Day 213 - Adventures at Will Rogers State Park

Sarah and myself being the keen explorers we are, decided last Saturday to embark on one of LA’s enticing hikes. Following up from suggestion made by a mutual friend of ours, we decided to visit the Will Rogers state Historic Park and spend our Saturday afternoon doing the relatively short Inspiration Loop hike to inspiration point which was to give us a good view of LA and its coastline stretching from Santa Monica down to Long Beach. Ready and prepared with water and sun protection we embarked on this trail using a map we collected from the quaint gift store located just above the main ranch. From the very start of our hike there was a lot of intrigue and risks as we found out that a large tick native to the area, can be present and gives bites that require immediate medical attention. Heeding the warning and advice, we completed the Inspiration Loop hike which was simple and of little challenge giving us a decent if underwhelming view of LA at Inspiration Point (figure 1). Disappointed by what this 30-minute hike offered us, we revisited the map and found that we could hike further, along the ‘backbone trail’ then return via an unmaintained track down Rustic Canyon. This extra hike, totalling 3 miles should have taken us about an hour and a half, finishing around 6pm for us to catch a bus back to campus. This route entailed even more risk than the last with warning signs of poison oak and prevalence of mountain lions in the area (figure 2). This only added to our excitement and motivation to explore further.

Figure 1. View from Inspiration Point 

Figure 2. DANGER: careful for Mountain Lions

It wasn't long into this trail that we realised it was much harder than the last, entailing much steeper climbs and uneven camber on the ground. Despite this, we saw much more as we gained altitude, more vibrant wildlife, small lizards, tweeting birds, butterflies to name a few. Naturally, as we got higher the view got better, the trail got more interesting and we encountered bridges to cross. The video I took in Figure 3 shows some of this. At this point all was going nicely, the day was in its last few hours and the hike was becoming much more fulfilling. In order to get onto the Rustic Canyon trail we needed to depart the backbone trail and walk the Josepho Spur trail, which was approximately half a mile in distance. This trail was a steep descent down to the creek floor, and it was a much less arid environment, as grasses and other green plants were present; the shadows of the topography enabled a more humid microenvironment. At the end of this trail we reached the bottom of the creek where we would hike the Rustic Canyon trail back to Will Rogers Ranch. Shortly into this trail however we noticed a building covered in graffiti that was receiving a lot of attention from other hikers. We realised that this was much more than just one single building but in fact it was a whole series of structures that were worn down, derelict but full of vibrancy with the street art that was covering them. This was a massive distraction for us; figures 4, 5 and 6 show some of the most interesting things we saw here. We realised later that in fact by taking this alternative route we had stumbled unintentionally upon Murphy’s ranch, which was a Nazi camp for those awaiting the arrival of Hitler to the US in 1940.

Figure 3. Video of 'Backbone Trail'

Figure 4. Murphy's Ranch Building 1

Figure 5. Murphy's Ranch Building 1 (inside)

Figure 6. Murphy's Ranch Building 2

At this point in our hike we we’re completely satisfied with what we had experienced, and were ready to finish the hike and make our way back to UCLA. This however proved to be much more of a challenge than we anticipated. The unmaintained trail that we were taking back ran parallel to the creek, at times crossing through it, which normally isn't an issue in this arid area of California. However, a few days preceding our visit there had been heavy rain, and the river in the creek was discharging more than it normally would due to the lag time between storm and time this rainwater discharges. About half a mile after seeing the sights of Murphy’s ranch we encountered problems, the trail we thought we were following did not match up to the one we were supposed to follow on the maps although there didn't appear to be any alternative. Inconveniently, both of our phones, due to the many photo opportunities along the way were depleted of battery, and nightfall was descending upon us due to the time setbacks caused by discovery of Murphy’s ranch. The route we were following at this point did not appear to be much of a trail anymore, paths were not clearly defined and we just seemed to be following the river, crossing it on countless occasions. Our estimated completion of the trail (6pm) was well surpassed and at 8pm, after sun had set we were still negotiating this trail among the loud noises from frogs echoing around us. After a few falls into the river and visibility being significantly reduced, what was adventure became fear as we were scaling rocks along an undefined path. At 8:30 however, we thankfully finished the trail, coming to an abrupt end. By the time we were ready to catch a bus (at 9pm), buses were infrequent and we had to wait in the cold for 40 minutes for the next bus to take us back.

Needless to say this was an adventure like nothing I’ve experienced before. It is definitely one I will take back with me to the UK to share with friends and family. Despite the obstacle we encountered it was an amazing, hike and day overall.