone Trail after more than a month’s break, and hiked the penultimate and longest section. It was so pretty, especially between Tri-Peaks and Sycamore Canyon. We had Chamberlain Trail to ourselves; it seems that only thru-hikers go there, as it isn‘t a convenient loop or out-and-back hike. I’d like to return with my birding binoculars; I *think* I saw my first Phainopeplas.
Another beautiful day in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Yerba santa (“holy herb”) is a hairy perennial shrub that‘s found in chaparral and coastal sage scrub, most often at higher elevations. The very aromatic leaves are lance-ovate to oval, 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 inches) long, with a scalloped margin. Soft woolly hairs grow on both sides. In traditional medicine, it has been used to treat respiratory infections. I don’t often hike in the highest parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, so it was a treat to get up there and encounter this plant growing in profusion along the trail yesterday.
Lovely day out on the trails. Still plenty of water in the creeks and waterfalls, and the wildflowers are really starting to pop. Feeling very grateful to live in these beautiful mountains.
Annette and I resumed our Backbone trek, covering section eight, which we’d previously skipped due to heavy rain. We were (literally) in the clouds for most of the hike, soaked but happy. Four sections to go!
Annette noticed that these two cliff-aster-y looking plants were joined by a runner, the way strawberry or spider plants propagate. (A bit of googling led me to the botanical name for this joining structure: it’s called a stolon). I’ve seen a lot of cliff asters and other related Asteraceae but have never observed this growth habit. I don’t have a positive ID on the plant, but I’ll certainly be looking for other examples while I’m out on the trails.
Section 7 is in the books. Most of this trail was new to us, and we enjoyed it a lot. The steep uphill sections and exposed ridge might not be fun on a hot summer today, but right now they’re just lovely.
Easy section this time, in one of my favourite parts of Malibu Creek State Park. It was fun to see thousands of acorns sprouting on the forest floor, even knowing that only the slimmest fraction of them will grow into trees.
The Backbone adventure proceeds apace. Five sections down, eight to go. This section is particularly enjoyable, with spectacular rock formations and awesome views. And, at this time of year, lots of fungi!
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