I took advantage of a block of free time to make a nice dent in the LPC hiking list. I had a mix of easy peaks and some tougher ones as well, most notably Santa Paula Peak, which has been suspended from the LPC list due to the loss of legal access to a reasonable route from the south. There had been some trip reports a few years back of successful ascents via Santa Paula canyon, so I gave that a go and had a rather epic day. The first 3 miles are on easy trail, after which you must follow a trail-less canyon for about 2 miles, and then find an old trail heading up Santa Paula from the north. I was able to keep a reasonable pace through the canyon, but had trouble finding the old trail, and once I found it, it was in much worse shape then I expected. I made the summit in low visibility and ran into a few bears on the way back. El Montanon on Santa Cruz Island was a nice outing…

May 1 – Drop Christina Lam off at LAX, hike Temescal Peak

May 2 – Simi Peak

May 3 – Rocky Peak, Mission Point

May 4 – May Peak

May 5 – Santa Paula

May 6 – El Montanon (Santa Cruz Island, w/George Zelenz)